Elysium
{4.5/5} “Elevation of heart rated detected. Would you like a pill?”
In the 22nd century the poor live on crowded Earth and the rich live on beautiful Elysium, orbiting the Earth. Max used to steal cars but now he has a job at a factory. One day he accidentally gets a lethal dose of radiation. On Earth, he’ll die in 5 days — on Elysium, he can be cured. He goes to his old friend Spider, who sells people tickets on illegal shuttles to Elysium. Max doesn’t have any money, but he’ll do anything to get there.
Elysium, released in 2013
From the writer/director of District 9, it’s another uncompromising vision of the future. It’s not a very nice future, at least for most of the people in it.
It’s visually interesting, with a sharp contrast between scenes on Earth (filmed in a garbage dump) and those on Elysium. There are a few spots where it’s gruesome and/or disturbing.
It’s mostly an action movie, with an action movie’s logic. I liked it quite a bit while watching it, but there are certainly some things that don’t make sense if you think about them.
It’s in the same general league as Oblivion, but of the two I think I’ll be more interested in watching Oblivion a second time.
The exciting music is by Ryan Amon (his first movie).
Matt Damon (True Grit) plays Max and Alice Braga (I Am Legend) plays his childhood friend. Diego Luna (The Terminal) plays Max’s friend and Sharlto Copley (District 9) plays Max’s enemy. Wagner Moura (The Man from the Future) plays Spider.
Jodie Foster (Sommersby) plays the person in charge of security on Elysium, and William Fichtner (Contact) plays the boss at Max’s factory.
The movie was directed by Neill Blomkamp (District 9).