Review of Elysium (2013) by Shawn A — 16 Mar 2015

Neill Blomkamp's second film doesn't quite reach the soaring heights of District 9, but on its own ground, Elysium is still a solid movie.

So, in the world of the film, Earth has become vastly overpopulated by the mid 22nd Century. It's pretty much a giant shithole, and the social elites of society don't really find it too desirable. So after pooling together all their money, the rich folks leave Earth entirely, and now live on this artificial ring world known as Elysium. After suffering a freak accident, a man with mere days to live will become the last hope for the people of both worlds.

Blomkamp has a knack for writing badass science fiction stories, that also present us with a social issue still ever present in our own society. If there was one problem I have with this film, it's that it is very loud when it comes to presenting us with said message. Sure, it's still relevant, but it's just in your face so much at points you'd think the movie is driving it through your skull with a freakin' power tool. It's not as bad as Avatar in that regard, but the film got pretty preachy at times. Neill, I appreciate that you want to get a point across, but it works better when said meaning is a bit more subtle.

Anywho, there's plenty of things that this movie absolutely nails. The story itself was very well told, and the two bipolar worlds of Earth and Elysium were incredibly well realized. The scenes taking place on Elysium were nothing short of stunning. They were beautiful to look at, and were dripping with colour and futuristic atmosphere. The majority of the characters were very well acted, but the only three that really stood out to me were Jodie Foster, Matt Damon, and Sharlto Copley. William Fichtner did seem to be having a lot of fun with his role, and that in turn made his brief appearances very fun to watch. I do wish there was more action though. I feel pretty juvenile saying that, but when I see some asshole get ripped limb from limb by a weapon simply labelled as a "Chemrail" I wanna see more of that.

While it gets pretty darn preachy at times with its message, Elysium is still a solid movie. Some popcorn fun, as well as some brains.