Elysium Review: Refocus Needed

 

Director: Neill Blomkamp

 

UK Release Date: 21st August 2013

 

Running Time: 109 minutes

 

Starring: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Alice Braga

Neill Blomkamp directs "Elysium" and you can certainly see some similarities between this and his previous work, most notably "District 9" (2009). Firstly the use of actor Sharlto Copley who plays Kruger, a sleeper agent tasked with hunting down Max, played by Matt Damon, who has got hold of information that means that everyone on earth can be saved by the medical machines (known as Med Banks) they have stored on Elysium, the floating habitat currently in Earths Orbit.  "What?" You ask.  Did we forget to mention that this science fiction film is set in the year 2154 and the wealthiest people have fled ruined planet Earth to live on Elysium.

The film starts well and you soon realise what is going to happen - although in some films this can be quite annoying, it was okay in the film as we were always wondering how they were going portray it. The problem though, was that as you realise what is going on - it seems to take a while for this to take place. However,  as the film progressed we were left rather disappointed and frustrated at the storyline.  We were hoping that the film would focus on more of the science fiction elements. For example, the suit that Max has connected to his nervous system, how Elysium came to be and more information on the central core server that ran it. The film though seemed to focus solely on Max; with his relationship with his childhood friend and getting into a 'Med Bank' himself the priority issues.

 

It is by no means Damon's best performance but we can understand why he was chosen for the film.  The film is action packed and at times we felt the action was too thick and fast and the camera could not keep up to clearly show us what was going on. We were however very impressed again by Copley.  Having previously worked with Blomkamp for "District 9," Copley plays a totally different character.  He was unrecognisable until it suddenly clicked who he was.  He really played the 'bad-guy' well and was great to watch.

If you like science-fiction films then you will enjoy "Elysium". It is not the greatest you will ever see but is also not the worst.  The story line has potential and we would not be surprised if they were able to bring out a sequel or prequel.  If a sequel or prequel was made we would definitely watch it but would hope that the film focusses a bit less on the action which there was plenty of. 

Did you like Elysium? We would like to hear your thoughts and views on the film.

M+F Rating: 6/10

 



Reviewed by M+F Reviews.