Ben Foster and Dennis Quaid--two consistently watchable actors, and both well used here--are top-billed as a pair of space travelers who awake from lengthy hibernation with no idea who they are or how they got aboard a vast and seemingly empty spacecraft. Their exploration of the ship uncovers not only a handful of fellow humans, among them martial arts champ Cung Le and French scientist/requisite eye candy Antje Traue, but a host of feral mutants with unpleasant designs on them.

Director Christian Alvert, who gained international acclaim among genre viewers with his thriller Antibodies, keeps viewers engaged and unsettled with shadow-steeped cinematography and elaborately creepy production design, though his own attention span, which can be charitably described as blink and you'll miss it, obscures the clashes between the human and monster cast.

However, Alvert has a few twists up his sleeve for the finale--one inspired, the other, less so--which not only helps to smooth over any of Pandorum's rougher edges, but also indicates that he's a genre director to watch. --Paul Gaita
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0"><tr><td><img src="http://dvdsonsale.net/images/B002QW7ALM/51pj22QfRrL._SL75_.jpg" /><td></tr><tr><td>Largely dismissed as yet another Alien carbon, the science-fiction/horror hybrid Pandorum exceeds the limits of that critique with an agreeable mix of atmospherics and high-voltage scares. Ben Foster and Dennis Quaid--two consistently watchable actors, and both well used here--are top-billed as a pair of space travelers who awake from lengthy hibernation with no idea who they are or how they got aboard a vast and seemingly empty spacecraft. Their exploration of the ship uncovers not only a handful of fellow humans, among them martial arts champ Cung Le and French scientist/requisite eye candy Antje Traue, but a host of feral mutants with unpleasant designs on them. Director Christian Alvert, who gained international acclaim among genre viewers with his thriller Antibodies, keeps viewers engaged and unsettled with shadow-steeped cinematography and elaborately creepy production design, though his own attention span, which can be charitably described as blink and you'll miss it, obscures the clashes between the human and monster cast. However, Alvert has a few twists up his sleeve for the finale--one inspired, the other, less so--which not only helps to smooth over any of Pandorum's rougher edges, but also indicates that he's a genre director to watch. --Paul Gaita<td></tr></table>

The movie follows a very interesting saga, wherein weak, sickly aliens land on earth and end up being put into the poor conditions of a classic refugee camp. However, they begin spending their idle time studying up on weapons. Meanwhile, a scientist undergoes a genetic transformation and starts becoming one of the creatures himself. The lines are blurred between who's who, what's right and what's wrong and much more.

Violence, of course, erupts and the world is thrown into turmoil. Sensational special effects will keep you at the edge of your seat as the massive battles and intense struggles are depicted on the screen. This is not your run of the mill war or science fiction. It's quite the opposite, one of the most intriguing science fiction films of quite some time, it's also one of the best sci-fi movies of 2009. If you love the genre, then picking up District 9 is a no brainer. But even if you don't, you will definitely find yourself wrapped into the crazy world and the epic saga of the movie.