Elysium (film) - Neill Blomkamp

[Neil]

Seems Neill Blomkamp's been busy since District 9...

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Synopsis-Revealed-Neill-Blomkamp-Elysium-31420.html


In the year 2159 two classes of people exist: the very wealthy who live on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium, and the rest, who live on an overpopulated, ruined Earth. Secretary Rhodes (Jodie Foster), a hard the government official, will stop at nothing to enforce anti-immigration laws and preserve the luxurious lifestyle of the citizens of Elysium. That doesn’t stop the people of Earth from trying to get in, by any means they can. When unlucky Max (Matt Damon) is backed into a corner, he agrees to take on a daunting mission that if successful will not only save his life, but could bring equality to these polarized worlds.

[Neil]

Image of badass Damon...

http://www.cinemablend.com/images/news/34192/_1353360617.jpg

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Matt-Damon-Sci-Fi-Badass-Elysium-Image-34192.html

[Neil]

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[Neil]

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[Neil]

Oh dear... AICN doesn't think that much of it :(

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/63626


It certainly has a terrific concept and a few truly great performances, beginning with Damon and ending with Copley, but I found myself being let down as often as I was moved or impressed.

[rongravy]

I'll pass on this turd. Seems there's a big push for this to be a big hit, kind of like 2 Guns, when I've seen "them" pre slam other recent movies I thought should be better candidates, like the new Wolverine and Lone Ranger. I'm also betting it will be full of them telling us how we should change our lives and blah blah blah, when we all know Damon would be one of those douchebags hanging out with all his rich friendsies. Blecccccchhhhhhhh, no thanks.
I hope it bombs, as I think Damon is the current administration's bitch. Never been a fan...

[EvilNed]

I'm gonna see it. District 9 was easily the best sci-fi of 2009. A sleeper hit. I'm intrigued to see Neill Blomkamps next outing.

And in a summer of Man of Steel, World War Z, Lone Ranger etc, etc, shouldn't we encourage something like this? I will, anyway. Maybe I will be disappointed, however, but truth be told I often find the guys doing the reviews at AICN to be complete idiots. Didn't they rave about Man of Steel? They called it the best Superhero movie (http://www.aintitcool.com/node/62841) ever? I can't take anyone who thinks that seriously. They even called World War Z a helluva movie (http://www.aintitcool.com/node/62765). What? Who in their right mind writes that? Well, apart from 14 year olds, that is?

But maybe that's what AICN is. A bunch of 14 year olds. Heck, I have no idea. It'd make sense.

[MinionZombie]

It got a 3/5 in Total Film. I'd get it on DVD/BR when it comes out - I've only done one film in the cinema so far this year (The World's End, t'other night).

I read that it's really quite blunt when it comes to the social commentary, and that Foster's lines are all looped (suggesting that she choice an accent that didn't work at all when it came down to it) ... but it also looks like it's got enough good stuff in it to be a purchase for me. I'm with Ned, "District 9" was one of the best movies of 2009 (I saw it in the cinema, too), so even if Elysium isn't going to measure up to it, it'll still be better than many other recent sci-fi offerings.

[bassman]

Not a bad flick really, just nothing special. It drags quite often and it's very predictable. All things considered, it's worth viewing at home but not with the high price of theater tickets. I was never creaming my pants over District 9 like most people, though...


I never thought I'd say this, but Pacific Rim is ten times more enjoyable than Elysium.

[EvilNed]

I never thought I'd say this, but Pacific Rim is ten times more enjoyable than Elysium.

Seeing both on Monday. If I come away thinking Pacific Rim is a better film than Elysium then I'll ... I don't know.

[bassman]

One thing I forgot to mention....For those of you here that get that sort of sick enjoyment from gore, Elysium doesn't shy away from it at all. I was actually surprised at the levels they went to for a major studio film. Bodies torn apart, blown apart, slow motion grenade explosions to the face. All in very graphic detail...

[MoonSylver]

Seeing both on Monday. If I come away thinking Pacific Rim is a better film than Elysium then I'll ... I don't know.

Well, here's the thing, w/ PR, it knows what kind of movie it is, & it delivers what one would presume that the target audience would want, & it does it damn well. From what a buddy of mine, who's quite the connoisseur of film, related, you go into a film expecting more (from the guy who made District 9) & getting less: a predictible action film w/ heavy handed socail commentary.

[EvilNed]

I liked it. Saw it and Pacific Rim back-to-back. Pacific Rim - well, not much to say there. Pretty dumb and dull film with no surprises. Even the creature and robot designs were just boring. The characters were thin cardboard cut outs and too much time was spent just training and getting in shape for that final fight. I'm not impressed at all. Also, the girl that played Mako, the asian chick, was horrible. The way she was depicted, looking through peep-holes and yearning for some love, was just over the top as well.

