Director: Neill Blomkamp
Writer: Neill Blomkamp
Cast: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Alice Braga
Runtime: 109 mins.
2013
I remember enjoying District 9. It felt fresh, character-driven, and deep despite the straightforwardness of its political allegory. Neill Blomkamp was going to be one to watch, especially with a blockbuster budget and Hollywood grade-A talent at his disposal.
What happened?
Elysium had a mountain of hype behind it, but its reception was lukewarm. Many people seemed to like it, and they defended it against the critiques of the malcontents. Full disclosure, I am one of the malcontents. Being disillusioned with the film, I've been thinking about why the film was generally well-received. Maybe it was the excellent special effects, or the cinematography (although I felt the pacing didn't allow me to take in any single moment). Maybe it was the detailed sci-fi worldbuilding (although I wish they would have explored that world more). Maybe it was that a big budget summer genre blockbuster had a discernible high-minded theme underpinning it (although I found that theme's presentation simple and borderline condescending).
These are all almost-merits. But I won't get into the aesthetics of the movie very much. I want to talk about how I found Elysium unsatisfactory on a basic narrative/dramatic level, and I want to do that by looking at each of the nine primary characters and their impact on the story.
