The Big Bang Theory: Neill Blomkamp Returns with Elysium

When social and economic issues are translated by science fiction onto the silver screen, the result is Elysium, a sci-fi action-thriller directed by South African director, writer, and producer Neill Blomkamp. The movie stars Matt Damon who plays Max; a young man faced with the almost impossible task of saving an overpopulated and contaminated earth from its higher class, the rich who have migrated to a sophisticated and luxurious space platform known as Elysium.

Elysium is only Mr. Blomkamp’s second feature film. His previous work was an “unknown” movie called District 9, a $30 million budget movie, which ended up grossing over $200 million at the worldwide box-office. Am I impressed? I don’t know. Are you impressed? Should we be impressed? The answer is yes! We should be impressed because quite frankly those numbers are impressive.

There is a saying “stick to what you know”, a simple principle in which, Neill Blomkamp abided by as he chose to stay in his scientific territory for his second film, Elysium. Similar to District 9, in a scientific and futuristic manner, Elysium manages to portray and capture the essence of social and economic issues in our society today. But even more impressive is its ability to deliver a high level of entertainment accompanied by mouth-watering action sequences in the process. Even though Mr. Blomkamp’s first two movies possess the same aesthetic structure, both films are completely unique in many ways. Although the one major thing they share in common is the innocence of a Hollywood virgin-director whom could be crowned the new king of the sci-fi genre in the near future.

           

Elysium was produced with a budget of $115 million. Since its release two weeks ago, the movie has grossed more than $97 million at the worldwide box-office. These statistics are very encouraging for the studio executives from Sony and Columbia who should be smiling on their way to the bank any moment from now. But like the late Notorious B.I.G’s track goes, “Mo Money Mo Problems”. This has been the case for Elysium, as it seems to be acquiring more and more skeptics as its revenue grows. Instead of heaping praise on the director for his aesthetic vision, and high level of execution, many critics have been quick to point out “flaws” in the storyline, as well as the in experience of a young director still finding his feet in the modern Hollywood. Many would agree that Elysium is not the best movie that has ever been made, but another thing they would agree on is the fact that they have never seen anything like it. Elysium is an authentic film, which combines high quality computer generated imagery (CGI), with a solid storyline, and dynamic characters to create a cinematic experience that surely stands out from the crowd, and leaves audiences asking for more.

 I do not believe Elysium is flawless; however, the same could be said about many movies that are timeless. Does Elysium fit into the category of timeless movies? Only time will tell. But what I do know is that it definitely is a movie worth watching.