Elysium was much better, but still suffers from silliness. The world is grim, dirty and all-in-all it presents a more believable. I like that. But the film takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes certain elements of it fall flat on it's face. There's a few tweaks here and there that needed to be adjusted. For instance, the way they reprogram the system is just silly and seems like "Programming 101". Anyone could do that. The action scenes were superior, however, and they stood out from each other (something Pacific Rim, Man of Steel or WWZ can't boast with). I liked the early one in particular, where Matt Damon first tries out his exo-skeleton against William Fichtner's droids.

[MoonSylver]

^^^ Warned numerous times what kind of film was & what trying to emulate, bitches anyway. :lol: :lol: :lol:

[EvilNed]

Well, there's a good and a bad way of doing things, I guess. It certainly wasn't a good way, so it must have been a bad way.

EDIT:

It should be noted that I've grown sick and tired of the hollywood blockbusters as of late. But I'm more leaning towards them simply being to bloated and costly for them to make anything creative with them, so the end product is always, at best "Meh". Pacific Rim is a perfect example of this. A wasted oppertunity, for me at least.

[MoonSylver]

Well, there's a good and a bad way of doing things, I guess. It certainly wasn't a good way, so it must have been a bad way.

Nah. As a fan of the Kaiju genre, as well as various Sentai & Super Robots, they got it right. You were warned. If you went into it expecting it to be anything other than that, you shouldn't have.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to a showing of Citizen Kane. I'll be back later to complain about the lack of fight scenes, gore, or nudity. :lol:

[EvilNed]

Nah. As a fan of the Kaiju genre, as well as various Sentai & Super Robots, they got it right. You were warned. If you went into it expecting it to be anything other than that, you shouldn't have.

I was expecting quality, a good script and a nice rollercoaster ride? I'm sorry, I guess. Won't do that again.

[MinionZombie]

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to a showing of Citizen Kane. I'll be back later to complain about the lack of fight scenes, gore, or nudity. :lol:

:lol::lol::lol:

...

I got to see Citizen Kane at uni, and on a print, so I feel quite chuffed by that. A great film.

I'm still to see Pacific Rim or Elysium, but I definitely want to check out both ... perhaps on Blu-Ray/DVD.

[MoonSylver]

I was expecting quality, a good script and a nice rollercoaster ride? I'm sorry, I guess. Won't do that again.

I got all of those. So it's just you. :lol: BTW, congratulations on wresting the "Curmudgon who dislikes everything" title away from Shootem. http://www.freesangha.com/forums/Smileys/default/smiley_bow.gif :lol:

[EvilNed]

I got all of those. So it's just you. :lol: BTW, congratulations on wresting the "Curmudgon who dislikes everything" title away from Shootem. http://www.freesangha.com/forums/Smileys/default/smiley_bow.gif :lol:

It's not me, trust me, it's Hollywood.

No, but seriously, I get that people can like this film. That's fine with me. But it's not very well done. It's mediocre at best.

That's my new catchphrase, by the way.

[MoonSylver]

It's not me, trust me, it's Hollywood.

No, but seriously, I get that people can like this film. That's fine with me. But it's not very well done.

We'll have to agree to disagree on this one. I thought it was extremely well done for what it was trying to be. It's just that what it was trying to be wasn't very deep or high concept. :)


It's mediocre at best.

That's what she said. :lol: :D


That's my new catchphrase, by the way.

And that's my old one. :D

[EvilNed]

I switched the venue to the Pacific Rim thread. I gave some more indepth thoughts there.

[shootemindehead]

Saw this last night. Spoilers below:

Have to say, I thought the effects were seamless. Absolutely fantastic, some of WETA's best work. The hardware is very convincing and looks like it could exist. The gore effects are quite nicely handled too, with a particular scene that's quite disgusting. But the film itself is just ok, unfortunately. There's some bad flaws though. Max's releationship with "the woman of the piece" is never convincing and their interaction is just odd at times. For instance, Max turns up at her hospital with loads of Meccano stuck to his ass...and she doesn't even bat an eyelid. He'd only seen her sans metal a few scenes before. It just didn't work. Also, Jodie Foster chews up the scenery something terrible, which giving her acting chops was VERY surprising. It's also just a very predicible film and a bit too flashy and shaky in too many instances.

The South African chap from 'District 9' was good though, he makes a great psycho-villian. His accent is still funny though. I was half expecting "fookin prons" to come out of his mouth. Matt Damon is ok, but I just really cannot take anything he does seriously, TBH, although he was good in 'behind the candelabra'.

The distopian future depicted on Earth was well handled. It was actually quite a convincing possible future L.A. who's suburbs have been reduced to a series of shabby shanty towns, full of every type of racial character available.

But, I found the conclusion of the film a little bit of a dud. 'Elysium' finishes with Max uploading data that allows everybody on Earth to become a citizen of the Elysium torus. But this will only mean that Elysium itself will eventually end up like Earth...an overcrowded shithole, populated by and large with dubious characters that nobody in their right mind would want to live beside. So, while it presents itself as an upbeat(ish) ending, it's actually quite a downer, in some ways, if one thinks about it...which in itself is ok.