The Best Film of the Summer, and so far the year.

Rating: 9/10 (11 August 2013)

Its a known fact-people do not like politics/social commentaries with their action movies. That's the main reason why so many people were harsh on Green Zone. I freaking loved that movie! God, I've never seen so many people jump on the bandwagon for critics nowadays. I blame the Hollywood reporter; ever since his shitty, snobby review hit the web, many people retweeted it and went in with the mind set that they were going to be disappointed.
We live in a world where people are so gullible. And maybe the reason why people are saying this movie is disappointing is because Sony decided to make this movie more of an internet campaign. I don't know, but every single one of the people that score this film with a 6/10 or lower, or a B- or lower say they felt the film beat them over the head with its message.
Having seen the movie after hearing both sides, those who love it and those who don't like it, i realize that some people are freaking idiots. This movie is a masterpiece; best I've seen this year so far. Its smart, energetic, original, and thrilling. Its far from generic and repetitive that its pundits claim it to be. So lets get down about the positives:
1. Matt Damon. Great casting choice! You can really tell the guy put a lot into his character, and you felt that he was a real person and that made his character more relatable. You really want to root for this guy in his quest to take down Elysium.
2. The world of 2154. You can tell that Neil Blomkamp has put so much effort into the world of this dystopian future. Nothing is clean and all pretty like a lot of futuristic movies; no Earth is an over-populated waste land, full of people dying and looking up at a world that orbits there's, wishing for a way out. This is a world you can sink into, and a lot of people felt that it was just a huge social message slapping them in the face- (immigration and health care) But the film really doesn't yeah the symbolism is there but its not in your face. Only hard core conservatives are saying that this movie is a huge political porno.
3. Special effects-not one moment in this movie did i think any of the things were CGI. Much like Pacific Rim that came out last month, the special effects are mind blowing. And what's better is the use of practical effects; there is a lot of it in this movie and that boosts the realism of the film even more. The droids, the world of Elysium, all look visually spectacular.
4. Kruger. Okay, I saved the best for last. This is with out a doubt the best part of the film and you will hear this from nearly everybody. Shartlo Copely completely steals the show. In a great movie, he is the greatest; he stands out over his counter parts as the menacing, electrifying, creepy, and crazy Kruger. We don't see a WHOLE lot of kruger, but when we do, its awesome. Shartlo puts so much into his performance, giving us the joker vibe. There is a scene towards the end of this film were I was watching Kruger and legitimately felt he was a futuristic heath ledger joker without make up. He will go down as one of the best villains in history.
I really didn't have any really issues with the movie except one, but its not like it brings down the entire experience.
1. Jodie Foster. The moment I heard she was in this movie and saw her in the trailer, I knew that she was going to play a role that any woman her age could play...and i was not wrong. Even though she is able to get the whole corrupt politician down, her presence doesn't feel as important as Damon's and Copely's. She does a good job, but not great; she's the weakest link in the film for sure but doesn't bring down the movie.
In the end, I loved Elysium, and I think there's another reason why people are feeling disappointed-they win expecting District 9. And they should not have done that at all. I went in expecting an entertaining conventional, original sci-fi movie and that's exactly what I got. I didn't go in expecting an original mockumentary/sci-fi thriller. That's like going into a transformers movie expecting a strong, clever story with deep characters and heavy emotion. Change your expectations people. Seriously.
10/10