I remember my experience of seeing Neil Blomkamp’s debut feature District 9 very well. I walked out of the movie theater that summer raving about the movie to everyone and, since then, it has remained one of my favorite sci-fi films to date. It’s been nearly three years since Blomkamp took the film world by storm but now he’s finally back with a new star-studded, socially charged sci-fi action drama titled Elysium.
Set in 2154, Earth has officially become a wasteland where the poor are left to fend for themselves in the slums and awful work place environments. Just outside the earth’s atmosphere is a paradise called Elysium, a beautifully designed space station where the wealthy reside in healthy ignorant bliss. After an accident at a robotics factory, where our main character Max (Matt Damon) works, leaves him with only five days left to live, he is willing to do anything to get to Elysium in order to get access to a medical bay which will eradicate his illness. He decides to take on a crazy mission which, if successful, could alter the state of mankind’s existence and bring equality to the two worlds, but first he’ll have to get through Elysium’s Secretary Delacourt’s (Jodie Foster) defenses and her psychotic South African sleeper agent Kruger (Sharlto Copley).
One of the most exciting aspects of watching a Blomkamp film is seeing how he handles effects, tech design and CG in general. What we saw in District 9 was impressive but what we see in Elysium is like watching a master advancing his craft right before our eyes and, once again, he has created a visceral world that you want to keep exploring regardless of how depressed it may be. Further to that, everything from the robotics to the weapons, no detail is missed and once again we get some really cool designs and flawless transitions between the real and CG generated world that only the word phenomenal can do it justice. One of the coolest elements is watching the robots patrol and fight with the humans, it feels so real and you don’t even second guess the fact that they are computer generated. Everything about the action and effects is top notch, people need to take notes from this guy and his team.
Apart from the effects, Blomkamp assembled a top notch cast to translate his words to the big screen. Matt Damon was terrific as Max and became this powerful but constantly vulnerable force to be reckoned with. Once he strapped on that exoskeleton armor you could tell it was game on. The surprising scene stealer of the film was Sharlto Copley as the bad ass Earth operative. His character Kruger stands out because rather than being a bounty hunter type character whose sole purpose is to capture and/or kill, he actually develops an ulterior motive, making him a much more threatening and interesting character to follow. Also, the guy is a ruthless combat expert and has a samurai sword strapped to his back, how awesome is that? The same can be said about Jodie Foster’s character and her devious ways which I won’t spoil, but her performance was simply mediocre at best. She plays the protector of the space station who isn’t afraid of getting her hands dirty to protect her home despite what her orders are from the President.
Like in District 9, his social commentary is about as subtle as a pink
elephant but the message doesn’t feel forced as it would in the hands of lesser directors. Blomkamp manages to mask the overt nature of the social themes through his casting choices, action distractions and unreal effects. It also helps that he scatters the delivery of this social commentary because, in actuality, Max could care less about the rest of the people on earth, he just doesn’t want to die, as selfish as that may sound. A desperate man with nothing to lose is a dangerous one but that’s where his old friend Frey (Alice Braga) and her daughter come into play and change things up for him. Oh, and it is barely romance driven which is a huge relief.
Forgive me for not discussing any of the film’s problems but I couldn’t find much to complain about. There is maybe one flashback to Max’s childhood too many near the end of the film, a moment of sappiness for good Hollywood measure and a little too much time focused on Spider, the brains behind Max’s mission but poorly delivered by Wagner Moura. Other than that this is a solid piece of filmmaking. Hell, he even avoids glorifying and focusing on death, when people die it is quick and then the character vanishes, there is no lingering, no long speech, no focus on blood, just death and then we move on, it’s something we don’t see enough of.
In my eyes, Elysium is not a lesser film than District 9 but I can’t say that it’s better either, which isn’t a bad thing at all. Elysium managed to meet my high expectations that I set for Blomkamp’s highly anticipated follow-up though it may not meet others. It had great action, fantastic effects work, solid acting and a terrific story that gives us another example of how sci-fi films today should be made. At this point, Blomkamp has covered race and social class but will he cover age and gender later down the road? Only time will tell, but for now take in Elysium and all of its high tech glory and revel at the feet of Blomkamp because as it stands he’s the only one making exciting and original sci-fi features that are accessible to all audiences.
Rating: An immensely rewarding follow-up to District 9 and a lesson in how to make an excellent and original Sci-Fi film in an era that’s full of cookie cutter reboots and sequels (8.7/10)
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