Best Scifi of 2013

Rating: 7/10 (8 January 2014)

Man, that Jodi Foster is one mean villain! My previous contender was Star Trek into Darkness - also great fun to watch, but I have to give the edge to Elysium. The effects are truly beautiful, and the class exploitation line very satisfying: the protagonist is reminded that he's easily replaced if he screws up, the same line is used to get him to put his life on the line at his job. Issues like immigration and access to health care come up as major plot devices, which I found refreshing. As in District 9, the violence and inhumanity is constant, but it's done differently. In Elysium, heartless acts are perpetrated by humans but also by machines which in fact have no hearts. The screen writers take advantage of this to deliver some juicy black comedy. The 2 movies share the morphing of humans into something new and potentially dangerous, which leaves a lot to the imagination (cripes, can he fly?). What I most enjoyed was Elysium's departure from over-used Hollywood plot devices. First, it's nice to see a genuine coup, in which there's little regard for the good of society. How tiresome the writers might have made the takeover - what if we had been treated to a decision among Elysium residents to opt for authoritarian rule to keep them safe? Or made to watch in disgust as they abdicate their civic duties and let the government run amok so they can keep on their hedonistic lifestyle? Happily, the whole insurrection happens like it should; motive, means and opportunity all line up and the villain just takes charge. The plot holes are numerous (robot hardware can offset the effects of radiation poisoning? Data downloading kills you how, exactly?)... but with such incredible effects and bad bad bad-guys, my disbelief was easy to suspend. I did cringe when Matt Damon spoke Spanish, but oh well, that's modern casting for ya.