Neill Blomkamp’s next project... ELYSIUM? - Part 1

[DA_Champion]

A decent movie, I think the problem is that the third act was too long, too much action, which is the story of 2013.

[Supernova]

Great effects, meh story and acting. What accent was jody foster going for?

[Whiskey Tango]

I'm not real sure. I was questioning Kruger's accent too until I found out that's pretty much how he sounds. Really liked the movie though.

[Persona]

Originally Posted by DA_Champion

A decent movie, I think the problem is that the third act was too long, too much action, which is the story of 2013.

personally, i think the film has a ton of flaws but i do not find length, in any way, to be one of them. if anything the film is a tad too short, some elements felt like they needed more fleshing out.

Elysium is supposed to be an action movie, first and foremost. i really don't think that there was all that much action at the end. a decent chunk, yeah, but without that then the movie as a whole would have precious little action besides the heist setpiece in the middle.

maybe you just didn't care for the action at the end, which is understandable, it has some cool moments throughout but the heist scene was a lot more memorable, i thought. but i'm surprised that you felt that there was too much action in general, considering the film's genre. to each his own, i guess.

[jacobed]

My problem wasn't the amount, it was how it was filmed. Just horrible

[Persona]

yeah, there were moments where it worked for me and moments where it didn't. i think the middle setpiece was executed well but the end action felt pretty erratic.

[Schlosser85]

Elysium needed to be longer and delve into stuff more. It had an intriguing premise, but everything felt half-baked and like it barely scratched the surface.

[Destructus86]

It was an alright film. Entertaining, but very "flat" feeling in terms of its depth.

[Thundercrack85]

I think they planned this movie on a napkin quite frankly.

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Originally Posted by jacobed

My problem wasn't the amount, it was how it was filmed. Just horrible

I managed to follow to action much better on blu-ray and it made the movie much more enjoyable to me.

[jacobed]

Originally Posted by AVEITWITHJAMON

I managed to follow to action much better on blu-ray and it made the movie much more enjoyable to me.

Yeah I plan to soon. Hunger Games I couldn't stand the action in the theater but on blu ray it was very easy to watch

[addison81]

Got this on bluray. Held up nice since theaters. It's far from perfect ( script problems, feels like a lot was left out)but I find it enjoyable still. And yes the action is easier to follow than in theaters.

[Heretic]

I watched it yesterday and enjoyed it. The political message supporting illegal immigrants is pretty heavy handed, but I'm siding more and more with their plight as time goes by anyway, so I didn't mind it.

I do wish that the world had been explored more. The problem with these one and done sci-fi films is that sci-fi fans always want to know more about the world and how it happened, what goes on etc. So, movies like Elysium, Oblivion and Upside Down (all from 2013) all feel like a bit of a letdown because I wish they could have expanded the stories.

[Thundercrack85]

Well, it’s like they got every political message they could get in there. Immigration, the 1%, the use of mercenaries, etc.

Which would be all well and good, if it wasn’t so damn in your face.

Blomkamp really needs to work being a little more subtle.

But, much as I was disappointed with the movie, I will say that the concept art was excellent. And the effects, were par excellence. The droids looked incredible.

[Heretic]

Yeah...but I'm in the camp that think that sci-fi (and some forms of horror) are often better if they mean something more than just the story you're watching. I don't have to agree with the message, I just want there to be one.
**Not always, of course

[Thundercrack85]

Well the movie doesn't really address any of it in a real way. Like, what is the logical outcome of the movie's conclusion? Elysium, like a lifeboat, will get swamped. Its limited resources will be used up, and it will fall into disrepair like the rest of the world.

A good movie would explore all that.

[Octoberist]

I'm of two minds of Elysium:

I'm glad that it's an original film. I'm glad that Neill is able to do something that's big without spending 200 million.

But...

Overall it's a sophomore slump. Not a bad movie, but more of a frustrating experience because if Neill polished the script a bit more, the movie could've been amazing. Instead, it's okay to moderately good. Everything was painted with broad strokes, which is unfortunate.

And it happens. Neill is young and the future is bright for him. It's not a crash (like a 47 Ronin) but more like a stumble for his career, but he'll keep on trucking.

[Heretic]

Originally Posted by Thundercrack85

Well the movie doesn't really address any of it in a real way. Like, what is the logical outcome of the movie's conclusion? Elysium, like a lifeboat, will get swamped. Its limited resources will be used up, and it will fall into disrepair like the rest of the world.

