Hey all! Its been a while since my last article, like a long while. But now
I'm starting to get back into the groove and here's my take on Elysium.
So its a known fact-a lot of people do not like politics/social commentaries with their action movies. That's the main reason why so many people were harsh on Green Zone. I freaking loved that movie! God, I've never seen so many people jump on the bandwagon for critics nowadays. I blame the Hollywood reporter; ever since his shitty, snobby review hit the web, many people retweeted it and went in with the mind set that they were
going to be disappointed.
We live in a world where people are so gullible. And maybe the reason
why people are saying this movie is disappointing is because Sony
decided to make this movie more of an internet campaign. I don't know,
but every single one of the people that score this film with a 6/10 or
lower, or a B- or lower say they felt the film beat them over the head
with its message.
Having seen the movie after hearing both sides, those who love it and
those who don't like it, i realize that some people are freaking
idiots. This movie is a masterpiece; best I've seen this year so far.
Its smart, energetic, original, and thrilling. Its far from generic and
repetitive that its pundits claim it to be. So lets get down about the
positives:
1. Matt Damon.
Great casting choice! You can really tell the guy put a
lot into his character, and you felt that he was a real person and that
made his character more relatable. You really want to root for this guy
in his quest to take down Elysium.
2. The world of 2154.
You can tell that Neil Blomkamp has put so much
effort into the world of this dystopian future. Nothing is clean and
all pretty like a lot of futuristic movies; no Earth is an
over-populated waste land, full of people dying and looking up at a
world that orbits there's, wishing for a way out. This is a world you
can sink into, and a lot of people felt that it was just a huge social
message slapping them in the face- (immigration and healthcare) But the
film really doesn't yeah the symbolism is there but its not in your
face. Only hard core conservatives are saying that this movie is a huge
political porno.
3. Special effects
Not one moment in this movie did i think any of the
things were CGI. Much like Pacific Rim that came out last month, the
special effects are mind blowing. And what's better is the use of
practical effects; there is a lot of it in this movie and that boosts
the realism of the film even more. The droids, the world of elysium,
all look visually spectacular.
4. Kruger.
Okay, I saved the best for last. This is with out a doubt
the best part of the film and you will hear this from nearly everybody.
Shartlo Copely completely steals the show. In a great movie, he is the
greatest; he stands out over his counter parts as the menacing,
electrifying, creepy, and crazy Kruger. We don't see a WHOLE lot of
kruger, but when we do, its awesome. Shartlo puts so much into his
performance, giving us the joker vibe. There is a scene towards the end
of this film were I was watching Kruger and legitimately felt he was a
futuristic heath ledger joker without make up. He will go down as one
of the best villains in history.
I really didn't have any really issues with the movie except one, but
its not like it brings down the entire experience.
1. Jodie Foster.
The moment I heard she was in this movie and saw her
in the trailer, I knew that she was going to play a role that any woman
her age could play...and i was not wrong. Even though she is able to
get the whole corrupt politician down, her presence doesn't feel as
important as Damon's and Copely's. She does a good job, but not great;
she's the weakest link in the film for sure but doesn't bring down the
movie.
A problem that some people have that I kind of had a problem with but I thought about it and realized its okay was that when Damon is on Elysium, and killing some people and what not, the droids did not show up. The reason why i felt this was okay is because he wasn't wreaking havoc all over Elysium; he was in an isolated era and he had specific goals to accomplish. And also, the droids need to be called upon to take action; they need orders and they weren't given any to attack because Damon at first isn't really a threat.
In the end, I loved Elysium, and I think there's another reason why
people are feeling disappointed-they win expecting District 9. And they
should not have done that at all. I went in expecting an entertaining
conventional, original sci-fi movie and that's exactly what I got. I
didn't go in expecting an original mockumentary/sci-fi thriller. That's
like going into a transformers movie expecting a strong, clever story
with deep characters and heavy emotion. Change your expectations
people. Seriously.
10/10