Elysium

With his 2009 debut District 9, screenwriter and director Neill Blomkamp had a Debut. Yes, a capital D. It was that good, a science fiction story that was smart and unique, visually interesting and unlike just about any other sci-fi flick out there. Blomkamp has been patient though picking his follow-up, finally directing his second feature film, 2013's Elysium.

It's 2154 and Earth as we know it is no more. Overpopulation has ravaged the planet, the rich and well-to-do creating an immense, luxurious space station named Elysium that floats around the planet, allowing them to steer clear of the unclean masses back on Earth. In the slums of Los Angeles, an ex-con, Max Da Costa (Matt Damon), is making it day-to-day, working in a manufacturing factory on an assembly line for the Elysium-run Armadyne Corp. A work accident exposes him to deadly amounts of radiation, Max given just five days to live. Elysium has Med-Bays that can cure any disease, any ailment, but Max has no way of getting there. With his days quite literally numbered, Max takes a deal with a black market dealer to try and "steal" a rich man's financial information by actually hacking his brain. The chances of success are slim at best, but Max has no better alternative.

What I'm about to say I don't say as a complaint, just an observation. Is it just me or does it seem like wave after wave of dystopian science fiction films keep hitting theaters? From Oblivion to The Hunger Games movies, Total Recall to Looper and many more, we seem to be in the Age of Dystopia, well, in films at least. Even Blomkamp's previous film, District 9, was the definition of a dystopian film. Is it a bad thing? Can you have too much of a good thing? When handled correctly, I don't think it matters if a movie is, for the lack of a better word, "familiar." And don't be confused, Elysium is familiar but almost always in a good way. It's somewhat predictable almost from the get-go and if you've read anything from 1984 to Fahrenheit 451, you have an idea of where it's going. There are haves and have-nots, the haves doing their damnedest to make sure it stays that way. If that ain't a good jumping off point, I don't know what is.

In the same way Blomkamp's 'District' was unique, so is 'Elysium.' Again writing the screenplay and directing, Blomkamp does what the best science fiction films do. He creates a world that is original, unsettling, realistic and quite a window into our society in the present. It works because it is rather easy to see our 2014 Earth becoming the 2154 Earth of Elysium. Overpopulation is a very real threat so it's easy to see developing this way. The overpopulated masses left behind live in expansive slums, Los Angeles turning into slums as far as the eye can see, not unlike the slums in Rio de Janiero. They work for minimal wages, kept under the oppressive thumb of the government and corporations of Elysium. That power seems to be waning though, something the Defense Secretary, Delacourt (Jodie Foster), is aware of and trying to combat. From the technology to the transportation, the unidentifiable accents that the people of Elysium have developed, it's Blomkamp developing a world, all those little touches combining to make it unsettling and dramatic and realistic, maybe most importantly, a frightening world.

For this all to work though, we need some sort of human component, and that comes from Damon's Max, a doomed anti-hero if there ever was. His background is hinted at, addressed some in fuzzy-edged flashbacks (Maxwell Perry Cotton playing Young Max), an orphan who turned to stealing cars (maybe more) and ended up in jail. Now, he's trying to go clean when his life is shortened with the work accident. Criminal past aside, Damon's Max is sympathetic. With nothing to lose, nothing that can happen to him is actually that threatening. Still, he desperately wants to live, and that's why he takes a ridiculously suicidal mission from black market dealer and smuggler, Spider (Wagner Moura). We're rooting for Max from the word 'go,' and we want him to make it. The radiation exposure has severely weakened him, forcing Spider to outfit him with a weaponized/armored exo-skeleton. That Blomkamp, he seems to have a fascination with engineered/mutated anti-heroes. Damon hits all the right notes as Max, sympathetic, intense and driven like nothing else to survive.

Beyond Damon though, Blomkamp chose not to use much in terms of recognizable star power. The biggest name is Jodie Foster as Delacourt, the icy, greedy and high-reaching Defense Secretary. She's fed up with limitations placed on her shoulders, especially by the peacefully idealistic President of Elysium (Faran Tahir), even though results are demanded above all else. Blomkamp favorite and District 9 star Sharlto Copley plays Kruger, a black ops agent who does all the dirty work for Delacourt. I like Copley (really liked him in 'District'), but there are times he gets to ham it up too much, too many one-liners. Still, he's a terrifying villain, a possible unhinged and very capable agent. Alice Braga plays Frey, a childhood friend/crush of Max's, now a single mom with a daughter (Emma Tremblay) dying from leukemia, William Fichtner plays an Armadyne C.E.O. and a target of Max's, and Diego Luna plays Julio, Max's close friend trying to help his wounded friend in need.

Where Blomkamp has made a name for himself and can hopefully help him have long-term success is his storytelling ability. His sci-fi stories are smart, no doubt about it. But just like District 9, he blends in that well-written, message-oriented story with some great, heart-pumping and visceral action story. He still relies too much on the ultra-hyper, shaky cam techniques, but the action isn't as indecipherable as some movies. This action is fast, bloody and gets the blood pumping. The finale really packs a punch in the action department, Max loose in Elysium with Kruger and his two enforcers (Brandon Auret and Josh Blacker) hot on his trail. My favorite though was near the midpoint of the movie, Max trying to pull off Spider's crazy plan, robbing the memory of Fichtner's brains, not realizing he's stumbled into something far bigger than he thought. It's a big, loud action scene, full of slow-motion and hyper editing that works together, composer Ryan Amon's score adding to that pulse-pounding shootout.

