Review of Elysium (2013) by Jason I — 08 Nov 2014

I was a huge fan of Neill Blomkamp's first film, "District 9," which did a masterful job of mixing smart science fiction that had a point of view and something to say along with some seriously kick-ass action.

Blomkamp is even more overt about his politics this time with a future earth as a wasteland of poverty and disease where good honest folks like Matt Damon toil and do everything and anything to survive, while the wealthy 1% who live on Elysium, the luxurious space station orbiting the rotting earth.

Jodie Foster is the Director of Homeland security for the space station, which means she's in charge of making sure the rabble on each don't sneak onto the palatial diggs of the fabulously wealthy.

At the factory he works at, Damon gets an accidental fatal dose of radiation and is give only days to live, but up on Elysium there exists the medical technology to easily save him. Damon then hooks up with some criminals to crash the luxury space station.

Sharlto Copley, who gave a brilliant performance in "District 9," gives an equally though very different kind of performance here as Foster's shady and amoral fix-it man on earth, who sets out to stop Damon and his cohorts before they ever leave earth.

The action is enough to make this a worthwhile film, but it's the subtext that elevates the film to being something smarter. Touches, like having Damon work in a factory that builds the robot police for that presses the earth bound humans for the wealthy, is one of many small but important details in the film that make it work much better than many films of it's ilk.