Elysium: Unusually enjoyable movie with an ethical soul

Rating: 9/10 (16 August 2013)

I will not repeat here the plot description and many aspects covered by other reviews. Instead I will point out the salient observations about this movie that come to my mind:
Elysium is an excellent modern example of the classic scifi format: since the early Metropolis every serious scifi has dealt with contemporary and pressing societal issues using the future as a metaphor that provides a less biased or more revealing perspective to the viewers.
Blomkamp has a remarkable command of action sequence involving technology: on par with an early James Cameron imo, and I cannot find a better praise than that. Specifically he sets up the action sequences so that we know what propels it, where are the various agents of action, and how it unfolds in space and time. He paces action at the right speed, he structures episodes of action so that they escalate, sustain, recede, accelerate, and surprise.
Blomkamp has a very sophisticated take on future weaponry too: in his films the weaponry of today has been replaced with instruments of destruction that bring a reality and excitement that the moronic cliché of a 20 century automatic masquerading as futuristic weapon is thoroughly abandoned. Because future weaponry is so powerful, gory mayhem follows and at the same time many silly Hollywood heroics (think james bond dodging 10,000 bullets unharmed) are eliminated.
The set design is remarkable aesthetically and remarkably effective narratively: on one hand never before since Stalker have we seen a more decrepit future earth than here. The contrast to the pristine Elysium is both jarring and narratively compact to the extreme. In a few seconds the director establishes beyond doubt what is wrong with this world.
Copley is spectacular: with a Rasputin like appearance and a demonic energy, he acts like a virtuoso of destruction and brings Terminator or Alien levels of menace to the story.
A hero is not a synonym for the protagonist: among many members of the audience and many critics, the notion of a hero and a protagonist are often confused. A hero sacrifices to attain a higher goal. A protagonist does not sacrifice anything. The main character of Elysium is a hero. We need more movies with heroes.
Weaknesses are abundant but do not hold the movie back: this movie is not perfect. Sometimes the dialog lacks polish, nuance, or just sounds cartoonish. The music is adequate, but think what Vangelis accomplished with Bladerunner, or what Goldsmith achieved with Alien, or Fiedel with Terminator, or Poledouris with Conan to understand how much better the experience would have been with a more inspired score. Finally the direction and acting is pure melodrama at times. This affects primarily the secondary, textural elements of the story, and does not spoil the core of the movie.
Overall, Elysium is a great movie, not just unusually enjoyable, but thoroughly worth contemplating about both in terms of cinematic form but most importantly in terms of societally and ethically important issues which is its earnest goal.