Review #690: 'Elysium' (2013)

Back in 2009, the film-viewing world began raving about a curious new sci-fi actioner named District 9. Boasting a satirical commentary on racial segregation and a funny-accented producer-turned-lead star Sharlto Copley, it signalled the arrival of a potentially explosive new director, Neill Blomkamp. Personally, the film embraced genre clichés a little to willingly for my taste, but it was an exciting little film with some interesting things to say. Four years later, Blomkamp is on similar grounds with Elysium, but this time the target is the social elite.

In 2154, Earth has been abandoned by the super rich, who have all packed up and headed to a space station named Elysium. There they live a care-free life in their mansions and all talk French, seemingly sipping wine all day by the pool. The biggest benefit is a healthcare machine that can diagnose a patient and heal them almost instantly. Back on Earth, things are tough. Robots police the dusty streets, and ex-con Max da Costa (Matt Damon) is repeatedly beaten down by the man when he's just trying to get to work. When an industrial accident exposes Max to a heavy dose of radiation, he is given 5 days to live. He must get up to Elysium at all costs with the help of his criminal friends Julio (Diego Luna) and Spider (Wagner Moura) in order to heal himself.

Like District 9, the social observations are sharp, with obvious parallels to be made with the American health system, where the rich can enjoy top-class treatment from the best doctors, while the poor are forced to choose which of their fingers they want sown back on. Not to say the satire is subtle - this is the cinematic equivalent of posting dog shit through an enemy's letter-box - Jodie Foster's evil Delacourt hires her psychopathic 'man on the ground' Kruger (Sharlto Copley) to shoot down any illegal immigrants attempting to land on Elysium to get some better healthcare. The rich here have no dimensions - faceless suits who wouldn't piss on you if you were on fire. But the anger in Elysium makes the film all the more absorbing.

Sadly (and, again, like in District 9), this comes at the expense of the story. Max is a faceless 'good' guy, but is given some humanity by the effortlessly likeable Matt Damon. His love interest is in his childhood flame Frey (Alice Braga), who has a child riddled with leukaemia, causing Max to question his priorities. It's all too predictable and overly familiar, riddled with distracting plot-holes and silly plot devices. Blomkamp's tech-fetish surfaces again as Max is given an exoskeleton that somehow makes him stronger, making him look a bit like Bane from The Dark Knight Rises (2012).

In a performance a world away from his ethically-challenged, bureaucratic weed in District 9, Sharlto Copley damn near steals the entire film. Bulked up and bearded, Kruger is a terrifying (albeit rather one-dimensional) psychopath, apparently capable of any horrific act. I could listen to his voice all day, which is the complete opposite of Jodie Foster, who delivers a strangely tuned-out performance with the strangest accent I've ever heard. She is simply terrible. But that's Elysium, a film that achieves as many hits as it does misses, neglecting the story for some cutting satire, boasting some astonishing CGI but delivering some sub-standard set-pieces, but overall, a pretty good movie.


Directed by: Neill Blomkamp
Starring: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Alice Braga, Diego Luna, Wagner Moura, William Fichtner
Country: USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie