“Elysium”
Directed by Neill Blomkamp
Rated R, 109 minutes
Director Neill Blomkamp has done it again, as his newest
dystopian tale, “Elysium,” is an action packed sci-fi epic that offers a heroic
tale of class warfare. The year is 2154 and the earth has become a barren
shantytown thanks overpopulation and lack of resources. Former car thief Max
[Matt Damon] is just trying to survive and has given up his criminal past,
working at a robot factory while staying out of trouble. But after a
radioactive accident at the plant, Max is giving some painkillers and told he
will live for five more days.
Jodie Foster is serious about keeping her home safe
Max’s only hope is to somehow reach Elysium, a space station
orbiting earth that inhabits the rich and famous. Every citizen of Elysium has
a medical machine that can cure all diseases, allowing residents to seemingly
live forever. The only problem, Elysium doesn’t allow visitors and random
shuttle ships trying to reach the clean air and lush lands of Elysium are shot
down and survivors are rounded up and sent back to earth. The person
controlling access and entry to Elysium is Delacourt [Jodie Foster], and she
has no qualms about destroying lives to save her home, but the president and
council see a more peaceful solution to her violent tendency’s. One of those
violent tendencies is an agent by the name of Kruger [Sharlto Copley]. Kruger
is a straight up killing machine and takes care of Delacourt’s dirty work.
The best part of the film by far is Kruger
The film really
gets moving once Max stumbles across his old criminal buddies Julio [Diego
Luna] and Spider [Wagner Moura], who offer him a chance at escaping to Elysium,
but he has to return to his criminal ways. With nothing left to lose and a
friend’s daughter in need of medical care, Max agrees and Spider’s men upgrade
him, adding an exoskeleton and brain chip, allowing Max to fight robots
hand-to-hand and download valuable information.
Max before he gets suited up
Elysium works
thanks to a likeable Damon as the anti-hero just trying to do the right thing,
but really makes the film soar is the unhinged Kruger, who decimates everything
in his path. His weapons provide a lot of gore [lots of bombs sticking to people
and blowing them to bits], which was welcomingly unexpected and his mad dog
mentality keeps the film moving along. Jodie Foster is decent as a conniving
bitch and Alice Braga does her job as Max’s old friend and love interest, but
the action and technology are the film’s best supporting acts.
Blomkamp has
directed two amazing films, and once again I’m very excited for his next project,
as he has created a sci-fi action epic that fans will be talking about for
years to come. If you liked "District 9," go see this movie!
The future is never good in the movies
No comments:
Post a Comment