Going by the
standard Neill Blomkamp set in the Academy Award nominated ‘District
9’, his new offering ‘Elysium’ is a massive let down.
While the earlier film had the powerful undercurrent of racism in South Africa,
Elysium’s attempt to take on the rich-poor divide comes across as flawed
and executed without much thought.
Since, I really
don’t predict many people watching this after reading this, I thought of using
some liberty to include spoilers in the review. Here it goes:
In the year 2154
(incidentally the same year that ‘Avatar’ is set in), Earth has become overpopulated,
polluted and disease ridden. The elite have since escaped to a space-station
style colony leaving the poor in a state of appalling healthcare and
sanitation standards while they dream of illegal immigration to 'Elysium'.
The protagonist of
the story is Max Da Costa (Matt Damon), ex-convict on parole works
for a company that makes robots and dreams of saving up to buy a ticket
to Elysium. Things get rough after he is exposed to radiation while at
work and has only five days to live. He then urges Spider, someone who
arranges illegal ships to get him there, in exchange of one last con job,
that turns out to be the keys to the kingdom.
Meanwhile on
Elysium, Secretary of Defense Delacourt (Jodie Foster) rules with an iron
hand, much to the disapproval of the rest of the administration. That
includes using illegal agents to shoot down spacecraft intruding into
Elysium air-space. She then urges a corporate honcho Carlyle to build an
illegal program that will install her as President. It is this very program
that Max unwittingly ends up stealing from Carlyle.
The film tells us
very little about the people in Elysium except that they are on a
perpetual holiday. The film makes it appear as if anyone having access
to the main program running the system, runs the Elysium and concordantly,
all human population. Preposterous! And does it take only a computer program
to bring down an administration? So, you see, the audience wouldn't care a damn
about Elysium folks.
What about
earthlings then? That too, hardly evokes sympathy! In Max's neighborhood,
he seems to be the only who cares about working in a proper job. So, what
were the others doing? Busy enhancing the population? The view from space
shows that the land surface of the planet had lost its greenery. So, how
were the people still alive? Didn’t the climate change affect the
weather or crops?
Sometimes, the portrayal
of earth, with the burgeoning population and issues like crumbling
healthcare & sanitation shown in the film, in some way would remind you of how
India could look like within a few years if the population kept growing
at the current rate and with the rich-poor divide continuing to widen. Shocking
nonetheless!
The film is so
poorly written that one hardly feels for any of its characters or
care about what they seek to represent. Our hero's only motivation to reach
Elysium is to fulfill his dream and the urgency comes because he is
about to die. And what was Alice Braga's silly role in it? One can
remember her equally pointless role in the futuristic 'Repo Men'. And Max's
conversation with Braga's kid seems forced.
There are numerous
other inconsistencies, like how Max recovers from his injuries, and then the
exoskeleton being bolted to his body using big screws and then being
stabbed by a knife during fights. He seemed more like Terminator rather
than a real human. And he carries the program in chip attached to his head.
Duh!
Joining Foster
& Damon in the wasted actors list is Sharlto Copley who
played the lead actor in ‘District 9’. He plays the mercenary, Kruger.
His character seems to have a sudden transition from an illegal, later
disavowed mercenary to a President hopeful. What a sudden transition! Surely,
this bit could have done with some improvement.
The only thing a
movie like this can brag about is special effects and some cool gadgets. The car-like
space shuttles are so quick, compact and convenient, powerful weapons
that are exceedingly compact. But this is hardly adequate to save the
film.
And lastly, let's
talk about the ending: The reprogrammed code now considers all
Earthlings as citizens and the system dispatches them medical facilities so
that they too can live forever, and that too disease free! And that,
ladies and gentlemen, is how the film ends! Seriously, that’s their hare-brained
plot. What a waste of time and money!!
Verdict: Elysium may have bagged good ratings; but,
please don’t get carried away by it. Even if you are in the mood to
leave your brain back home in the refrigerator, this film can still irritate
you and make you feel like walking out in between. Avoidable!
Rating 3/10:
Stupid film with one-dimensional characters
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