Set roughly 150 years in the future, Earth has turned into a big smelly dust hole. The natural resources have been used up, there's massive overcrowding, and the poverty line is so high that the only people living above it are in space.
Max (Matt Damon) lives in Los Angeles and dreams of getting into Elysium, the giant orbital station on which the world's elite live.
Problem is, he's an ex-crim who works a factory job, which probably doesn't pay particularly well. Also, he ends up getting a full blast of radiation, which as you know, can seriously put a dent in your five-year plan.
Elysium, which looks like a series of private schools, has one thing that people are literally dying to try and get: highly-advanced medical facilities that can cure anything from bone breaks to aging in a matter of minutes.
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| If you have to imagine the tuition fees, you're too poor. |
This provides Max with slight incentive to finally try and smuggle himself up there, "boat people" style. Oh yeah, immigration to Elysium is highly regulated, with people frequently shelling money out to criminals for a dangerous trip to get away from the living hell in which they reside...STOP ME IF THIS SOUNDS FAMILIAR, AUSTRALIA.
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| "Stop the spaceboats." |
Look, it's not the most subtle film around, but it has a strong social message, standing its ground by refusing to be watered down.
While Matt Damon does an admirable job as the lead character, (quite rightly) looking like he's falling apart, Jodie Foster and Sharlto Copley really steal the show as the Secretary of Defense and her rabid sleeper agent.
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| Elysium weaponised Jodie Foster's contempt to deter refugees. |
The criminal empire Max runs to are also interesting. Clearly they're happy to take the money of innocent people and send them on what they know could be a doomed voyage, but they're painted as essentially good dudes and ladydudes. The leader, Spider (Wagner Moura), even has a Che Guevara vibe going on, which I'm sure wasn't accidental.
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| Introducing: Ghe Cuevara. Totally different guy. Believe us, ok? |
Copley was previously known as the profound moron protagonist Wikus van der Merwe in Blomkamp's District 9, but could not be further in his role as Agent Kruger. He really comes off as quite unstable, gleefully murdering people while casually giving them advice. The contrast is profound, like looking at a picture of Rat In The Hat and then looking at a picture of an actual rat.
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| "Trust me, I'm a rat...nah, just kidding, I'll chop off your face off." |
Foster's smug performance was great, acting as a caricature of politicians who spout all kinds of rhetoric to get what they want.
Somehow, despite having robots firing laserguns at skinhead Matt Damon piloting Ripley's walker from Aliens, while Che Guevara tries to steal magic medicine from space Australia, Elysium manages to be a smarter film than Pacific Rim.
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| Bondage Matt Damon = still less stupid than the "Aussies" in Pacific Rim. |
There are so many interesting concepts that are touched on, but never fully explained, which makes the setting really feel like the future. There isn't a bunch of exposition explaining how Elysium was built, or how the robots work, or Max's power armour, it's just there and focuses on the story.
Elysium is like a strange cocktail of District 9 (film), Judge Dredd (comic), Crysis (video game) and Battle Angel Alita (anime/manga) and it works really well.
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| Pictured: Current day Detroit...or future L.A. |
That's not to say the film is flawless, but I was engrossed enough to forgive most sins and even the slightly nonsensical ending.
Four stars.
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| Pew pew! Pewpewpew! |
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