Elysium: A Theatrical Disappointment

Rating: 3/10 (22 July 2014)

At first, "Elysium" may seem very good. In fact, the concept is very unique; rich people leave Earth to go to a space habitat so they may continue to advance. Meanwhile, poor people and people who don't have enough to afford a ticket to the habitat (Elysium) yet are left to die on a ravaged Earth. One of the inhabitants, named "Max," of Earth is exposed to extreme amounts of radiation that will be fatal unless he gets to a healing machine on Elysium. He is forced to do mercenary work for a man named "Spider," to get a ticket to Elysium, which leads to an exoskeleton being installed onto him. It's also played by many award winning actors. However, they don't seem all too award winning in this movie and the actual movie just doesn't hit par with the story. Jodie Foster, who plays one of the main villains, seems to just not play her part right. The accents are much too over the top as well. Most of the emotional sequences are much too cheesy or jump into the point of them much too fast. Action sequences are good at times...until they use the forsaken "shaky cam" to try to make the fights seem more intense. Instead, they render said sequences unable to understand. Lots of flashbacks are inserted, which makes it hard to tell what's a flashback and what's actually happening. They attempt to make you bond with a leukemia-infected girl who Max eventually gives up his chance to be healed for. Some of the comedy is good though, which is one of its only redeeming factors. The plot throughout the movie becomes increasingly more cheesy and predictable as the whole thing spirals downward.