Elysium
Dir: Neill Blomkamp
Starring: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, and Sharlto Copley
Director Neill Blomkamp composed one of science fictions
better films with his socially conscious, visually stunning 2009 film District 9. Blomkamp’s portrait of the
future is bleak and grimy; Earth is a planet on the brink of extinction. District 9 established this world with
an alien arrival; the treatment of the aliens and structure of the society
reflecting the South African apartheid was intelligent and worthy of an Oscar
best picture nomination. Elysium
cultivates a separate story with a far heavier hand on social commentary aiming
at the topics of immigration and healthcare. And, while more gruesome and
straightforward than District 9, Blomkamp
designs another visually impressive film that narrates a simplistic tale with
the entertainment of a well-designed action film.
In the year 2154 the world is divided into the have and the
have-nots. Those that are privileged enough live on an orbiting city called
Elysium. This society lives without illness, being able to jump into healing
machines for nearly any cure. On Earth, specifically Los Angeles, society
functions for pure survival. Crime is high, living conditions are dire, and
medical services are under staffed and overpopulated with sickness. Max (Matt
Damon) is an ex-con, working in a factory that manufactures law-enforcing
robots. Max is permanently injured on the job and dismissed by the large
company he works for, a company controlled by the government on Elysium.
Working with limited time, Max joins a local gang in hopes of jumping on a
shuttle to Elysium in order to heal his sickness. On his mission Max is
inadvertently forced into a position that makes him humanities hope of survival.
Good science fiction most always interweaves elements of
reflective advisory; whether individual or societal, the underlying emphasis is
supported by the elaborate superficial elements. On the surface Elysium resembles the lesser-known Johnny Mnemonic. The narrative undertones feel more acquainted
to H.G. Well’s Things To Come, though
not as intelligent as the classic film. In lieu of deeper exploration into the
intriguing initial narrative concepts, Blomkamp instead focuses the remainder
of the film on elaborate gadgetry and stylistic action. While this isn’t a bad
decision considering the skillful design of the supporting elements, it would
have been interesting to see where this film would have gone if the premise
would have continued with the fitting questions pointed at our current society.
Matt Damon does a great job of holding the film together.
His character Max must compose a quality that is both selfish and selfless, all
while being somewhat hostile and aggressive. Damon has a likable trait, and he
shines in the lead of this film. Sharlto Copley is Kruger, a cartoonish
combative bounty hunter to Elysium’s government. His snarling bad guy is
over-the-top but Copley is great in the role, the complete opposite of his District 9 character. Jodie Foster plays
a homeland security director named Delacourt with an unfortunate forced coldness
and poor accent. The scenes for the award-winning actress come across more
awkward than accommodating.
Elysium is an
enjoyable science fiction film. There are elements that feel unique even though
they’ve been done before but Blomkamp is accomplished at implementing them
appropriately into his story. Though it doesn’t have the depth or emotion of District 9, the design is creative and
the result is a positive effort amongst recent science fiction films.
Monte’s Rating
4.00 out of 5.00
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