Neill Blomkamp surprised a lot of people with his 2009 science fiction thriller “District 9”. While I wasn’t drawn to it, the majority of critics gave it high marks. It would go on to earn four Academy Award nominations including one for Best Picture. His eagerly anticipated follow up comes in the form of “Elysium”, another sci-fi foray soaked in social commentary. It’s a bleak, gritty, and violent film with high ambition and a much bigger budget.
Blomkamp once again writes and directs the movie which starts with a pretty heavy-handed setup. Blatantly obvious political statements on immigration, healthcare, and class warfare are thrown at the audience without an ounce of tact or subtlety. In fact it’s so painfully obvious that I started rolling my eyes and began to dread what was ahead. But to my surprise the film steers away from that and instead of shoving its positions in our face it allows them to simmer underneath the surface which definitely better serves the movie.
The story basically goes like this – in the distant future Earth is an impoverished and overpopulated planet. People struggle against starvation, disease, and a brutish robot police force. But while the poor make up the Earth’s population, the rich upper-class live on a luxurious space station community known as Elysium. This orbital paradise features mansions, lush gardens, and machines able to cure any health problem instantly. But here’s the catch – only the wealthy and powerful are allowed on Elysium and there are strict government and military bodies that enforce that rule. As I said, not an ounce of subtlety.
Enter Max De Costa (Matt Damon), a struggling assembly line worker on Earth who has an accident which exposes him to lethal amounts of radiation. He learns he has only five days to live, but he’s not ready to kick the bucket just yet. He has to get to Elysium for treatment so he makes a deal with an underground smuggler. In exchange for a trip he must steal some important information from a corrupt military contractor. Seeing Max’s failing health, the smuggler has his doctors implant him with a super-strength robotic exoskeleton and cerebral implant to help with the mission. But Elysium’s Defense Secretary Jessica Delacourt (Jodie Foster) also wants that information for her own nefarious reasons and she will do anything to get it.
Oddly enough “Elysium” drastically changes course as the film goes along. It moves from an obvious heavy-handed social critique to a fairly conventional sci-fi action flick. It uses several all too familiar approaches and it’s fairly easy to gain a sense of how things are going to end. That said, Blomkamp’s pacing is spot on. He keeps things moving which keeps the audience attached. He also has wonderful visual senses. The movie looks great whether it’s the big sweeping location shots or the intense and sometimes brutal action (and there is quite a bit of it). I loved the contrasting aesthetics between the dirty, rundown vision of Los Angeles (which was actually filmed in the Mexico City area) and the spotless Eden-like Elysium. Blomkamp has an unquestionable knack for visual filmmaking.
Matt Damon is a solid choice to portray a ‘regular guy’. There’s not a lot of flash or bravado to his performance. He’s not a bold or larger-than-life character. In fact I would call him a very atypical hero and that works well within the story. But then there is Jodie Foster. I have no idea what she’s doing in this movie. Her erratic performance is all over the map and her accent morphs from French to British to something I’ve never heard before. I also thought Sharlto Copley was pretty bad as a ruthless sleeper agent who works for Delacourt. He certainly looks the part but that’s it. I don’t know if it’s his voice or his line delivery but nearly all of his dialogue feels terribly off. But thankfully this is Damon’s movie and he carries most of the load.
There’s no doubt that Neill Blomkamp is a gifted visual storyteller. I loved the overall look of “Elysium” from the futuristic technologies to the locations. I also thought the action scenes popped with intensity and grit. Unfortunately his writing prompts the question mark. Early on he uses a mighty broad brush to paint his social/political landscape and later the movie turns into a fairly conventional action film – two issues that I think keeps “Elysium” from being the really good movie that we get glimpses of. Still it has its moments. and as conventional as it may be, the action and pure visual spectacle keep it from being a total loss.
keithandthemovies.com 
Yes, totally agree with your review. Visually stunning but lacking the ability for me to care for any of the characters because they were devoid of any depth.
It had its good moments for sure but it also had enough shortcomings. Ultimately it was very mediocre.
Yeah, Jodie Foster felt out of place in this movie didn’t she? It wasn’t a bad movie it just turned out to be more conventional than I’d anticipated like you mentioned. Great review Keith!
Thanks so much. You’re right. It certainly isn’t the high science fiction that I know many we’re expecting. Not terrible, but pretty mediocre.
Maybe not nearly as subtle with what point it was trying to drive home like District 9, but still an exciting thriller all the same. And that’s all I really wanted in the first place. Good review Keith.
Thanks! It had some good moments for sure. But man it turned out to be pretty generic. Kinda expected more.
