Welcome to Elysium

I'll kick this review off with the following statement: the only possible way of fully reviewing Elysium would be to see it once again. I had zero doubts this film would be incredible. District 9 cemented both Neill Blomkamp's directorial ability as well as Sharlto Copley's acting. As incredible work they did in 2009, they come back four years later with a summer bombshell. Elysium's release finally puts a contender up against Pacific Rim for my top summer movie. Granted, we still have a few more hitters until the cinema runs dry, but as of right now I have no regrets going to the theatre this season. I will go ahead with my good graces being bestowed upon Elysium, and then get right into the mix of the review. If you love science-fiction, robotic police, and exo-skeleton action-y goodness....look no further. 


You've found Elysium.

The main story takes place in the mid-22nd century Los Angeles (2154, to be exact) with protagonist Max de Costa (Matt Damon) living his life as everyone else does on Earth: impoverished, dirty conditions, unsafe and underpaid employment. In other words: miserable. We're given flashbacks to explain Max's upbringing as an orphan being raised in a convent. This is the first interest point. On Earth, in L.A., Spanish is almost a primary language with little English sprinkled throughout. They switch back and forth during the movie, but moreso Spanish in the flashbacks. Elysium, a giant Halo-esque space station, was created for the super rich and powerful in order to preserve their way of living. No disease, no war, crime, or poverty. Oh, you have leukemia? Step on over to the med bay and have it erased. Literally erased from your cellular structure. Cancerous cells be gone! Now, while Spanish is near-dominant back on Earth, French is the customary language on Elysium. This makes perfect sense. While both languages stem from the romantic spectrum, they're entirely different as far as sophistication goes. French is smoother almost like speaking with a velvet tongue while Spanish is more along the lines of (forgive my Whovian side) "Bingle-bongle, dingle-dangle. Lickity-doo, lickity-da. Ping-pong, libby-tubby-tootah". 

In a nutshell without spoiling the film, Max gets into some serious danger-zone action and has the overwhelming desire to float up to Elysium for a spell. Damon's pretty decent in this role. His dialogue isn't short of consecutive f-bombs which works perfectly fine for his ex-con character. He makes Max believable as the loose-cannon, will-do-anything-to-survive type of guy. Fair warning: the scene in which the exo-skeleton is grafted to his body may be a bit cringe-worthy. From beginning to end, the decisions Max comes to make are sensible to the story's purposes. There's none of the whole "why the f*ck did this happen?" and more of "kind of saw that coming". Elysium works out to be somewhat predictable, but the final scene between Max and Kruger is worth waiting through the first two acts. 

I won't say much on Jodie Foster due to the reason her character was rigid, understandably emotionless, and kind of 'meh'. In another nutshell: Defense Secretary Delacourt (Foster) will do anything to protect Elysium's borders and disagrees with any peaceful sort of diplomacy. She bitches at the powers-that-be until she gets her way. Makes a few bad calls, and then pays for them in the end. 

Now, onto the whole reason I saw this film: Sharlto Copley. This is the guy who took a bumbling, inexperienced-in-the-field bureaucrat and transformed him into the man without anything to lose in District 9. By the end of the film, you know not to f*ck with Wikus van de Merwe. A year later, we find him in a mental ward in Mexico as Howlin' Mad Murdock in 2010's remake of The A-Team. When I first saw the film (as I had never seen the original series), I laughed my ass off at this particular scene: 

I'd fly with him

Sharlto Copley taking on the villain's role in Elysium pretty much put him in the area of actors that can do anything. Good guy, comic relief, psychopath. He's done them all in four years. A feat more and more actors/actresses can do today. Some (such as Michael Cera, Seth Rogen, Adam Sandler) are type-casted into their roles because of a failure to adapt to anything else. Not once in the entirety of Elysium do you get the idea Copley's Kruger was innately "good" at one point. This is the guy who takes shit from no one and dishes it out to everyone. If you cross him, he'll be laughing at your mangled corpse he himself took the pleasure of mutilating. While he's the stereotypical "shoot first, ask later" villain, I could've cared less. Copley's acting and reacting to other characters was seamless. And the final fight scene between Kruger and Max...oh, so satisfying. Not too long, not too short.....and cue the boyish jokes, you immature lot, you. 

If you've seen District 9, then you pretty much already have the aesthetic in mind. Metal surfaces look worn and rusted on Earth while Elysium looks like something out of the Citadel from Mass Effect. The dichotomy between both locations almost paints a picture close to Total Recall (I'm leaning more toward the 2012 remake, aesthetic-wise). The story also comes to a few similarities, but I'll let you make the call yourself. 

I won't ruin Elysium for those of you reading this blog. Blomkamp does it again and I'd be perfectly comfortable with him staying in the director's chair for more movies along his style. As I said earlier, this is the must-see sci-fi sensation of Summer 2013. 

For more things Elysium, get your ass to your local theatre and watch the damn movie. 

I still have my blue robe. Where's yours?