Elysium [DVD]

Neil Blomkamp has done it again and shown us that "District 9" was not a one-trick pony. His part-dystopian, part-visionary look into a futuristic Earth set in the 22nd century is a fantastic spectacle laced with some social commentary.Matt Damon plays the hero of this action-drama set in a future in which human society on Earth has suffered significant decay. Those with wealth and means have escaped the planetary bounds to live in an artificial ring-world habitat called Elysium in orbit about the planet. As the story unfolds, it soon becomes clear that those who live in Elysium are in power and have the best that modern science and technology has to offer to support their lives, while the masses on Earth live in squalor in a police-state society.Damon's character is a factory worker with a criminal past that is just scraping by when misfortune enters his life. The only way out for him is to reach Elysium, but citizens from Earth are apparently almost never allowed to go there. His journey to try to get there requires desperate measures that set up an action-driven plotline laced with elements of drama and a bit of political intrigue.I love both the look and intensity of this film. Neil Blomkamp shows us a future that is technologically-advanced in a plausible way , but that also contains some sobering and somewhat terrifying elements. The story is accessible and easy to relate to without unnecessary complication, and yet the society we are shown has a depth and complexity that makes it compelling and all too real. Although we are not given much of the history that leads to this future, it is not hard to extrapolate from certain elements of current human society and accept this as one plausible outcome.I would have loved to have spent more time being immersed in this world, but what's there is a self-contained story that should leave most viewers satisfied with time well spent. Our solace for having to leave is that Blomkamp is still early in his career as a writer and director, and we can hope to see much more of his creativity and storytelling in years to come.

Blonkamp's vision is soo original and developed in extreme depth, it's hard not to be completely fascinated by the world he proposes. Even for brief scenes, enormous amounts of prop development and preproduction are brought to bear. This movie is very well edited, and very economic in it's character development. The memory scenes of Max and a small boy are so critical to our understanding of the antagonist. I have watched this movie over 20 times, and I still love the pace. There is no movie structured like this. There are some huge leaps that are easy to accept once you understand that they each move the action forward at a hectic rate. This movie starts off at 100% and there is not a single moment to rest until the end. One thing I like about Blonkamp's aesthetic is how character death is never the result of a bullet being fired, though there are many fired. He likes to display the cheapness and uselessness of bullets, preferring a sword, a fist fight, or some exotic explosive to be the killing blow. This is a stand alone movie, it begins and ends very conclusively. I wish it could have been universally popular enough for a company to make toys, because the robots and airships are soo awesome. The scene of Damon getting roughed up by the street cop robots is some of the best cinema of all time.

A friend recommended this move with some reservations and I decided to purchase it and see what I thought about it myself. First of all, there isn't a Sci Fi movie that I didn't like at least a little. Also, I'll admit, that I am also a Matt Damon and Jodie Foster Fan. So, how did Matt do? His character, Max, is all grown up into a street thug on parole in a run down city of the future. He clearly knows how to act the part and plays the role really well - that's the thing about Matt Damon, he never lets you know he's just acting. Then there is Jodie Foster. Clearly she is playing a sophisticated security chief and does it well with an accent and an element of sophistication and deviousness, which is a polar opposite of Matt Damon's role, at least from the space station perspective. The plot was just a tad bit thin, but it's enough to keep my attention throughout the movie. Its not one of those plots that jumps out at the last minute, or keeps you wondering what it is. Its like a rail road train, you know where you are going the minute the train left the station. But, if its a trip from one end of the country to another, what route you take is another story. And that is what Elysium is all about. There are really great special affects. Just how do you get an atmosphere that you can breathe in space without an airlock and have it seem possible to us Sci Fi movie buffs? Watch and see. And what will the rich do with all that money someday? Well, it just figures! This movie has heroes, and sacrifice. It also has crazy people working for the bad guys, and only slightly crazy people who are fighting for a better way of life for everyone else. Its a possible outcome of our own world, the separation of classes, if we keep going down the path we are going, or at least one possible outcome if we do. The movie made me think, and I like movies that make me think. Besides a thin plot, and supporting actors that are just a bit more than mediocre, the 'aha' moment allows you to forgive the shortcomings of this movie and wonder what you would do. After all, its a wonderful life, or at least it could be. If you are a thinker, this movie is perfect for Christmas time!