This makes two, two times Neil Blomkamp has blown my mind. The first time he did it was with the amazing and compelling District 9. When that movie was done, I practically floated out of the theater. I thought that movie then, in the summer of 2009, was the best film of that year. It was great story telling and it had a gritty realism that most science fiction movies just don't possess. The story was profoundly original and sadly common all at the same time, much like Elysium. Even though I loved that movie, I wasn't a fan of Blomkamp's yet. I've been blown away by directors before, only to have their follow up film suck, so I was cautious here. I was wondering what Blomkamp's next film was going to be, would it be the follow up to District 9, say District 10 which was hinted to at the end of D9, or would it be something different. It was indeed something different, and it was spectacular.
Elysium stars Matt Damon as Max, a one time thief who is just trying to get by. He's no longer stealing cars, he's instead working on an assembly line helping to construct the automated police of the day. The movie gives you great back story on Max and his relationship in a orphanage with Frey, played by Alice Braga. Max has never forgotten her, and when a little dust up occurs with the automated police force, Max is forced to go to the over crowded hospital. There, his nurse is Frey and Max can't believe his luck. He hounds her for a date and she eventually relents. When they were younger, Max told her he would get them both to Elysium, the orbiting habitat for the wealthy and their families which is overseen by Delacourt, played ruthlessly by Jodie Foster. She will do whatever it takes to make sure things on Elysium stay just the way they are. If that means killing people, then so be it. Max however, is determined to keep his promise.
Max has an accident at work and has days to live. He knows if he can get to Elysium, and get on one of the med pods that he can be cured. He sees his old employer Spider, played by Wagner Moura and Spider proposes one last job and then he'll get Max a ride to the station. The job is an information hijacking which goes horribly wrong thanks to the vicious Kruger, played by the talented Sharlto Copley. Kruger is an agent of Delacourt and she needs the information Max and his boys are trying to hijack. That is just he beginning of this joy ride, Blomkamp puts his foot down on the gas when all parties eventually get to Elysium, and he never thinks about hitting the brakes.
The look of Elysium feels like a cross between Tron: Legacy and District 9. On earth, where the poor and the destitute live, it's a harsh reality full of shanty towns, favelas, and dust. Up on Elysium everything is shiny, new, and a wonder to behold. Everyone on earth wants to be a citizen of Elysium since earth has become an overpopulated, over polluted, toxic dump. Written by the director, Neil clearly shows the delineating line between the haves and the have nots, and the desperation of the populous to just get a taste of what the wealthy minority are enjoying. Cinematographer Trent Opaloch, who shot District 9 does a magnificent job of capturing everything from the flight of the ships to the hand to hand fighting, though it would have been nicer if those moments were filmed with hand held cameras. It got hard to make out what was going on at times. Scored brilliantly by first time film composer Ryan Amon, the music is at times both epic and at other times very poignant. Sometimes it's both of those together which gives Elysium the perfect accent to what's on the screen. I highly recommend Elysium, especially if you want to see one of the best films of the Summer, and I'll see you at the theater.
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