That difficult, but successful, second album

Rating: 7/10 (3 September 2013)

I'm gonna go off on a tangent for a bit, but trust me, I'm going somewhere with it. One of the most interesting things about music, to me, is the concept of the 'difficult first album'. When an artist or band releases a spectacular first album, all attention turns to what they'll do next. What happens next determines the longevity and the overall appeal of said musicians. Either they're exposed as one-hit wonders, or they prove that they can keep on being the great artists that they are.
Elysium is Neil Blomkamp's difficult second album. For those of you living under a rock for the last few years, he was the creator of District 9, one of the best sci-fi/socio-political movies to hit the screen in a helluva long time. Bold, controversial, and highly entertaining, it breathed new life into science fiction.
Fast-forward four years, and we have this new creation. Once again, it's a science fiction movie set in the future. Once again, it is a satire on the state of the modern world and (more importantly) the state of African politics. Once again, it's about one man's fight against something he should not be able to fight.
Once again, Neil Blomkamp is on to a winner.
The story quickly: Max (Matt Damon) lives on an Earth full of poverty and disease, while the privileged few live on another planet called Elysium, which is more or less Utopia. When he gets infected with a fatal virus, Max has no choice but to go on a mission to Elysium. The chances of success are near-impossible, but success could lead to total equality for the entire universe.
Now, it has to be said, I don't think this is as good as District 9. There was something raw and unpolished about that movie which enhanced it. What makes Elysium so good, though, is the storyline. Just like its predecessor, it does a very smart job of mirroring the corruption and class divide we see in the world today, wrapping those concepts around a very taut and enjoyable thriller. Expectedly, Blomkamp once looks to the continent of Africa (his home) for inspiration, this time touching on the issues of poverty, disease and class alienation (no pun intended).
Having a bigger budget also really helped Blomkamp this time round – he made good use of special effects in District 9, but he goes ten steps further in this film. Robots with crazy weapons, space shuttles, brilliant action scenes involving a lot of guns and quite a bit of fire – it is all very similar to the future of District 9, but amped up. Almost as if the world of those two films are the same.
Interestingly enough, what hurts Elysium is probably what should have bettered it; that being the cast. Now, don't get me wrong, the cast is probably the main appeal of the film. Matt Damon in the lead role, Jodie Foster lurking around, it's not bad at all. But Damon never quite fits in the role, and I felt somebody else could have done a better job. Similarly, Jodie Foster's portrayal of the shady Elysium controller felt forced and unnatural. Funnily enough, the best performance comes from Sharlto Copley, who was the lead in District 9. He steals every scene he is in, which made me want him to be the leading man.
As far as difficult second albums go, Elysium comes out as a success. It's probably not ideal to keep comparing it to District 9, but there are so many similarities between the two, it's hard not to. Elysium is a very strong, solidly-directed movie that reinforces Neil Blomkamp as one of the must-see directors going around. Worth going out of your way to see.