Elysium
Director: Neill Blomkamp
Cast: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Alice Braga, and William Fichtner.
Rated R for strong bloody violence and language throughout.
In 2009, South African filmmaker Neill Blomkamp put himself on the map with his wildly original take on the sci-fi genre with District 9. Now, his highly anticipated follow-up to his Oscar nominated debut comes to theaters this weekend. Elysium may be more mainstream than District 9, but nevertheless Blomkamp continues to show his strengths with tremendous visual effects, wholly imagined settings, and great action spectacle.
Elysium is set over a hundred years in the future and Earth has become a wasteland due to over-population and pollution. The wealthy have decided to abandon their homes and have sought a new paradise on the enormous space station known as Elysium. There they have all the decadence they could want, and the health care is unimaginable with medical bays that can mend just about any disease or handicap. Matt Damon plays Max, an orphan who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. He has a job working for a droid/weapons manufacturer and after being exposed to a deadly dose of radiation, he learns that he has five days to live. Now, more than ever, he must get to Elysium to be cured and he is determined to get there at all costs.
There is more to Elysium than what the trailers show, but it's better to see it all unfold without having the whole thing spelled out for you. It is not without flaws in its story, but there are some visually stimulating action sequences and some wonderful performances, particularly from Sharlto Copley who plays the villainous Agent Kruger. This will come as a shock to many, but Sharlto played the lead role in District 9 and was also cast as the hilarious Mad Murdock in the film adaptation of The A-Team. Here, he is more unrecognizable than ever. He is a true madman and you are generally afraid of what he might do when he is onscreen, because you know that there is nothing he won't do to hunt down his target, which so happens to be Damon's character, Max. Jodie Foster plays a ruthless Secretary of Defense for Elysium who gives Agent Kruger his commands. There were times when I really liked Foster's performance, and then there were other moments when she just didn't fit, particularly with her odd accent which sounded like a cross between French and South African. Not quite sure what she was going for there. Matt Damon is solid as the antihero of the film and is believable in all that his character must endure.
Though Elysium may not be the jaw-dropper that District 9 was, it is still a solid entry into the action, sci-fi genre. Blomkamp should be credited for his unique storytelling and masterful handling of visual effects. I look forward to seeing what he will create for audiences in the future, and I sincerely hope he continues to work with actor/friend Sharlto Copley. Seriously, this movie would not have been half as good were it not for Copley's fierce portrayal of Kruger. He has entered into the higher echelon of movie villains.
RATING: A-
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