The storyline is not always as inspired as the production design and the convincing fusion of the practical and the computer generated, but the second film by the director of District 9 is still the best of this season's big-budget action entertainments. The level of detail in each frame, both in the overpopulated wasteland which is L.A. of the future and on the title space station where the wealthiest people live in beautiful mansions and receive advanced medical care denied to the thronging population below, is astonishing, though I wish the world of Elysium were explored in greater depth beyond the epicurean surface. The image of men, including on-point star Matt Damon, wearing oversize metal combat suits which render them lumbering deliverers of blunt-force trauma represents the spectacle of the Transformers franchise staged on a more arresting and brutal human scale, and the plentiful action sequences provide the level of excitement and motion audiences hope for when they see this type of film. The film's exploration of economic social division via a science-fiction conceit is on the nose, perhaps too much, but also involving and capable of arousing a certain righteous, fist-pumping investment in the hero's journey to right wrongs and punish those responsible.

B+

The ending is satisfying on the surface, but may raise more questions and concerns than intended. "Woo! Everyone on the crowded, diseased, dying earth can now be cured of terminal illnesses (and grenade-explosion head wounds, in an image I will not soon forget) in ten seconds and live forever the way the rich assholes on Elysium did!" But won't this just compound a hundredfold the very environmental and social problems which led to the conception of Elysium in the first place? Perfection has to be imperfect. A world in which no one dies from illness or injury and a general natural order is, in a sense, abolished will devour itself in no time at all.

Jodie Foster's role is fairly boring, sadly. On the other hand, Sharlto Copley is fantastic. Menacing and twisted, with a truly imposing and electrifying physicality despite not being a Dwayne Johnson type.

I'd agree with everything said above except for the Sharlto Copley love. I thought his one-note (I guess two notes, as he was both dirty *and* had issues with women) pure evil badman was kind of a thorn in the film's side. When he took that grenade to the face I was pretty pleased with the movie for offing its stereotypical end-fight in such a disposable way, only to soon be rather displeased again.

I'd say B/B- territory.

The nerds on rotten tomatoes, otherwise totally in the tank for this crappy director, barely got this above a 70 so I'm assuming its TERRIBLE

Do you enjoy anything anymore?

noooooo After Earth is way worse than this. Though the more I think about this the less I like it.

ELYSIUM

I first caught this at a screening earlier this week and after it was over I was really happy with what I saw. It was an A for me at the time. I liked the story, thought Damon did a great job, the villains were good and the action/effects were top notch. However, I took time to catch it again and I see how it's a bit slower the second time. The action is limited. It's still very well done but there's not enough of it. The flashbacks to his child are maybe a bit to much as well. It really does take quite some time for the film to get moving action wise. I still enjoyed the story.

Grade - B

I agree with your second viewing. Overall I liked it but thinking about it, was there anything that wasn't standard or expected.

I loved this. It was a total blast and the most entertaining of the big summer action movies. It isn't anything deep, but it's so much fun that I stopped caring after a certain point. A-

Spoilers, but I don't spoil everything.

I thought this movie was really great. Maybe not District 9 great, but it's not that big of a gap. The story is never stagnant, always pushing forward, yet the concepts and characters do get time to breathe. At first it seems like each character is just going to be a bigger dick than the last. First the foreman sends Matt Damon into the cancer tank, then William Fitchner fires him so he won't melt inside the factory, then Jodie Foster and Sharto Copley escalate it even further. I couldn't bring myself to hate these characters though. It may just be greed, but they are struggling with the have/have-not system within the system. They are seeking what they believe is necessary to survive, just as Matt Damon is. When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. And I felt the impact of their deaths. Most of the heroes always fall within the shades of grey, with more selfish than heroic motivations.

The action and drama are balanced very well. The violence is brutal and gory, but not over the top. Again, it has impact. You wince as both good guy and bad guy feel the effects of future-gen weaponry. My favorite sequence was the heist and resulting carnage. The action was great, but the scene also hit an emotional nerve. I let out an audible "oh shit" at Fitchner and wanted to cry out for poor Julio.

So I'm giving this an A for thrilling action, strong characters, emotional brutality, wonderful cinematography, cool future-tech, monster sound (I wish I had seen this in imax) and a compelling world.

This was disappointing. Nowhere near as good as District 9. The premise is potentially fascinating, and Neill Blomkamp does a splendid job with the visuals. But the story just isn't there. It all felt too slight and inconsequential; the stakes were there but they didn't feel very well telegraphed. Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Alicia Braga: solid performances, but there's not a whole lot of characterization to work with. It has its moments, though. C+

Yes! its just hard to work up the urge to come here to compliment things I like. Much easier to simply dismiss crap I hate

i know yoshue likes pandora's box (1929), so he clearly doesn't hate everything.

