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Elysium (2013), R, 3 stars

Matt Damon in action.
It's 2154. The 1% of the human population live on Elysium, an advanced utopian space station where the wealthy live secluded from the rest of the others. The space station is built by a advanced machinery factory. The rest of the population live on a ravaged Earth full of garbage and debris that has a dystopian look. They do not have much food, money and many people are contracted with sickness and weak health. 

Many poor and unhealthy immigrants are obligated to get into Elysium to cure some sickness in a medical pod that basically looks like the med pod from "Prometheus". Jodie Foster plays Secretary Delacourt who does not mind killing immigrants, even women and children, who enter the barrier into Elysium. She employs Kruger (Sharlto Copley), a vicious mercenary, to kill them. She basically wants to control the presidency and because of her actions, Kruger is let go and fired.

Max De Costa (Matt Damon) is a parolee on Earth who lives on a poorly rugged Los Angeles. He works for the factory that built Elysium headed by Carlyle (William Fichtner). After an accident in the factory, he is exposed to radiation which a medical robot tells him that he will die in 5 days. How extravagant. Even, the robot gives him pills to be functional till he dies. Anyway, he needs help to get into Elysium to cure himself from dying.

He gets help from Julio (Diego Luna) to take him to Spider (Wagner Moura) to get a ticket to Elysium. Because of his weakness, he wears an exoskeleton to protect him and get information from Carlyle in exchange of a free ticket to Elysium.

Anyhow, the other plotline is that he meets childhood friend, Frey (Alice Braga), who has a daughter that has leukemia that is in dire need to get to the space station. She and her daughter really need Max's help.

Jodie Foster as Secretary Delacourt
Elysium is a visionary achievement in terms of the grandeur of the look of the space station. The action sequences are quite exciting on Earth and on the space station. The fight sequences between Max and Kruger are intense in its tension. But, I'm afraid to say that the intelligence in its political and health issues are faint. It does not tell how the Earth got so dirty in the first place. The story does not tell us why there is a separation of wealth and health between these two worlds in the first place. Although, there is an immigration act in the movie, what exactly does it entail?

Matt Damon gives a compelling performance who takes control of the situation of saving his life. Jodie Foster is a great actress but she gives one of the weakest performances of her career. I cannot exemplify what accent she is modulating. Sharlto Copley, though, is center stage as the villain who is quite tough by doing his job and not afraid of killing people.

Neill Blomkamp, after his exceptional debut from making District 9, made a slight downfall with this movie. The movie creates a lot of tension in this story, but not enough intelligence to make Elysium a great movie. It is a slightly disappointing, but solid sci-fi movie.

***

Comments

  1. TomAugust 22, 2013 at 5:39 PM

    Yeah, I totally agree, it just lacked the depth I think many were hoping for.

    ReplyDelete

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