Elysium review

ELYSIUM:

A POWERHOUSE OF BLOOD PUMPING ACTION, SPECIAL EFFECTS, AND A UNIQUE PREMISE!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

TRISTAR PICTURES

Matt Damon kicking ass in Elysium

Director Neil Blomkamp (District 9) is off to a good start with his filmmaking career, he started off directing the 2009 sci-fi mega-hit, District 9 about a separation between humans and aliens in Johannesburg. After the film’s success Blomkamp went on to directing his next project, Elysium, and while it doesn’t quite have the edge District 9 had, the film is still entertaining, has an interesting plot, good character development, and filled to the bone with blood pumping action and special effects.

In the year 2154, everyone has been divided in two groups, the rich and privileged live in a futuristic utopia in space with no poverty, war, or sickness, known as Elysium, while everyone else is stuck on Earth, which is now a polluted wasteland. Ex-Con, Max (Matt Damon-the Bourne trilogy, Oceans trilogy, True Grit) is called in for a special assignment, to go to Elysium and override the system, so everyone can go up there and have their diseases cured.

Unfortunately it will be a lot tougher than he thought because the people in charge of Elysium will do whatever it takes to enforce anti-immigration laws and preserve their citizens’ luxurious lifestyle. So Elysium’s Secretary Delacourt (Jodie Foster-Flightplan, The Silence of the Lambs, Contact) calls in her right hand man, Agent Krueger (Sharlto Copley-District 9, The A-Team) to assassinate Max and acquire the data planted inside him to override Elysium’s system.

Max will do whatever it takes to go to Elysium and set everything right for the people of Earth. With a little help from a group of smugglers, he may succeed and save the world.

Overall, Elysium is a very entertaining sci-fi flick, despite not having much of an edge like District 9, the action is exciting and violent, the special effects look great, the character development is good, and the premise is very interesting and pretty similar to the American immigration that occurred many years ago, where immigrants were trying to come to America, but were rejected and sometimes killed in the process.

It does make you wonder if in the future, the extremely wealthy will flee to a clean utopia without violence or sickness, while everyone else is stuck in a wasteland. It sort of reminds me of a story I wrote in high school for English class, where racism and immigration occurs in the future, resorting in a new generation of slavery and violence.

Elysium is one of those movies that can really make you think of what might happen in the future and how everything will be in order. Hopefully nothing like the events of the movie, where rich and privileged people are above everybody else.

Despite the elements of immigration, Elysium is a great summer hit, with lots of intense action, impressive visuals, and great characters. It’s truly a blockbuster that’s worth the escape from reality.