In 2009, director Neill Blomkamp blew audiences away with his
sci-fi thriller DISTRICT 9, which also served as his statement on social divide
and racism. Here in 2013, Blomkamp once again uses a similar backdrop to fuel
his newest Earth-bound sci-fi film, ELYSIUM.
In the year 2154, the rich and famous live on a space
station called Elysium, which is free from disease and poverty and can cure any
ailment with its technology. The rest of civilization lives on the diseased and
devastated planet Earth as third-class citizens. Max (Matt Damon) is a
factory-worker/ex-con who gets infected with a deadly virus. He hooks up with
his old prison mates to make a run at Elysium, which is protected by a
power-hungry defense secretary (Jodie Foster) and her mad-dog bounty hunter
(Sharlto Copley).
ELYSIUM spends a lot of time setting up Max’s back-story and
character, which is mostly centered on his childhood friend (played as an adult
by Alice Braga). Once things get rolling and the plot tries to escape the
confines of Earth, ELYSIUM suddenly becomes sci-fi for dummies. Plot points and
character motivations are spelled out bluntly and with a heavy-hand, and then
repeated over and over as if the audience were a bunch of third-graders in need
of repetition. With so much repetitiveness and blunt storytelling, the film
loses its rhythm and flow, and ultimately its own heartbeat. It doesn’t take
long before you realize ELYSIUM isn’t a very fun place to be.
There are still some good elements to enjoy from a sci-fi
perspective. Director Neill Blomkamp has shot a visually stunning film;
everything from the Earth-bound slums to the beauty of outer-space are
presented in breathtaking visuals. The sci-fi tech is probably the real star of
the show; everything from robots, aerial vehicles, weapons, bio-mechanical
suits, to computers are impressive and put to good use. As impressive as the
visuals are Blomkamp seems to forget to drive home the point of why Earth is
such a terrible place to live; we are simply told and that makes things less
desperate. Action scenes are decent to very good, although some suffer from way
too much goddamn shaky-cam.
Acting is mixed bag. Matt Damon does for the most part OK,
but he never seems to get it out of first gear. Sharlto Copley is the most
entertaining out of it all; again showing great range as his savage character
is a real force to be reckoned with. Copley however too often falls into a
cartoon character and his monologues are border-line laughable. The real
head-scratcher of the film belongs to Jodie Foster, whose stupid character
could have been played by anybody considering how little of an impact she has.
She also has a bizarre accent which is an odd combination of South African and
French and also manages to disappear now and then.
The finale wraps things up nice and tight and suddenly turns
what was a very personal story for Max into a much wider, global-impacting
event. By then it is too late, because when the smoke clears you can’t help but
to think that ELYSIUM is a missed opportunity to create an important,
thinking-man’s sci-film. Its ambition shoots for the skies, but only makes it
so far.
BOTTOM LINE: Rent it
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