This is the movie that will shake up the action genre out of the shithole Michael Bay et al have dug for it. The concept is brilliant. Aliens have arrived on Earth, and have opted to hover above Johannesburg rather than kill and enslave everyone, or even just leave. Why this has happened is never made explicitly clear, but the motivations are there if you care to watch carefully and indulge in a little speculation. The story begins as pencil-pusher Wikus van de Merwe gets a promotion and the opportunity to organise herding the now earth-bound aliens out of their shitty refugee camp. What happens next is a glorious mix of documentary and action moviemaking, blended with sci-fi touchstones and tropes. It’s a fantastic way to present a unique story.

District 9 doesn’t skimp on the action one bit. There are parts that had me biting my nails and my girlfriend taking a break to “go to the toilet” – which mysteriously coincided with other people walking out, and coming back looking a little green. Genuinely harrowing stuff. It blows away (literally – alien gun porn is on full display here) any movie I’ve seen this year, and has found a firm place on my all-time favourites list.

Sure to become a classic, District 9 is a fast-paced thrill of a movie that isn’t afraid to mess with convention or throw out the odd allegorical bone.