'District 9' really is that good

It takes more than a great concept to make a great, or even halfway decent, movie.

“District 9” definitely had the concept — a large enclave of aliens living in a designated area on Earth for years after mysteriously arriving on our planet, with no one really knowing why they’re here. And with terrific acting, brilliantly understated special effects and gripping execution, director Neil Blomkamp and company also deliver one heck of a movie.

The film starts in a documentary style, telling of the aliens’ arrival in Johannesburg, South Africa, and the deteriorating relations between the beings, derisively referred to as “prawns,” and humans. We’re also introduced to Wikus Van De Merwe, a middle manager in the massive corporation tasked with relocating the aliens to their new “home” — a tent city that’s little better than the shacks to which they’re confined now.

Newcomer Sharlto Copley plays Wikus like the South African version of “The Office’s” Michael Scott, a mix of annoying and clueless yet somehow endearing and even capable. The almost comedic setup contrasts terrifically with the dark foreshadowing and deadly serious direction the movie soon takes. Copley handles humor and gut-wrenching emotion equally well, and should be remembered come awards season.

To say too much about what happens as Wikus starts to lead the District 9 relocation would spoil a lot of the excitement as the film unfolds. Suffice it to say things don’t go as planned.

The film’s social commentary is neither veiled nor heavy handed. It’s clearly a meditation on man’s inhumanity to man — but in this case, the other “man” looks like a crustacean. One of the best things about science fiction (besides aliens and spaceships and whatnot) is it’s ability to reflect the real world in a fantastical fashion.

The special effects don’t stand out in a summer of giant transforming robots, boy wizards and mutant superheroes, and that’s exactly what makes them work. You’re not wowed by the prawns; they integrate seamlessly into the “real world” around them.

The violence that erupts in the film is understandable from a story point of view and, with one or two exceptions, is not played for shock and gore value. It is graphic, but some of these alien weapons are devastating, and the horror of their use is not downplayed. There’s also plenty of inappropriate language, but, while I would have liked for it to be toned down, it’s not thrown in for comedic or shock value. With some of the things going on, you wouldn’t expect a character to say “Oh, fiddlesticks!”