Neill Blomkamp - King of the half-baked popcorn action sci-fi.

Rating: 6/10 (31 August 2013)

Neill Blomkamp plummeted to the movie-event scene in 2009 with the interesting-concept, blandly-executed District 9. Sure, the first act is quite good with its documentary style of exposition, but then it gets tiring, realises that and awkwardly abandons it for an action movie instead. Nevertheless, on rewatch, Sharlto Copley is the one that holds it together so I'm quite glad he rejoins Blomkamp again for Elysium, this time as the antagonist where I'm still not sure he belongs. In the lead, a more experienced action actor, Matt Damon, who's always reliable in this type of role bringing a sense of humour to an otherwise humourless film and a sincerity to his pain and struggle. However, although Blomkamp wisely decides not to paint himself in a corner and start with a certain style and fizzle out again, opting for an all-out action style, it doesn't feel like a fully fleshed out world and just a high concept.
It's a world where characters often make decisions that are obviously designed to put themselves in danger. It's quite frustratingly contrived to get to where it wants to go and its on-the-nose comments on shared healthcare across classes is almost cringeworthy in its sentimental and overly simple execution. While Jodie Foster is getting the biggest bad rap for how misguided the way the Elysium residents were directed, the real criminals are the dreadful over-the-top performances from William Fichtner and Wagner Moura. But still, the special effects are rather exciting, which is an aspect District 9 is also undoubtedly notable for, and it is an entertaining film when you stop trying to think about it too much. Nevertheless, I'm sure Neill Blomkamp will enjoy his crown as the King of half-baked popcorn sci-fi as his ambitions don't seem to stretch much further.
6/10