District 9 is the best science fiction movie in years. It begins in the near future, with over a million stranded space aliens having been forced to live in a Johannesberg ghetto. But that lofty premise is made accessible by its near-to-ground presentation; District 9 does for space aliens what 28 Days Later did for zombies. Awkward, uncharismatic performances and liberal use of handheld cameras and surveillance footage create the feeling of watching a documentary, even when space ships and lasers come out. Also, while the Apartheid analogy could hardly be more direct or explicit, it eschews any of the usual heavy-handedness, and never feels preachy.
Go ahead and see it, sooner rather than later.