A good movie would explore all that.

It appeared to me that, rather than bring everyone to Elysium, they were bringing the resources of Elysium to Earth. They clearly COULD make the world a better place, but that was illegal.

[addison81]

Originally Posted by Octoberist

I'm of two minds of Elysium:

I'm glad that it's an original film. I'm glad that Neill is able to do something that's big without spending 200 million.

But...

Overall it's a sophomore slump. Not a bad movie, but more of a frustrating experience because if Neill polished the script a bit more, the movie could've been amazing. Instead, it's okay to moderately good. Everything was painted with broad strokes, which is unfortunate.

And it happens. Neill is young and the future is bright for him. It's not a crash (like a 47 Ronin) but more like a stumble for his career, but he'll keep on trucking.

This sums it up. Although I think I liked it slightly more.

[Senator Pleasury]

It seems to me that Blomkamp just took District 9 - a very original movie IMO - and re3peated it. This time the theme will be immigration. And then did it all over again, without making anything new. Its' all broad brushstrokes, an over the top villain and the average action movie. Nothing special.

2.5/5

[MrMaooz]

"I F***** It Up": Neill Blomkamp Says He Wants To Go Back To 'Elysium' And "Do It Correctly"

It would be an understatement to say that Neill Blomkamp's "Elysium," which arrived four years after the filmmaker's "District 9," was hugely anticipated. Many looked forward to the former to see if the filmmaker was a one-hit wonder or a bold new genre voice, and the reactions were divisive. I liked the movie more than most, and thought the mix of social and political elements, if heavy-handed, mostly worked. But there were some really duff aspects, starting with the clunky flashback sequences. In case you were wondering, Blomkamp himself wishes he had a do-over.

"...I feel like I f***** it up," the director candidly told Uproxx. "I feel like ultimately the story is not the right story. I still think the satirical idea of a ring filled with rich people hovering above the impoverished Earth is an awesome idea. I love it so much, I almost want to go back and do it correctly. But I just think the script wasn’t… I just didn’t make a good enough film is ultimately what it is. I feel like I executed all of the stuff that could be executed, like costume and set design and special effects very well. But ultimately it was all resting on a somewhat not totally formed skeletal system, so the script just wasn’t there…"

It's a remarkably honest assessment, one you don't hear very often from filmmakers working with hundreds of millions of dollars and A-list stars, but then again, Blomkamp has already tended to forge his own path. Moreover, he seems to understand what his flaws might be as a filmmaker.

"The problem with me is I get so caught up in concepts and ideas. Like I just said, the ring is so cool. The satirical idea of a diamond encrusted ring above, like, slums is such a satirically cool idea —I’m not like a normal person in the sense that I have to have a story for something to be interesting. Concepts are just as interesting to me as stories are. Where, to normal people, stories are more interesting," he explains. "So that’s an example of what I mean. I can be like, 'F***, I love this ring, I love all the visual effects related to it, I love these images and how they’re juxtaposed with one another.' And then be like, 'as a director, I could have done better.' And you sort of realize that all these people prefer this element I didn’t pay as much attention to, but I paid a lot of attention to this."

He adds: "...the artists I really respect are the ones that are able to very objectively stand back from work and critique it. So, that has been something I’ve always been good at. I don’t assume something’s good because I did it and I get all cloudy and f***** up by it. There’s a separation and you got this really right and you got this really wrong —and learn from it and adapt."

But did he learn his lessons going into "Chappie" which opens on March 6th? And more importantly, will cool concept art translate into a good movie for his "Alien" flick? Time will tell...

[Octoberist]

I don't like it when actors and directors do this. It doesn't come off as genuine or candid when they bash their own work (in hindsight). Because what will happen is that now expectations will be higher for both CHappie and Alien. And if Chappie sucks, people are going to think 'Oh is he going to talk crap on Chappie in a few years too?'

[georgec]

Good lord, at this rate tomorrow we're going to learn Blomkamp is going to remake District 9!

[I SEE SPIDEY]

Eh I'm fine with him stating his opinion about his own film. He's not just some actor, he wrote and directed the film so it's fine with me. However I don't have to agree with a director about his own film, I happen to agree with this particular director though.

[TheComicbookKid]

yeah, artist need to be able to critic their own work as apart of making new stuff.