Do yourself a favor and forget all the summer movies you have already seen, and go see District 9! It is everything that Transformers 2 or G.I. Joe could never be, and is destine to be a Sci-Fi classic much like the original two Terminator films. Even stripped of its social/political commentary, District 9 still functions as a great Sci-Fi film, much like Romero’s zombie films did before he started buying into his own hype.

The film takes place in Johannesburg, South Africa after an alien space craft is stranded on Earth. When public patience with the alien refugees runs out, the MNU attempts to evict the alien citizens from their ghetto — “District 9″ — to another encampment further away from the city. However, being one of the largest weapons manufacturer in the world, MNU has an alternative motive — collecting alien technology.

When the eviction process turns out to be a bloody disaster, the simple minded head of the MNU task force is infected with a virus that starts turning him into a “prawn” himself. He soon becomes MNU’s test subject, and learns that his only chance of survival is to band together with the oppressed aliens, not only to save his own life, but to help them return to their home before the greedy Earthlings eliminate their entire race.

The message of District 9 is simple and clear, humans can be selfish, oppressive, and inhumane, but thankfully director Neill Blomkamp doesn’t feel the need to beat us over the head to make his point. Blomkamp delivers a bloodier version of E.T. wanting to go home, while managing to breathe new life into a stale genre with an entertaining, clever and poignant film. District 9 can go toe-to-toe with any summer blockbuster in the explosions and over-the-top action department, while making the biggest budgeted Action/Sci-Fi films look like child’s play.

It is the movie that saved the summer of 2009!