Starring
Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Alice Braga, Diego Luna,
William Fichtner. Directed by Neil Blomkamp. (2013, 109 min).
Neil
Blomkamp’s District 9 was a terrific surprise that kind-of
came out of nowhere…intelligent, satiric & gritty adult sci-fi
with a timely theme, something we don’t get a lot of these days. For his next film, I wondered if Blomkamp, this time armed
with bankable stars and a huge budget, would simply grab the brass
ring and pump out another brainless summer spectacle, or continue in
the same vein as his groundbreaking feature debut. Fortunately,
Elysium, while not quite as fresh as District 9, is a
worthy follow-up. It is similar in look, theme & tone, and easily
the smartest sci-fi action picture released during a year rife with
them.
This
one takes place roughly a century in the future, and Earth is an
overpopulated, disease-ridden cesspool. The wealthy have since left
the planet to live on Elysium, an massive Utopian space station guarded by zealous elitist Delacourt (Jodie
Foster), who goes to extremes to keep common folks Earthbound. Matt
Damon plays Max, an ex-con now trying to make-do as a factory worker
in Los Angeles (which looks a lot like the alien shantytown in
District 9).
 |
| "Hey...could you come over here and pop this?" |
After
being exposed to a lethal dose of radiation on the job, Max has only
five days to live unless he can get to Elysium, where every home is
equipped with a Med-Bay, which can cure any injury or
disease within minutes. The problem is most people who try to
illegally immigrate there are either deported back to Earth or shot
out of the sky upon approach. Desperate, Max seeks out his old crime
boss. In return for a shuttle ticket, he agrees to track down and steal computer info (which can
potentially wipe-out the existing files kept on everyone) from one of
the Elysium elite who runs the factory he worked at. To do this, Max
is surgically altered with a sort-of exoskeleton which increases his
strength and allows him to download the files right into his own
head. But things don't go quite as planned; Max is able to download
the files, but they are encripted, so accessing them will kill him.
Meanwhile, Delacourt needs those files too (in order to attempt a
coup for total control of Elysium), so she enlists psychotic
mercenary Kruger (Sharlto Copley, in a scenery-chewing performance)
to bring Max in alive.
This
is intriguing, suspenseful stuff, even after a gratuitous
love-interest is thrown into the mix (Frey, played by Alice Braga, who
has a daughter dying of leukemia, rendering the outcome somewhat
predictable). While Elysium delivers its socio-political
message with the subtlety of a mallet, it's a smart story punctuated
by violent action, spectacular special effects (which seldom call
attention to themselves) and mostly-interesting characters. I say
mostly because the main antagonist, Delacourt, is fairly
one-dimensional (we know she's a cold-hearted bitch before she even
opens her mouth). Foster is usually one of the best parts of any
movie, but here, her bizarre accent is unnecessarily distracting (and
exactly where the hell is she supposed to be from, anyway?).
However, as Max, Damon does a great job giving us a main-character
whose both heroic and vulnerable, not-to-mention a bit morally
ambiguous.
Despite
its minor flaws, Elysium is also similar to District 9
in the sense it's a film that will stick around in your mind a lot
longer than the usual sci-fi shoot-em-up. It's premise, action and
emotionally-satisfying story are worth visiting more than once, making
this disc a must-own for fans of intelligent, grown-up sci-fi.
EXTRAS:
ENGINEERING
UTOPIA: Creating a Society in the Sky
COLLABORATION:
Creating the Performances in Elysium
FKMG RATING:
(OUT OF 5)
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