Synopsis:
In the year 2154, two classes of people exist: the very wealthy, who live on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium, and the rest, who live on an overpopulated, ruined Earth. The people of Earth are desperate to escape the planet's crime and poverty, and they critically need the state-of-the-art medical care available on Elysium - but some in Elysium will stop at nothing to enforce anti-immigration laws and preserve their citizens' luxurious lifestyle. The only man with the chance bring equality to these worlds is Max (Matt Damon), an ordinary guy in desperate need to get to Elysium. With his life hanging in the balance, he reluctantly takes on a dangerous mission - one that pits him against Elysium's Secretary Delacourt (Jodie Foster) and her hard-line forces - but if he succeeds, he could save not only his own life, but millions of people on Earth as well. -- (C) Sony
Story:
If you've read the synopsis, that is basically what happened in the movie but upon watching it there are some few twists and turns that worked because it made sense. Having said that, there are some scenes that were questionable and you wished that it could have been done better or it could have been shown with a much better explanation.
Despite this problem though, the rest of the story was executed well and as a whole the movie was basically a metaphor for health care. Like D9 (which was figuratively like the apartheid in South Africa), this movie was able to show how we deal about health care despite being in a future timeline, the only difference I can see is that this one has robots and a space station.
All in all, I liked the story in this movie I just wished that some of them were executed better and also I wished that it was longer 'cause it felt a bit rushed and I think it could have added a bit more depth to the story and it might also add more drama into it.
Acting:
Matt Damon headlines this movie as Max Da Costa, he was a complete bad-ass in the role and I actually liked what he did with his character, at first he was this vulnerable character who was just getting along in life and doing what he can to earn some cash and go to Elysium. That is until some incident happen and he becomes this bad-ass with this robotic exo-skeleton. He was very good in the role but like I said the movie could have been longer to show more drama and this will help to show more of the character.
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| Sharlto Copley as Kruger Just look at how awesome this guy looks like |
Despite having Matt Damon as the lead actor and character in the movie, he was not the best thing in this movie. It was Sharlto Copley as Kruger, this guy is such a good actor in fact he is now one of my favorite actors. He was this defenseless human in D9 then he was this danger loving daredevil in The A-Team and now he's this evil and sadistic villain in Elysium. From the moment he appears onscreen you will know that he is the THREAT in the film, his performance was definitely one of the highlights of this film and this is a villain you just love to hate. One more thing that I loved with his character is his heavy South African accent, sure it was very hard to understand but it surely added some creepiness to the character and you will know that he is not one to f*ck with.
Action./Violence:
In my opinion, this movie does not have that many action sequences, having said that though, whenever an action scene shows up, it just kicks in to fifth gear and drives you to this awesome spectacle of well shot and well choreographed action sequences.
Not only that, the action was also very violent much like D9, *SPOILER* there was one scene where the bomb goes off and this guy's face just peels right off his face *SPOILER* it was gnarly and uber- realistic you can almost believe that that happened right on front of you.
The gunfights and fistfights was shown well the only thing that was bothering during this moment was the shaky cam which was really unnecessary.
Music:
Ryan Amon's score was brilliant and it fits really well to the scene their in. I liked how he mixed different musics to calming music and it really gives the movie an edgier and more grim tone. What I also like about the score was that at times it gives this glimmer of hope to the audience that the characters in the movie will indeed be safe, it's like you will feel security among the characters. But whenever Kruger appears the score just jumps up a notch and gives this tremendous threatening score that really fits with Kruger.
Cinematography/ VFX:
This is one beautiful film to look at, why? Because it was shot on real location and it was majestic even though what you can see are bad environment. The shots were good especially if there's an action sequence involved, the inclusion of motion blur when the characters movie was a nice touch and was done perfectly (unlike in R.I.P.D.) the only thing that was really bothering was the shaky cam, it was a bit too much and in my opinion it could have been much better if it was shot steadily.
The VFX was also brilliant, Blomkamp sure does know how to make a movie look authentic despite having massive amounts of CGI. The robot enforcers was done well, the cargo ships and other ships was really realistic and the gadgets was really awesome most notably how Kruger's shield work, it was just pure a "WOW" moment.
Direction:
Blomkamp can definitely make one good looking movie while looking very authentic and also he's able to balance out the substance of the film which was a really good thing because he was able to not just focus on one thing. He's also good at directing action scenes as he was able to show it all and he was not backing down on showing how violent it can be. One thing I didn't like in this direction though is it felt a bit rushed at times which left me a bit underwhelming but it's only a minor problem.
Overall:
While not being as good as District 9, this is still a unique and a great sci-fi film in it's own right. The cinematography and visual effects are great, the score was brilliant and the acting is good especially Sharlto Copley who just steals the show whenever he appears. I hope to see more of Copley and Blomkamp tandem as they are just really good working together.
Grade:
Favorite line/s and exchange of lines:
Nun: Remember where you come from.
Max Da Costa: I promise you, one day I'll take you to Elysium.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Secretary Delacourt: Activate Kruger
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Kruger: I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN!
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