After South
African filmmaker Neil Blomkamp made instant classic “District 9,” he had to go
big. So, it’s inevitable that his studio summer flick “Elysium” would disappoint.
The hero here is Max (Matt Damon), an do-gooder ex-con in 2154 who suffers an
accidental death-sentence radiation dose at work, where he builds the RoboCops
that abuse the populace. Max won’t die quiet. He wants to get his ass to
Elysium, a glistening, guarded spaceship hovering over Earth like a second moon.
Ninety-nine percenters alert: Elysium is home only to the rich, and features medical
machines that cure any injury or illness. Earth? It’s crowded, dying. Now oddly
armored with an exoskeleton from “Aliens,” Max is out for Elyisum, but has to pass
through a bounty hunter (Sharlto Copley of “9”) and a military honcho (Jodie
Foster, dishing a whack accent). Bound to Hollywood cliché now, Blomkamp tosses
in an angelic childhood sweetheart (Alice Braga) with an adorable Dickens preschooler with
end-stage leukemia, who also needs curing. What will Max do? Blomkamp’s visuals thrill, but as the climax
grinds too easy and “9” echoed too deeply, his leftist sci-fi throwdown feels a weak second effort. B
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Elysium (2013)
Labels:
2013,
99 percent,
action,
aliens,
cliche,
earth,
Elysium,
Jodie Foster,
leftist,
Matt Damon,
Neill Blomkamp,
poor,
sci-fi,
Sharlto Copley,
violent
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