After his stint as the director and creative brains behind Lord of The Rings, anything Peter Jackson does is going to be watched with interest.   But it seems he also has a talent for spotting talent in others. In Neill Blomkamp he's discovered a director with a creative vision to rival his own. District 9 is a sci-fi masterpiece and a strong contender for the best film of the year.

Aliens have arrived on earth. But rather than the expected invasion, they're refugees from their own planet.  Hovering above Johannesburg is a massive mothership and for 20 years the aliens have been housed in a slum in the poorest parts of the city.  Tensions between them and humans have been mounting over the years and so it's been decided that they need to be relocated to a camp further out of town.  A private security company MNU has been employed to move them and Wikus Van Der Merwe has been put in charge, a fairly nerdy bureaucrat.

When he's sprayed with a noxious fluid during a routine eviction things start to change for the worse...and so does he.
It's a remarkably original premise. When was the last time you saw aliens landing in anywhere but the most populous US cities? It breaks the mould in almost every way, going against expected plot lines, taking sci-fi conventions and twisting them into something fresh and exciting.

Sharlto Copley is astounding for a complete unknown, playing Wikus as a sympathetic and realistic character; his rapidly changing situation is made more touching and harrowing because of his connection with the viewer, an ordinary person thrust headlong into extraordinary circumstances.

It draws a fairly clear parallel with the horrors of apartheid, not least because of its location.   The washed out, rubble-strewn landscape evokes a desolate and unforgiving place but also brings to mind films like City of God; a hostile urban landscape.  District 9 pulls off an amazing feat by creating a world which feels alive and real even when you're not watching it, something only the very best sci-fi and fantasy writers have managed to achieve.  The result is that you feel you're been allowed to watch a chapter in the history of a world which exists without your observation and consequently the characters' actions have a genuine effect on the world he lives in.

Its storytelling is not the only place it shines; the action is also exhilarating and exciting with special effects that are utterly seamless.  And Blomkamp knows that whilst action set pieces can really move the audience, they're much more satisfying when they're part of larger framework.  You won't find action for action's sake here; every set piece is integral to the film's narrative.

District 9 has everything; it's exciting and good fun as well as being challenging and provocative.  It's a film that practically demands repeat viewings; there are little touches that not everyone will notice the first time round.  It's doubly astounding that such an incredible film was made with less money than the catering budgets of other Hollywood blockbusters and frankly it blows them all out the water.  This is the film that everyone needs to see this summer.

District 9 is out in cinemas September 4