Fusing the genres of introspective drama and explosive action calls for a delicate balance, but director Neill Blomkamp’s protagonist in “District 9”—who becomes a human-alien hybrid—reflects the success of such half-breeds. After being assigned to assist in relocating 2 million alien refugees from their city slum to a distant concentration camp, Wikus van de Merwe (the impressive Sharlto Copley) is forced to help the aliens escape the planet. With the same seemingly magnetic pull of District 9—the aforementioned slum on the outskirts of Johannesburg—the movie deftly draws the audience in with conflicting tales of message and mayhem.

This is not, however, an easily struck balance. While the action is terrific and the drama is top shelf, each is potentially hindered by the other’s presence. Copley’s acting and the combined CGI innovation of Image Engine and producer Peter Jackson’s Weta Workshop foster an unbelievable amount of sympathy for the strange insectoid aliens, but this achievement is often clouded by Blomkamp’s willingness to use his creations as gory decoration. Similarly, those who see “District 9” for the violent, hedonistic ride will occasionally be put off by how heavy the plot can get as Blomkamp expounds on the limits and contradictions of human compassion.

The aliens are the film’s greatest accomplishment, equal parts pitiable and repulsive. While they are horribly mistreated, their behavior often seems to deserve nothing better. It is here that the film truly makes its point. Despite the seemingly barbarous and insensate nature of the aliens, the viewer still feels that they are undeserving of the cruelty heaped upon them. It is by making the aliens so physically and socially disparate from humans that the director reveals their humanity as well as our own. What is most impressive is that the two central and most sympathetic aliens are not necessarily the reason for this; the executions and beatings of anonymous aliens emerge equally moving. The central alien and his son serve as the focal point for our sympathy, but they never monopolize it; despite appearances to the contrary, everyone is worth saving.

Constrained by length and conflicting genres, Blomkamp must settle for a snapshot of this fascinating world, rather than a complete explication. This is a tantalizing glimpse of the possibilities of his fiction, not a full demonstration of them. We are presented with the realities of life on the ground, and since things are the way they are, questions of cause are futile—the only question now is how to move forward. It is with this sentiment that the film both begins and concludes. The curse of past, unchangeable error haunts the world, and all that remains are our fearful glances toward the future.