Still not caught up with this. Sounds pretty disappointing after District 9, which I absolutely loved. Nice review mate.
I was mixed on D9 so my expectations weren’t as high as most. I’m glad of that now. It was a very so-so picture.
Yeah, totally average this one. Promised much but ultimately delivered little. Nothing close to District 9 despite the bigger budget.
It’s a shame really. It shows signs of real life but it flounders it with its faults. Should have been a lot better than it was.
Nice review Keith. Personally I didn’t like the fact that it dropped all the thinly-veiled social criticism for the conventional action, I wish it had carried on with that tack, even though I agree it wasn’t subtle at all. It just seemed to turn into a series of Damon v Copley fights (with a few disposable others thrown in for good measure) and I ended up a little bored as a result. Still, I’m with you on Copley’s performance – not great at all – and I thought it was visually very impressive, particularly the first half.
For me the heavy-handed commentary and the conventional action both worked against it. I guess I was hoping for messaging that wasn’t so obvious and action that defied convention. We get glimpses of the later but certainly not enough.
I really liked this film. No D9 it is not but I thought it was more than entertaining and a perfect end to the summer, and the issues really didn’t feel forced to me.
I would have liked to see more backstory on Elysium though and I do think the film could have benefited from a longer runtime (15-20 minutes) but all in all it was one of my favorites last year. And some people hate Copley, but I believe he stole the show here. Equal parts menace and hilarity.
We didn’t had different experiences but that’s what makes movies so great. Each film can effect different people different ways. Glad you had fun with it.
Interesting… I do mean to see this one as I liked (but didn’t love) D9. Judging by your thoughts here I won’t be rushing out to grab the DVD!
I’m with you on D9! Unlike most, I wasn’t just blown away by it. This one wont do it either. It has good spots but it will leave you wanting.
I was quite disappointed by this one Keith, as I’m a big fan of District 9. I agree Blomkamp is a gifted visual storyteller and he had some intriguing ideas but this became an action extravaganza that lost its heart. I didn’t really care for Damon’s character the way I felt for Copley’s Wikus in D-9, that’s still one of my fave sci-fi films as I found it to be very moving.
This one certainly doesn’t have the staying power. I wasn’t crazy about D9 but I know many really love it. This one was far more conventional and even though the visuals shine at times, ultimately it was fairly forgettable.
Great review. The finale of this one really let it down – it becomes predictable sci-fi action fare and the bad guys are very stereotypical too. I hope Blompkamp returns to something quirkier next time.
You explained it very well. That’s exactly how I felt. Not sure why it had to go the more conventional route but it really let the movie down.
Surprisingly dull and the fights where unwatchable 😦
Yep. It really should have been better. It was a definite missed chance.
On my most anticipated list that year 😦
Couldn’t even bring myself to review it 😦
It seems to have let down a lot of people. Really unfortunate. So much potential there.
I liked this more than you but I agree that Foster and Copley were both awful.
I felt it was very average. It did have some good moments though. The action was pretty intense.
Great review here Keith. I must say I really, really didn’t like this movie, not one little bit. Looked pretty and all that but MEH. Not cool!
It really didn’t have much under the hood, did it? So much potential but hardly any if it realized. What a shame.
No, it really didn’t. And Copley really made us locals look like absolute tools… I still have not gotten over the sting of how awful that was…
This really could have been something more.
Nice review. I agree, the movie was pretty messy at times. Some of the action was enjoyable but Elysium doesn’t really distinguish itself very well.
Did you get the feeling that there was a ton of potential for a really great movie here? That’s what I left thinking.
Good review, Keith. This flick bored me. Could have been much better and the visuals and action weren’t unique enough for me to give it a re-watch. (even with Foster being really kick ass) Kind of a mixed bag. Nice work, bro.
Thanks. Did you leave with the feeling that it should’ve been a lot better than it was? I know I did.
Oh yeah, big time. The film was really generic in parts and felt incomplete or under-accomplished.
I think that ultimately the expectations were to high for this film. I really enjoyed it, but it was no where as good or unique as District 9.
I liked them both about the same honestly. I liked D9 but didn’t exactly love it. Both had good moments though.
Think I enjoyed this film a bit more than you and more than I probably would, if I saw it again now, because I saw it at the cinema. The cinema effect as I like to call it lol.
I can see where the big screen could influence the film. That is certainly the case with an assortment of movies.
Definitely. Think one of my favourite things about Elysium was the visuals and Matt Damon’s performance. I was left a little disappointed with Sharlto Copley, most because the role he was given was awful!
Copley was pretty terrible. He was like some weird caricature that I never could buy into.
And this coming from the guy who gave us Vickers! Massive fan of District 9.