This is what really got to me. There was already little chance for humanity's survival, but thanks Matt Damon for ruining it for everyone now. There is no way Elysium could handle everyone being a citizen and all the machines would break in a matter of days or weeks throwing the entire system into chaos. Yes, this is looking more into the future and less about what takes place in the movie, but I couldn't help but think major points in the story's logic were flawed because of this reasoning, thus leaving me to think the characters were more stupid than heroic and inspiring.

Elysium feels like a bad James Cameron movie. There is abundant cool technology, a lone white savior amidst a sea of poor brown people, shitty dialogue, an antagonistic soldier-gone-beserk, contrived plot mechanics, and a certain desperation in the storytelling to constantly eliminate any chance at subtlety. It's the sort of movie where you'd be annoyed by the terminally ill hero kicking the ass of a team of commandos who had just singlehandedly taken over Elysium... Except you're more frustrated that the giant satellite housing every single rich person in the solar system lacks any internal defenses of it's own. I like to think that director Neil Blomkamp didn't actually neglect to include any interesting non-Jodie Foster characters on the Elysium satellite as completely but was forced to cut the scenes of conniving rich people at the behest of a studio nervous about pissing off it's corporate overlords.

Like 2013's other big budget sci-fi ventures Oblivion and Pacific Rim, there exists a tremendous gulf in Elysium between the evident imagination of visualizing the future and actually telling a human story amongst all the technology.I like Oblivion less than either Elysium or Pacific Rim but at least that movie's characters are clones who are meant to be dopey. In all three movies one can almost sense the tinkering of nervous studio executives desperate to make their risky original science fiction movies into the most broadly appealing movies possible. Elysium feels like an especially bitter pill to swallow because all the right elements for a great social satire are there but the narrative seems terrified to ever approach a structural critique of class beyond the most simplistic rich vs. poor scenario possible. The characters are so basic (Max is special because a nun once told him so!) and the relationships so hollow (you never once believe Damon and Braga have known each other since childhood, perhaps because Braga like most female protagonists this summer is completely ignored) that Elysium feels like every non-action scene was given a forty second time limit after the picture was already locked. Or maybe I'm just giving too much credit to Neil Blomkamp and he just wanted to tease a commentary on the gap between rich and poor as an excuse to draw out futuristic gun fights and icky surgery sequences. Either way, Elysium is a frustrating experience.

No, you are a filthy racist for not recognizing the Diego Luna, Alice Braga, and Wagner Moura characters are heroic in their own right and contribute greatly to the overall mission. Stop spreading your poisonous prejudice, please. This is the 21st century.

I wish! Wagner Moura is a terrific actor (see VIPs) and it would have been great if the heroic female character had been given the opportunity to do anything heroic. Diego Luna getting stabbed to death within the first five minutes of the action unfolding wasn't as wrenching as it might have been if the movie had started with a scene of him and Matt Damon bonding while jacking cars. Honestly, even just an introductory sequence that actually shows us that Max is a great thief, and therefore the right person for the job, would have been stronger character building than flashbacks of a magical nun who insists that a kid who steals shit will save the world.

The film does lean too heavily on the nun. It feels as if it shows the swing scene five times during the last half hour.

Nowhere near as good as District 9, but I still enjoyed this for what it was. It's a pretty solid throwback to all the 80s/90's R-rated sci-fi films I grew up with, but the problem is that this is from the director of District 9, so obviously you would expect more.

The only real standout performance in the film is definitely Shartlo Copley who is great as the villain, but it's not exactly a mind blowing performance. He has some really badass moments though and for a guy as scrawny as he is I was impressed that he was able to still pull off such a menacing character.

Damon was good too, but I agree with most that Jodie Foster's performance seemed off and that accent was horrible.

It's too bad William Fichtner couldn't be the main villain because he would have been ALOT more believable in the role IMO.

Elysium was, sadly, just plain weak.

After the brilliance of District 9, a sophomore slump of this degree for Blomkamp was rather shocking.

Sure the setting and overall story conceit were solid, but yikes - - that screenplay went nowhere slow!

I'd really like to see the whole thing done over, but with a real story this time - - one willing to really explore the rich/poor scenario with some true depth and drama.

Matt Damon was solid as always, as was Jodie Foster (except for that weird accent that faded in and out), but Sharlto Copley was in over his head this time out. The rest of the supporting cast were seemingly mere afterthoughts.

My biggest disappointment of the summer.


2 out of 5.

I'm having a difficult time reconciling these glowing reviews with the Elysium I saw - - I can't ever imagine wishing to experience this boredom again and my own feelings are much closer to this review...

District 9 On Idiot Pills

ok.

You were one of the first KJer's to see D9 back in '09 and you seemed quite enthusiastic about it.

I know. I haven't seen this yet.

I was just commenting on your unneeded post. I've heard some GREAT reviews from friends of mine about this. And one friend of mine, who was born and raised in South Africa, WALKED OUT of D9.

Different strokes.