Neil Blomkamp, for this year, is charged with the task of injecting in that last bit of Summer, Science Fiction fun. But does he succeed with Elysium?
The director of District 9 is back again with another Sci Fi movie which gives us planet Earth 150 years in the future. The Earth itself is dense and overpopulated, it's dirty and horrible. The people that live there are forced to work in crappy jobs and are treated appallingly by a group of machines who patrol the streets. However, society is divided in this movie. For the wealthy of the world live in a constructed space habitat called Elysium, where they can have any disease cured and live in sublime comfort. The system is fairly corrupt and it's up to Matt Damon (who has a robotic suit drilled into his bones) to go up from Earth to Elysium and bring equality to the divided civilization.
I don't know about you, but that sounds awesome!!
I suppose the best place to start is with Matt Damon's character- the film's protagonist. The guy has proved he can play a similar role when he played Jason Bourne, but is he good in this movie? Short answer is yes he bloody does! I really rooted for his character throughout the entire movie which can not be said for many movies I have seen this year. He's relatable, his character has some form of depth which makes him believable to audiences. He's everything a protagonist should be and more. He also holds his own in some of the fight and action sequences as a bonus.
Jodie Foster is also in this movie- she plays a politician who practically runs the whole Elysium system. Her performance isn't memorable or even really that good to be honest. In no way is she bad because she is not a bad actress. But I couldn't help but feel that anybody could have played her role and do things as well as she did. Some of her lines weren't as enthusiastically delivered as I would have wanted them to be and they felt as if they were just tying up elements of the script.
But the man who steals the show has got to be Sharlto Copely, the villain. I was so convinced by this guy's performance. I genuinely thought that the character he was playing was truly insane! He has the stature, the presence and that menacing quality all good movie villains should have. Some of his lines are delivered so well that they are kind of disturbing! Great performance! One of the best movie villains of 2013. He also reminds me of Javier Bardem's character in Skyfall, which is weird!
Overall, I think the movie is just as long as it should be plus is paced very well indeed. The action sequences and character development scenes all transition well with each other and there is enough of both to satisfy a viewer who wants to see a cool summer movie.
The fight scenes themselves are pretty cool. The action is varied. The special effects are impressive as well. But my favourite part of the movie in terms of it's technical side were the machines. They looked cool and menacing, they walked correctly. Little things like that just make a movie a lot better to me!
The movie also does such a good job at raising the stakes. If Matt Damon succeeds: the world succeeds! If Matt Damon fails; the world will be divided forever. Nothing in between! That is what I'm talking about!
But, moment of silence. The bloody shaky cam. Why oh why?!It just takes you out of the movie so much. The world and the story itself are just so engrossing yet shaky cam action scenes take me out of the movie entirely. It doesn't need to be there!!! For goodness sake its such a let down! Also, I think that slow motion effects are used too much in this movie as well.
As for the visual look of this movie, yes, it is very impressive. It has to make the viewer feel like there is a huge contrast between the wealth and beauty of Elysium and the grit and desperation of Earth. This movie does that to a treat!
Now, normally that would be it for a review of a Science Fiction movie. This is pretty much how I structured my Pacific Rim, Wolverine and Iron Man 3 reviews. This movie is better than Pacific Rim and the Wolverine and probably on the same level as Iron Man 3, in my opinion (Iron Man 3 was ridiculously enjoyable, I must have seen it on a good day)!
This is simply down to one thing. Heart. Blomkamp put heart into this movie. He created and wrote a Science Fiction, Summer action movie and poured in heart, passion and substance. It does lack a lot in modern movies so I can only praise the man! This movie takes all of the summer action and amalgamates in real-life social issues which make the movie more relatable and enjoyable. It just steps up a couple of ratings when a movie does that.
If you do see this movie, don't compare it to District 9. Its not as clever but its still downright enjoyable plus involves real life issues within society within the movie.
So a great hero, a great villain, good pacing, cool action and special effects (minus the f****** shaky cam!), it adds in social issues as a bonus. All of these come together to give my rating, which is as follows:
Rating - A-
1 sentence summary - A last bit of summer fun and action, with the director's heart and passion poured into it!
Summer is over now! Film reviews will be more spaced from now on. But there are many films that are coming out between now and the end of the year I will review for you. Also, if a movie came out in early 2013 and I deem it worthy of a review, I will give it to you! For now, stay tuned...
Thanks for reading,
Matt
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