Oh my god I forgot I saw Elysium...review.

     Don't let the title mislead you, the film was good.  Elysium stars Matt Damon,  Sharlto Copley, and Jodie Foster in Neil Blomkamps latest film.  Fans of District 9 are familiar with Blomkamp's work and will notice the visual similarities in this film as well as a familiar scenario.  Blomkamp's allegorical story telling style is definitely the thinking man's director for present day sci-fi films and he has yet to disappoint.

Got so crazy with Breaking Bad...forgot to post this.

Damon gets in "Jason Bourne" shape for this film to play Max Da Costa, a future hard times guy working in a droid factory that makes the bulk of the androids that police and control the regular folk planet side on earth that aren't good enough (or rich enough) for Elysium.  The film takes place in 2154, where two classes of people exist, those good enough to be in Elysium and those that aren't.  The film makes it seem like the qualifying factor to get up there is money, which not many people have enough of in the future (or now if you're me). Copley plays Kruger, an insanely violent solider that Fosters character uses to stop anyone escaping to Elysium illegally.  This is one complaint I have about the film, with all the androids and future weapons the defense against illegal invaders is this one guy firing rockets out of the back of a van?  Really?  It bothers, but it doesn't ruin the movie.

The scenario looks familiar, characters trying to get into space for some reason.  In District 9, the aliens want to get away and need help getting into to space to do it.  In Elysium, better health care is in space and Damon in his super bionic exoskeleton suit has to help people get to it.  Space, and getting there seems to Blomkamp's formula for good movies and his presentation makes it work visually.  The allegory of class warfare, immigration and universal health care are presented well to make you think how it relates to a lot of what we hear argued about on the news in recent years.  This was also present in District 9 and addressing apartheid in South Africa and using the aliens and public opinion about them in that film.  Not everyone pays attention to the news so films like these are a good way to get people thinking about real world issues.

The action and special effects alone are awesome enough to make this film worthy of a sit through and Copley's performance is stand out as his character seemed to be the most quoted when leaving the theater.  His character Kruger also has an exo-skeleton combat suit and there's a nice showdown between him and Damon that is reminiscent of a fight from the Dragon Ball Z cartoons.  Elysium is rate 'R' for the crazy violence in it that the tough guys will enjoy and the squeamish will gag at.