Elysium Review
The plot of Elysium is something that I feel is born from the Philip K. Dick fountain of influence. There is Earth in the far off future of two thousand, one hundred and fifty four. The land is a wasteland and resources are scarce. Then there is Elysium, a space station that floats above Earth where the rich live in comfort as-well as devoid of worries. Elysium also has pods that can literally cure anyone of anything, this of course makes them very desirable. The poor risk everything to get to Elysium and into one of those pods where they can be cured of infection, from disability, to cancer.
We then meet Max (Matt Damon) a working stiff on Earth who has a past of stealing. One day he accidentally gets a lethal dose of radiation where he is given five days to live. Max needs to get to Elysium, he seeks the help of a gangster friend that specializes in transporting Earth people to Elysium, but Max is weak from the radiation so he gets equipped with an exo-skeleton where he can now pull his own weight as well as a few others.
The movies look is like that of District 9, with a dusty garbage filled world that is on the brink of the air being breathable and its shot in shaky cam. At least on Earth. What makes the movie interesting is that the visuals and the style of directing changes for the scenes that take place on Elysium, the sets are clean and colorful and the shots are executed with super smooth cinematography, like in 2001. It is a smart move that shows Blomkamp's growth as a director.
Our villain is Kruger, a sadistic agent for Elysium who has to get his hands very, very dirty and that's just fine with him. He's played by Sharlto Copley, who has worked with Blomkamp before in District 9, in that movie he was the pahlawan and here he gets to switch it up as a villain. Copley is an amazing actor and I just want to keep seeing him in more and more stuff. It is amazing that he is capable of pulling off a complete one-eighty in his acting, from a small scared guy to a big scary villain.
The other characters are all either greatly or decently executed. Jodie Foster plays Jessica Delcourt, the head of defense of Elysium, she is one of those dragon ladies that rules the environment that shes in with efficiency and minimal expression. Wagner Moura plays Max's gangster friend who is the head gangster for a reason, he's pretty smart and even a good person deep down. We also meet Max's old childhood sweetheart Frey, played by Alice Braga, who is one of those characters who wants to do the right thing for her child.
What this movie does so well that is so essential to science fiction movies that most people forget is world building. If you don't build the world then the audience will be lost and confused and reject the situation and the characters because they cant accept their surrounding that they are in. Elysium's world is one that is thought out and executed well. We understand how everything works and the economics and politics of the world. Elysium is in the same vein as District 9, but its so in the same vein that I wonder why it wasn't just announced that this is a spinoff, or at least a spiritual sequel.
District 9 had a rock bottom budget (for a science fiction movie) of thirty million. Here Blomkamp gets an extra one hundred million to play with and it shows and is payed off. The C.G.I. is great looking and the scope of the movie is appreciated. There is also so much loving attention to detail in this dirty, lived in world.
Blomkamp has indeed delivered a solid movie here but he needs to look into other influences or different genres to take because if he doesn't he will become a one trick pony. This is a word of caution not a negative. Either way if you've seen District 9 then you'll enjoy this movie even if it seems a bit less new but still with that in mind a really good movie is still a really good movie.
Rating: 3 1/2 stars out of 4
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar