“Elysium,” starring Matt Damon, is a solid science
fiction/action movie that supports the idea that director Neill Blomkamp (District 9) is an engaging moviemaker.
However, I can’t help but wish there was more to the story. Perhaps 109 minutes
isn’t enough time to develop all of Blomkamp’s ideas and character development
suffers, too. Matt Damon’s character Max is way too bland and we don’t get to
know enough about Jodie Foster’s Defense Secretary Delacourt. Sharlto Copley’s
Kruger, while a nasty piece of work, remains a one-dimensional bad guy. There
are plenty of action scenes, especially one on Earth and one on Elysium,
although they’re not particularly groundbreaking. My biggest complaint is the
easy way the conflict resolves because it really isn’t solving the problem
between the haves and have- nots.
“Elysium” is sent in 2154 with an overpopulated, polluted
Earth, which has been abandoned by its wealthiest citizens for a space station
paradise called Elysium. Those who remain on the planet are the dregs of
society, manual laborers, criminals and those struggling to make a living while
gazing longingly up at the great wheel in the sky where advanced medical care
is available for all, homes are beautiful and there’s no crime. Max DeCosta
(Damon), an ex-car thief who has gone straight, struggles against the
temptation to go back to a life of crime with his buddy, Julio (Diego Luna).
After a workplace accident, Max has only five days to live unless he can get to
Elysium and gain access to their medical facilities. Normally, this would be
impossible, but Secretary of Defense Delacourt (Foster) is planning a coup with
the help of billionaire John Carlyle (William Fichtner). Because Max doesn’t
have enough money for a ticket on an illegal shuttle to Elysium, he is forced
to kidnap Carlyle and download the information Carlyle has in his head. This
task is made more difficult by the arrival of Delacourt’s henchman, Kruger
(Copley). While “Elysium” is sufficiently different from everything released in
the past few months, it isn’t as original as District 9. Nonetheless, it’s well paced and looks great. 8/10/13
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