Sci-Fi movies relating to aliens coming to Earth have been a mainstay in cinema since the early days of movies. The classic wide shot of a huge saucer shaped spacecraft hovering above an Earth city, dwarfing the size of that city with its massiveness, still sends that unnerving chill through our collective consciousness. The greater majority of the visitors in these films were hostile and far ahead of humans’ technologically, and in most cases physically. I would categorize these types of sci-fi movies into two primary categories...

One category is where the aliens come to Earth with the direct purpose of conquering us. Both the 1953 and the 2005 versions of “The War of the Worlds” is an example where we were outgunned technologically with virtually no hope of survival and nature gave us a helping hand to win the battle. The theme in more recent sci-fi featuring the invading force that was superior to our science and showcases our ingenuity and application of what we have, as the main factor that pulls us through. 1996’s “Independence Day” gave us a good example of that changing view that we can rise to the occasion no matter what the odds, with not only ‘brawn’ but also ingenuity.

The second category is the visitors to Earth with peaceful intentions, but because of, let’s say, our fear of the unknown, prompted aggressive reaction on our part. Although the aliens could have retaliated, we demonstrated promise for growth and were spared annihilation. Both versions of “The Day the Earth Stood Still” (1951 and 2008) brought these types of encounters right up front in our public sci-fi consciousness.

“District 9” brings us yet another view of aliens on Earth. It’s almost thirty years since an alien mother ship sized spacecraft ran out of fuel, hovering high above a city on Earth. The spacecraft continues to hover, though out of fuel, like an automobile staled in the middle of a highway. When the spacecraft first arrived back then, military helicopters and high-airlift equipment cut their way into the hovering spacecraft. The Aliens onboard were brought down to land, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, and held in a very large detention center with the next generation of aliens being born there. It’s the present now, and much like in the “Escape From New York” and “Escape From L.A.” movies, the detention compound has formed its own society with its own rules and king-pens, with some alien groups just trying to survive, while others are trying to gather the materials in hidden underground laboratories to synthetically make the fuel needed to power the mother ship to leave Earth.

The overall theme of the aliens is one that we as humans have as one of our basic needs whenever we’re stranded or marooned, so far from home, all we want is to go home. Director and co-screenplay writer Neill Blomkamp presents a captivating sci-fi story, with the aliens, although not in the least resembling mankind physically, have more in common with humans than one might think…

Starring Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, Nathalie Boltt, Sylvaine Strike, Elizabeth Mkandawie, John Summer, William Allen Young, and Greg Melvill-Smith.