Blomkamp is definitely one to watch!!!

Rating: 8/10 (3 September 2013)

Elysium is the the second film from the director (Neill Blomkamp) who debuted with District 9. District 9 set the bar very high for Blomkamp and he must have been nervous about the reception his next film would get. but he should've have been as it was great! Exciting, fast paced and visually stunning, Elysium did not disappoint!. Elysium... reeked of what maybe Blomkamps style we will have to see after he has released a few more films. Blomkamp will definitely be on my watch list for the future.
4 likes and 3 dislikes are described below:
Likes
1) Visuals and Special Effects: Probably the best part of this film was the stunning visuals, as expected they were absolutely spot on. No expense spared.
2) Characters and Acting: The acting though out this film was strong, and the characters i felt were strong. Matt Damon did Matt Damon and it worked well for his character, Max. I also enjoyed the flashback style character development providing depth the Damons character. Jodie Foster played a very believable strong female character, Delacourt, the only let down was her Accent but that will be discussed below. It worth noting that Sharlto Copley (who played Wikus in D9) played Kruger in this film, his performance was also strong. Even though Damon and Foster did have good performances I wish that Blomkamp was left to cast little known cast like he did with D9 instead of being forced to cast a-list celebs. I felt this made the film lose some charm.
3)Futuristic Inventions: Bar the weapons (discussed below) I found the futuristic inventions throughout this film realistic, interesting and innovative. From the Re-atomisers which can heal those who a privileged, the exoskeletons and the robot-police/ social worker. We must not forget Elysium itself. It was stunning.
4) Future Earth/Future Elysium: I found future Earth and future Elysium very believable concepts. It should be noticed that we don't see the whole of earth just Southern America and therefore the fact that people speak a mixture of English and a Latin American language maybe Mexican or Portuguese this makes sense as does the slum type housing. Future Elysium is just as believable. Some reviewers have commented "Saying why does everyone speak French?" my reply to this is simple..."They don't", (Spoiler) Jodie Foster's character is called Delacourt and is French (even with here rubbish accent) and she has a family party (which she makes us aware of) and it would be understandable for her family and therefore the party goers speak French but this was not a reflection of Elysium as a whole. Elysium will have many have representatives from many nationalities all the most wealthy families. (Spoiler End)
Dislikes
1)Cinematography within Fight Scenes: This was awful. I can't believe that any film director would allow the camera to be so shaky. Nor do I Understand why Blomkamp didn't look back over the footage and think..."sh*t I can't tell who is throwing what punch this isn't working and try again". It seems to get worse as the film goes on and one very pivotal fight towards the end of the film is almost impossible to follow... this was incredibly disappointing and highly unnecessary.
2)Futuristic Weaponry: Every weapon exploded. Every future weapon had been designed to ensure bodies exploded? Even on a big floating spaceship...explosions...didn't seem safe to me or realistic. I think this choice of explosive only weaponry was only put in place to allow for the use of some very good and well put together special effects. The special Effects were really good as previously described. I felt that it was unrealistic that weaponry would become more messy and less "accurate" when surely the ideal weapon would be something that could be more precise than a explosion.
3)Jodie Foster's Accent!: Jodie Foster's accent was horrific it was supposed to be French, it was one minute and it wasn't the next. After the first so few minutes she seemed to throw it out of the window. On the plus side it did lighten up the mood a little providing a comedy aspect to the film.
On a final note. Some reviewers have pointed out this film is carrying a message. I didn't feel that this was anything to do with the American/Mexican immigration which so many early reviews were ranting about. But as Blomkamp has stated in interviews himself it was about the global wealth discrepancy of today for which he is using America and Mexico as an example, although this is not the only example worldwide. This film is clever it makes us think, it makes us think about this wealth discrepancy and makes us feel that it is in the future, or fictional... but when you sit and think about it you see that it is actually here and now. I welcome the fact that this film has message and am glad that it is attempting to open the viewer's eyes to the world and asking those tough questions.
In conclusion this film was fantastic, its visually stunning and it has a strong storyline which although not ground-breakingly original it is enjoyable and interesting. The plot wasn't very original but Blomkamp made up for it with his original look at the future of the world, the inventions and society. Well Done Mr Blomkamp! Watch it see what you think!!