Filmed on the outskirts of the slums in an isolated, sandy flatland, it's a great action sequence. That's what I like most about Blomkamp's movies. They're a good mix of the smart, intelligent and thoughtful with equal parts action, exciting throughout, and some pretty cool characters. It isn't a classic sci-fi, but it's still very good. Easily recommended.

Elysium (2013): ***/****

District 9

This may sound obvious when describing a genre of films, but there's something special about science fiction films. What is it? Anything and everything is possible in a sci-fi film. Anything. It's fantasy, make-believe, so use your imagination and have some fun with it. One of the most original sci-fi flicks in recent memory, 2009's District 9 certainly plays up that anything can go angle.

In the early 1980s, an alien spaceship descends on Earth, ultimately hovering over Johannesburg, South Africa. An investigation of the dormant ship finds thousands of sick, malnourished alien beings inside. The government -- not having any other promising answers -- sets up a small city within the city for these aliens, dubbed District 9, and life goes on....but not always for the better. Years pass, and the alien problem is serious. It's now 2010, and it's been decided by the government and the Multinational United (MNU) corporation that the aliens -- now well over a million of them -- will be relocated outside the city. The son-in-law of the CEO, Wikus van de Merwe (Sharlto Copley), has been placed in charge of the relocation, but nothing about the immense project will come easy, especially for the well-meaning Wikus as he gets caught up on both sides.

When 'District' was released in 2009, reviews were almost uniformly positive for director Neill Blomkamp's film. Watching it for the first time a few years later, it's easy to see why. If aliens are visiting Earth in a movie, it's the rare occasion where it's not an attack/invasion hell bent on taking over the world. Here, we don't know why these aliens are here, they just show up and are trapped without a way to get back to their home. The set-up -- putting them in a shanty-like town -- is a not so thinly veiled dig at apartheid and South Africa's troubled history between blacks and whites. But it has aliens! Moral of the story is simple. It's not the most subtle story, but it is original in execution. It takes something we know -- apartheid -- and tweaks it with an interesting twist. Go figure that an alien story in South Africa with apartheid undertones and some heavy duty action would be as interesting and entertaining as this flick. It certainly is worthwhile though.

As if some atypical aliens weren't enough, Blomkamp's story is far from typical. It's a smart movie for one, not just a random shoot 'em up. It's the storytelling technique that sets it apart. The opening 15 minutes play out like a documentary featuring interviews that would look right at home on a History Channel show. We see countless interviews explaining the history of the alien arrival, their treatment in District 9, and the lead-up to Wikus' mission to move the aliens out of Johannesburg. The actual story seems to have taken place a few weeks -- maybe months -- after the mission, some questions left still unanswered as to what actually happened during the alien eviction and subsequent fall-out. Jason Cope plays Grey Badnam, a journalist and correspondent who has vast knowledge of everything that went on but is similarly still looking for more specific answers. Through a series of interviews, we get a good glimpse at his background. The technique of a documentary-like story is a big boost to the story, not just original but entertaining in its originality.

There is no star power or even name recognition -- at the time at least -- among the cast, and that ends up being a huge boost. The unquestioned star is Copley as Wikus van de Merwe, an Afrikaner bureaucrat assigned to lead the alien eviction. Through the intro documentary interviews, we learn that Wikus isn't exactly a screw-up, but he is a little goofy, a little different. He also happens to be the son-in-law of powerful MNU executive (Louis Minnaar) so go figure. Copley makes his feature film debut and leaves quite an impression, going through quite a transition as a character and literally as a person. The twist? SPOILERS While leading the eviction, he accidentally ingests an alien fluid and immediately shows signs of being physically transformed into an alien prawn, starting with his arm. END OF SPOILERS He goes from driven company man to defender of the alien prawns when he sees what's actually going on behind closed doors. It's an impressive performance though, one that keeps the story based on a personal level as all sorts of chaos ensues in District 9.

Now this comes as a nice capper, but 'District' is smart, well-written and......a highly entertaining action blockbuster. In Wikus' "condition," he's been given an odd talent. He now has the ability to fire alien weaponry and technology, something humans have been able to do since the prawns' arrival. MNU, the government and a small army of mercenaries (led by the evil Koobus, played by David James) want to get their hands on Wikus, but by now he's sided with the prawns. The follow-up is a running shootout over the final hour or so through Johannesburg and and District 9. The ending especially has some surprises in store.

I thought the best part though was the surprising relationship that develops between Wikus and a highly intelligent prawn dubbed Christopher Johnson (also played by Cope). Chris and his son, a smallish prawn, have been working for years to reactive the alien ship hovering over Johannesburg, but Wikus accidentally unleashes the necessary fuel when he investigates their shack. They form an unlikely partnership -- Wikus leading Chris into the facility where the fuel is, Chris promising to cure Wikus of his growing prawn-dom -- that is never completely trustworthy, and therefore that much more interesting. I really liked this movie and am really glad I finally caught up with it. The ending certainly leaves the door open for a sequel, but I wouldn't touch it. As is, it's pretty perfect.

District 9 (2009): ***/****