Elysium - Review

In this futuristic sci-fi directed by Neill Blomkamp, the earth has become diseased and over-populated, leading to the rich boarding shuttles to a man-made space station orbiting earth named Elysium, where diseases can be cured in a heartbeat and a life of luxury is lived by all inhabitant, whilst the poor have to live in poverty and diseased on Earth. Max (Matt Damon) is a factory line worker who hasn't had the best past, trouble with the police has made him a target for both the security guard robots on Earth and also his boss. When one day, Max is directly exposed to radiation in the factory, he is told he has five days to live. In his mind, he has five days to get to Elysium, and this film follows his journey to do just that.

With a plot that features space ships, space stations and robots as recurring characters, Elysium shows off our ability to create truly believable environments through CGI and watching the film excited me regarding the potential of both our current films and also the future of cinema. Earth in the film sees endless tall buildings and crowds of people in a dusty and unclean environment, a chilling reminder of our current population problems and rich/poor divides and an exaggerated portrayal of them being our ruin as a race. Humorous at parts and full of action, the film is just as exciting and enjoyable as it is eerily creepy, with parts reminiscent of a video game, the fight scenes are amazing, Blomkamp presents us with unique angles and ways of showing the action, capturing the audiences attention and making the experience a thrilling one, as opposed to one that gets lost among all the other fight scenes we've ever watched.

The character of Kruger (Sharlto Copley) is presented as a genuinely scary, psychopathic villain. His introduction as a hooded man working undercover on Earth gives him a veiled background and allows our imagination to create our own dark beginnings for the character. His face being destroyed and rebuilt by the technology on Elysium makes him seem almost invincible, that behind all of this technology that is causing disruption and unfairness, there are also terrible humans. Matching Max's strengthened outfit, we feel that Kruger is a genuine threat to our hero's journey and the fight scene between the two near the end of the film was one of my favourite moments. Whilst on the topic of the bad guys, Jodie Foster plays an awful member of the Elysium council, allowing death to happen all around her without her batting an eyelid. Blomkamp has villains sussed out in this film, with the combination of robots and humans, the threat is ever present, seaming the film together with an overwhelming sense of tension throughout.

Outside of the obvious themes, questions are raised regarding our quick technological advancements. The idea that if we were able to simple cure diseases, there would be an injustice, is raised, surely the rich would be entitled to a better service, widening the gap between the poor and the well off and resulting in injustice towards those with little money. A lot of political thoughts came to me after watching this film, it's portrayal of a society gone corrupt enabled me to question for myself the direction in which our world is heading. The scariest part of watching sci-fi films is that elements of truth may be involved, this film is well thought out, beautifully written and oh, so thought provoking. The acclaimed director of District 9 does not disappoint with this wonderful follow up.