Neill Blomkamp has been a rising star in the sci-fi world. After the Halo movie fell through, Blomkamp (29 years old) directed District 9, a best picture nominee and one of the great recent science fiction films. His star is so high that he was offered (and turned down) a chance to direct the new Star Wars movie. Blomkamp used his clout to pitch Matt Damon Elysium. This Blomkamp sophomore offering never quite reaches District 9’s heights, but it is a solid film with enough ideas to leave me excited about the young director’s future cinematic pursuits.
We leave Johannesburg South Africa for 2154 Los Angeles. Max DeCosta (Matt Damon) is living the straight man’s life after being arrested for a few felonies. After a mishap at work leaves Damon 5 days away from death, he seeks help from local Robin Hood Spider (Wagner Moura) to try to get to Elysium which has universal healthcare machines that remove any disease from the body. Max’s moves draw the attention of 3: John Carlyle (William Fichtner), Max’s former CEO; Delacourt (Jodie Foster) the high-ranking military defense leader on Elysium; and Kruger (Sharlto Copley) an unhinged cyborg with a score to settle. Complicating the matter is Max’s old flame (Alex Braga), who has a dying daughter in need of Elysium’s medical devices.
District 9 was made with a million dollars. Elysium’s budget is significantly higher, and Blomkamp spends most of the movie showing us how he spent it with amazing results. The sweeping panoramic comparison of dystopian LA to Elysium is a beautiful opening hook. Elysium itself is a brilliant creation of a satellite crossed with a Ferris Wheel with a gorgeous overly clean aesthetic. The devices are pretty cool as well; guns have bullets that behave more like grenades and the robotic renderings look similar to the prawns from District 9. The action sequences are well shot with some fantastic explosion sequences and minimal shaky cam. Thankfully, the violence in Elysium creates some truly grotesque deaths (one involving a face is cringe inducing) reminding everyone that violence can be scary.
Unfortunately, something’s missing with Elysium (not just the 99%). The film introduces us to a lot of ideas but never follows through on them until the eventual mono e mono fight at the end. Funnily enough, the world building warrants almost a TV show or a miniseries. Blomkamp is very good at making the future look dirty; yes robots are now parole officers, but they have graffiti all over them. The power dynamics on Elysium are used solely for plot, leaving a very interesting coup subplot on the table. Themes of universal healthcare and the 1% vs 99% are beaten into the audience by the hour mark. Elysium throws these elements at the audience hoping it will all coalesce, but it never quite gets there.
Some of the blame on this is the character development and performances. Matt Damon is forced into the misunderstood everyman who rises up. Damon does his best here, but the character has no arc: his choices feel story driven and not character driven. Jodie Foster deserves a Razzie nomination. The two-time Oscar nominee has a weird accent and makes really bad choices when she’s onscreen; she is by far Elysium’s biggest disappointment. Diego Luna, William Fichtner, Alex Braga and others don’t get a lot to do in their roles and are mostly there for Matt Damon. The big bright spot is Sharlto Copley, who’s unhinged Kruger has terrifying fits of menace (Blomkamp clearly likes working with him).
Elysium means a place or state of perfect happiness. The 1% on the orbiting world would agree, but unfortunately I do not. Because of the uneven walk between serious and entertaining, Elysium never quite achieves movie utopia. It does make me really interested in trying to become a cyborg though; you always end up looking like a badass.