This is going to be tough to write because I wanted to like this movie. I should be thrilled because so many people loved "District 9". And it’s science fiction, a genre that I love that is largely viewed as silly and irrelevant. So I'll just come out and say it. I've watched this three times and its just not for me.

The mock documentary style of the film is interesting at first, but as the movie continues, the style keeps flipping between documentary and straight up action flick, and it gets annoying quickly.

I felt little sympathy for the aliens, which is the desired mood of the filmmakers. There was not enough time given to portray the aliens as sympathetic creatures because they have basically devolved into savages by the time we enter District 9. The implication made about why this occurred was because they were forced into slums, but we never see them as anything but savages.

The main character named Wikus is an unintelligent stooge. The story is structured around him and he's not likable. He's a racist, pencil-pushing bureaucrat who eventually learns what it's like to be an alien. Then once his life-changing event occurs, we are expected to feel sympathy for him. He has done nothing to deserve it, only his depressing decent into the horrors of District 9 earns him any. We learn pretty early on that Wikus was being used by the agency that he works for. He's so stupid he's the only one that doesn't realize that something stinks about his promotion. Later, Wikus discovers cruel experimentation being performed on aliens by his company, but I'm not buying that he didn't know about it even though that's what the filmmaker desires.

The relationship between Wikus and his wife was barely developed and there was even less chemistry between Wikus and the primary alien. The military agents were portrayed as the typical gun-toting murderous freaks. They showed no restraint in gunning down aliens, who weren't exactly avoiding violence-free conflicts themselves.

The special effects were interesting but they were certainly not groundbreaking. There was no more than about a 30-second period that went by without someone yelling "F@*k!". I am not offended by the word, but I don't think it's a stretch to say it loses its impact when used 300 times during a movie.

If you have any issues with copious, on-screen gore, you'll want to stay away. "District 9" ranks right up there with "Robocop" and "Starship Troopers" in the bloody Sci-Fi category.