7 Reasons To See ELYSIUM
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- Last Updated: Tuesday, 12 November 2013 08:07
- Written by Lupe Haas
Neill Blomkamp once again takes us to an ugly future where the disparity between social classes is much greater. Set in 2154 Los Angeles, the wealthy have departed Earth for a man-made space station called Elysium, leaving the unfortunate inhabitants of the planet among the ruins. Matt Damon’s character becomes ill with radiation poisoning on Earth and has one week to live unless he can reach the space station and use Elysium’s advanced healthcare machine, which cures all ailments. He volunteers with the revolutionaries to bring equality to both worlds, but Jodie Foster’s Secretary of Defense is not about to let that happen.
1. Latinos Lead Revolution
In ELYSIUM, the majority of Earth’s population seem to be Latino with a few other ethnic minority people sprinkled in. That’s not hard to imagine given that Latinos will continue to be marginalized for generations to come. But at least Latinos are represented in the futuristic film, which is a rarity in Hollywood.
Latinos including Diego Luna’s character lead the revolution in ELYSIUM and take advantage of Damon’s desperation to advance their cause in bringing equality between both worlds.
It’s nice to see Latinos having a hand in saving Earth. Sure Matt Damon is the movie’s hero but he couldn’t have done it without the space smugglers. While I’ve heard complaints from other movie watchers about not seeing any wealthy Latinos on ELYSIUM, it makes sense that the most marginalized group on Earth lead the class revolution. After all, wasn’t it Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa who led the same fight against class struggle in Mexico. It’s in our blood.
With recent action films faltering at the box office, viewers are no longer interested in spending their money on just eye candy and blow ‘em action. Substance has become much more important and ELYSIUM has plenty of subtle commentary about race relations, social justice and class separation. Like District 9, Blomkamp continues to explore social inequalities and immigration on a much grander scale in ELYSIUM. On Earth, those desperate to reach Elysium are in poor health and in need of the life-saving machine, but it is only available to the citizens of Elysium. Of course the message is masked behind the action, so the viewer is not bombarded with the polarizing issues of immigration and health care. Blomkamp clearly has his opinions about the problems that plague our current society and his vision of the future is definitely a frightening possibility.
3. Foreshadowing the Future
The premise of ELYSIUM isn’t too absurd. Not only will you get your money’s worth, but you’re also left pondering the idea of this future. Can this be the future of humanity? We hope not, but all signs point to that grim realization that the class struggle is only getting worse.
And space travel seems more tangible than ever with the first spaceport already existing in New Mexico and plans are underway for one in California. Let’s hope we can solve the problems plaguing this planet before launching another civilization.
You got to love Matt Damon for always bringing something different to each of his roles. He’s bald, buff and a reluctant hero. He’s played kick-ass before as Jason Bourne, but in ELYSIUM there is no hint of that character. Instead he’s motivated by his own selfish needs to get to Elysium and functions on pure survival instincts.
5. Intense Action
Blomkamp’s talent for realistic action is part of his charm. The action sequences were intense, but yet subtle with no huge explosions that director’s usually employ simply for grandeur. The fight scenes equally were raw and didn’t feel choreographed with fancy martial art moves. Plus there are some cool futuristic weapons employed by baddie Kruger (Sharlto Copley) that includes a human force field.
6. Special Effects
Even though Blomkamp was working on a grandeur scale and budget for his second science fiction film, he employed the same techniques for the special effects used in District 9. Through WETA Digital, he’s able to get a realistic look to the flying spaceships and android police officers, something that higher profiled films can’t get right with the overuse of CGI.
7. Visionary DirectorNeill Blomkamp brings a fresh and original take to the sci-fi genre. Blomkamp’s storytelling is refreshing and in Hollywood, it’s desperately needed. The South African director brings a unique vision as an outsider. Matt Damon, Jodie Foster and Diego Luna have said in interviews that they signed on to work with Blomkamp because of his work in District 9. And who wouldn’t want to work with a director that makes films, not purely for entertainment purposes, but for a much more meaningful reason.
ELYSIUM is now playing in movie theaters.
