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

[Map of Scars]

This is a very interesting topic you guys have here. I found this thread through some Googling, looking up people's reactions to the film, as I myself have had the fortune of seeing it.

Personally, I enjoyed the film for what it was... which was a blockbuster spectacle that delivered sound jaw dropping visual effects, inventive action set pieces (which I will make note of in a sec here) and some good acting despite the limitations in characterization.

I think the issue here, and that people like Poni Boy and several critics have is, is that the director was just going to follow up "District 9" with an Oscar-bait sci-fi film but instead they were greeted with an action-dominated popcorn film. Now, I could be wrong with that generalization, but it's the most likely conclusion that I can draw seeing as this film is hands down the most entertaining, and most smartest, film of the summer. It may not reach the intellectual or philosophical heights of the best in this genre in that regard, but it at least presents some interesting and smart ideas even if they are cut and dry. At least the film even HAS ideas, which is more than I can say for the overkill of comic book adaptions and the massively STUPID "Pacific Rim".

What makes "Elysium" a winner for me is that it succeeds admirably in the entertainment department. You know those action set pieces I was talking about? I was so floored by a couple camera movements during the final battle between the protagonist and villain, that I had to ask someone after the film finished if they noticed what I did. Much to my surprise, this person told me that the director had actually built his own camera rig for a couple of scenes during the fight sequences to convey a sort of "real life video game" approach to the action, and it looked amazing. It's hard to explain it, because when you hear "video game" action you automatically think of video game effects and hyper stylization, but it's handled in a live-action environment and it's presented in a very realistic, yet fun fashion.

The shootouts, the slo-mo, the sound design... it's all superb and lends itself fantastically to all the action in this film, which in my opinion, provides the best action of any of the summer films to come out this year.

Also, the guy who plays the villain (I believe he was the protagonist in "District 9") completely steals the show in this film. His character is really fun, and in a film that is overly serious, he provides enough comic value to allow you to take a breath every now and then.

It remains to be seen if I turn out to be in the minority... but for all my money, this is hands down the best blockbuster film of the summer. And while that may NOT amount to much to some of you, it's at least a few notches better than everything that has come out in recent months.

Just my very honest and humble opinions on the film. It may not be as "new" or "refreshing" as D9, but it damn sure is a very entertaining thrill ride with groundbreaking effects.

 

[Warhammer]

So Matt Damon in this movie is like Sharlto Copley in District 9? Unlikeable. Wikus van der Merwe was such an unlikeable character. I couldn't stand the dude nor felt sorry for him.

 

[Marvin]

Welcome Map.
Fair warning, lots of people here love Pacific Rim lol.

 

[Map of Scars]

Just to clarify, my intentions aren't to insult anyone or provoke any sort of argument. I suppose I should provide some more clarity to that statement in that if a movie like "Pacific Rim", which was from a very intelligent and talented director AND screenwriter in Guillermo del Toro, can get away with an openly brainless blockbuster, then how come the director of "Elysium" can't get away with minor shortcomings in an otherwise smart and entertaining film?

It just strikes me as a double standard.

Anyway, I hope some of you won't have your expectations swayed by critics or word of mouth. Try to remember that movies are like music, and it's about enjoying what personally piques your interest. While I do concede that "Elysium" is not as refreshing as "District 9", it is still the summer's best blockbuster in my very honest and truthfully unbiased opinion.

Hope some of you get to enjoy it as much as I did!

 

[Persona]

thanks for you input, MoS (hey, how bout that), it is appreciated. i'm seeing the film tonight and hope to enjoy it on the same wavelength that you did, as a kick-ass action movie with some cool ideas thrown in.

addison, i believe, alluded in the previous thread to the positive opinion of his local critic, Rene Rodriquez from the Miami Herald, on Elysium, and Rodriguez just published a very nice review of the movie that seems to echo some of the same things you are saying. he gave it 3 out of 4 and had his quibbles, but also talks about how much he enjoyed the action and near the end adds "this is popcorn entertainment of the highest order." can't wait!

 

[Deserana]

Think of Marion Cotillard when she speaks English. Her accent is melodic and rhythmic. Jodie's is not. It's harsh and almost guttural. Doesn't sound at all like a French woman speaking English it sounds like an actor making up an accent.

That is what I mean. Most reviews I've read literally said she made up an accent, not that she is speaking French or even trying to.

Which to be honest, makes sense for this film.

 

[Schlosser85]

Is her character meant to be French?

 

[Poni_Boy]

Is her character meant to be French?

Yup. Her name is French and her introductory scene is her speaking French to part of her extended family who live on Elysium.

 

[Deserana]

Ah okay. I don't know what the reviews I read/watched were going on about then

 

[Octoberist]

I have a question for you all:

I swear there was a book that had an interview with Blomkamp on the horrors of making Halo the film. Do you know the title of the book or article?

 

[Octoberist]

NEVERMIND. Found it. It's called Generation X-Box

 

[Tim_Riggins]

Just to say, Cotillard's accent is terrible, and I don't know if the complaints about Foster are about her accent or her speaking french, because she speaks perfect french.

 

[redhawk23]

Just to clarify, my intentions aren't to insult anyone or provoke any sort of argument. I suppose I should provide some more clarity to that statement in that if a movie like "Pacific Rim", which was from a very intelligent and talented director AND screenwriter in Guillermo del Toro, can get away with an openly brainless blockbuster, then how come the director of "Elysium" can't get away with minor shortcomings in an otherwise smart and entertaining film?

It just strikes me as a double standard.

One is openly spoken about by the filmmakers as being intended for children, the other is an R rated film for adults. Its not a double standard, simply a different one.

 

[Persona]

i posted basically the same rough first impressions over at CHUD, thought i'd share here, too:

saw this at an early screening last night. some of you might have noticed that this was probably my most anticipated movie of the year, so you can take the following with a grain of salt, BUT...i deeply, strongly loved this movie.

it is an honest-to-God throwback to the hard-hitting sci-fi actioners of early Verhoeven like Robocop and Total Recall, early Cameron in the Terminator movies, with some of the aesthetic penchants of Ridley Scott. the technical aspects are almost beyond reproach, i suppose the worst you could throw at it would be that not every FX shot looks 100% convincing and there's some choppy editing here and there. but after reading about 40% of the reviews lamenting how heavy-handed the film is and how the characters are just the barest of sketches and how the dialogue is so lame, i was expecting basically a more grim, sci-fi Fast Five-type of deal. and i was okay with that. but the movie turned out to be a lot more.

there is actually a lot of really interesting, charismatic dialogue, i found myself intrigued by nearly all of the characters (based on archetype though they may be, i dunno that i've ever seen a big-budget action movie with a character like Fichtner's Carlyle, or Foster's Delacourt, or Copley's Kruger, or Moura's Spider, etc.). Damon's character may be a tad too Everyman, but it does make him an effective and empathetic avatar into this world, and he actually has a pretty cool, gradual arc from vulnerable, selfish petty criminal into selfless, bad-ass (but still vulnerable) cyborg. i thought pretty much all of the cast killed it as much as they could with a script that, admittedly, was a tad more interested in setting up and paying off its action. because, like, it's an action flick.

Jodie Foster does have this weird affectation of an American actress trying to do a French character speaking English with a French accent or something but she actually has some great moments in this and some of the non-verbal touches she adds to the character are really interesting. Copley is completely over-the-top and mesmerizing. there are some predictable aspects of the movie but there is also plenty of not-so-predictable stuff that will keep you on the "edge of your seat," as they say.

of all of the reviews i've read, i really think McWeeny's at HitFix comes the closest to hitting the nail on the head, especially when he talks about this theme of "what would you or i do for our children...and our children's children?" and the film brings that theme home in a pretty powerful way by the end. i also somewhat agree with Drew that if there's a major negative for me, it's that the film seems to be rushing to finish in its final act; however, i will say, it's somewhat refreshing to watch this kind of spectacle that has vision and scope but very little padding, and that doesn't follow all the Hollywood action conventions, like taking a big pause before the final finish. instead, once Max gets to Elysium, Blomkamp chooses to keep ramping things up to a fever pitch, with just little pauses and character moments interspersed throughout that last half hour or so before the beautiful denouement (massive props to newcomer Ryan Amon on that score, too, he brought a lot of cool ideas to the table and i think his music really sells the dramatic stuff well).

of course, this was an early screening audience, so perhaps they were already inclined to like the thing, but there was applause and cheers throughout and at the end. lots of people walking out saying stuff like, "now THAT was a good movie." i hope you guys like the movie, too, for me it's definitely my fave of the year so far. i'm probably gonna be working on a legit review, i have a ton of thoughts on the movie, it's really sticking with me, so i will link that piece whenever it goes up.

 

[Tim_Riggins]

Just one thing, Foster speaking perfect french should help her if she tries to go for a french accent.

 

[Poni_Boy]

Jodie Foster delivers an unbelievably terrible performance in “Elysium.”

Maybe the worst acting ever done by a two-time Oscar winner.

A performance so awful I found myself keenly anticipating Foster’s next scene to see if she would keep on bringing the dreadful.

I say this as a HUGE fan of Jodie Foster. I’m telling you, it’s amazing how bad she is in this movie.

- RICHARD ROEPER

http://www.suntimes.com/entertainme...t-damon-action-awful-jodie-foster-acting.html

 

[terry78]

I guess she didn't have a massive grasp on the character, or it wasn't put to her in the correct way. Who knows.

 

[Persona]

meanwhile, Mick LaSalle from the San Francisco Chronicle thought she was really good.

i'm somewhere in between. there were things i didn't like (mostly just the accent sounding too affected at various moments) and things i did like. all in all, i'd say i came out pretty intrigued by the character and i think part of that was how Jodie played it.

Spoiler

her death scene was GREAT.

 

[Rowsdower!]

Strange to hear that about Foster, though at least Roeper gave the movie a good rating.

Side note: This is the first time I've seen a movie's RT score increase as the release date gets near. Usually it just gets worse as the week goes on. So that's a good sign, I guess.

 

[Persona]

i think it's a phenomenon of an over-emphasis of the early batch of reviews on the film being heavy-handed and then the rising counterpart now, even from a good share of the "Top Critics," is "yeah, but guys, this is a kick-ass sci-fi action flick that still has more balls than any other big-budget movie that's come out for a minute."

 

[Kaleb]

cant get enough of these two scores

 

[Persona]

the soundtrack and score are both sick. Ryan Amon killed it, dude's gonna have a long career scoring movies. soundtrack-wise, lots of cool dubstep stuff, my biggest question is that supposedly Mt. Eden's "Sierra Leone" is somewhere in the movie and i have no idea where, and i sat through all the credits, too.

 

[Marvin]

Hearing this compared to late 80's sci fi is promising. If only they had cast Arnold though.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Hearing this compared to late 80's sci fi is promising. If only they had cast Arnold though.

So it could be worse?

 

[Poni_Boy]

I don't understand this "well it's your fault expecting a deeper movie and not one all about action" mentality. Only in the past few weeks has the marketing stressed ACTION ACTION ACTION. For the past year it's been focused on tension, story, characters.

Even in the movie itself the first half delves deeply into thematic elements like poverty, caste systems, health care. It just completely forgets about them halfway through. Why put any of that stuff in if none of it will get resolved? That's sloppy, ADHD filmmaking.