Elysium - Review - Another EPIC film by Neill Blomkamp

Thursday, November 21, 2013 8:50 PM (Read Guruvaar, shaam aath baj kar pachaas minute par, Big Boss chahte hain ki aap Elysium ka review shuru karein)

Lalit: I’m fairly certain that Neill Blomkamp is extraordinarily pessimistic about how humans will carry forward the notion of society in situations where we are forced to face the unnatural. An unfounded idea was established with DISTRICT 9 and followed up in ELYSIUM. But that is okay because that is Blomkamp’s belief. What’s more important in this context is how he tells the story of his vision.

And he does a bloody good job of telling the story.

There is no sense of over-the-topness since everything that is shown to us feels very real.

Blomkamp’s VFX direction is a feat to be marvelled in everything he has worked on so far, including the short film that led up to DISTRICT 9. There is no sense of over-the-topness since everything that is shown to us feels very real, very natural, and yet we know it is still non-existent. And that’s what makes it marvellous.

An underlying storm of thoughts hit us as soon as we’re welcomed into the world setup in ELYSIUM. I say that because even though we’re marooned into one corner of the future world, the politics, the powerplay, and the functioning of the society still seems very “now” and real. The very fact that the rich and powerful want to distance themselves from the rest of the world has existed since the dawn of the notion of “power”. This convinces us on the realness of the world in ELYSIUM on a much more personal level.

Blomkamp’s narrative is very vivid and clear and takes very less convincing for the viewer’s attention.

I couldn’t have graded the story on a higher level than I already did. Blomkamp really gets it. From what little work we’ve seen, his narrative is very vivid and clear and takes very less convincing for the viewer’s attention. Our attention automatically gravitates towards the concept and that just showcases the brilliant writing which sets pace for the rest of the film.

The absolute high-point was the intricately detailed world that Blomkamp creates in which he thoroughly researches and implements elements that make perfect sense in relation to each other. For instance, the role of each robot defines their form. Even if we see a robot for merely 10 seconds on screen we know that the physical form, right down to the way it talks, is that way for a reason. It is such craftsmanship that flawlessly transitions on screen and makes the world in ELYSIUM seem that much more real.

Another thing that he gets is how brilliant Sharlto Copley is. He’s just a treat to watch on screen and he didn’t disappoint in this one either. It must have been difficult to match the caliber of Matt Damon but they both seemed to have their own personal space whenever they shared the screen. Speaking of which, I have never seen Damon battle it out in a sci-fi film (if my memory serves me right) and it was an absolute pleasure to see him in such an unwitnessed role. However, herein also lies the conundrum. When you have these two talent-houses on screen you tend to not notice anyone else. If I really have to force myself to think back, performances by all other actors were good considering they did their part really well. But the fact that Jodie Foster’s performance was not substantial enough for me drives my point in further. This could also be chalked up to the lack of dedicated direction to control it, or maybe my mind was too overpowered by Damon and Copley.

When you have these two talent-houses (Damon and Copley) on screen you tend to not notice anyone else.

On the downside, neither the score nor the cinematography resonated with me at a level I expected it to. The overindulgence of the “shaky cam” jolted me out of the action at times which I’m sure is the exact opposite reaction the filmmakers were going for.

My overall expectations of ELYSIUM were probably clouded with all the negative reviews I was glancing through and this probably helped me like the film even more - so in a way I am glad I was fed those negative reviews. After watching the film though, I did end up disagreeing with a lot of negative reviews. ELYSIUM definitely demands a second viewing to completely live in the world Blomkamp has created.

My FF rating: EPIC

Lalit’s FilmyFoodies Rating: 3 – EPIC

Friday, November 22, 2013 7:05 AM (Shukravaar, subeh saat baj kar paanch minute par, Tarun apni vishesh tippani dete hain)

Tarun: Amazeballs

Saturday, November 23, 2013 4:47 PM (Shanivaar, shaam chaar baj kar saitaalis minute par, Tarun apna review shuru karte hain)

Tarun: Blomkamp is a master when it comes to VFX. It’s an absolute delight to watch the visuals he creates. And the best thing about his films is that he doesn’t linger on any of his visuals, treating them like they’re quite commonplace. And that’s what makes them more believable. The way he weaves them into the narrative.

It’s an absolute delight to watch the visuals Blomkamp creates.

I wouldn’t call Blomkamp’s view pessimistic, because what he’s done, story-wise, with DISTRICT 9 and ELYSIUM is the way we are right now. The moment we feel an ‘outsider’ community is invading our space, we alienate them. The rich want to distance themselves from the poor. These are pretty basic themes that Blomkamp elaborates beautifully in his films. I really wish he’d make films more often, which I feel about any good director who takes more than a year to make a new film. So basically everyone except Woody Allen.

Copley and Damon were outstanding. I just couldn’t get enough of Copley’s South African accent. So I watched DISTRICT 9 the next day. Foster didn’t get much scope in the film. And this is a similarity I noticed between DISTRICT 9 and ELYSIUM. Blomkamp only focuses on a few characters in the films. The rest are just punctuations in the story. And if you compare the characters of the two films, you’ll notice the similarities. We have the main character, the parent in distress with a kid, the general and the main boss. The main boss and the parent don’t get much screen time in both films, they have their moments but we don’t get to see enough of them, and thankfully so for the main boss in ELYSIUM (played by Waqar Younis’ look-alike). In ELYSIUM, the general’s character was split between Copley and Foster, and so was their screen time. Copley was basically an extension of Foster in the film. Another thing to notice is that Blomkamp’s villains are pretty straightforward-ly evil. They’re not gray, they’re just plain evil. Which is awesome.

I was kind of disappointed that they used Zimmer’s Bramms.

And given all the awesomeness that was going on in the film, I was kind of disappointed that they used Zimmer’s Bramms. That just reduced the effect of the soundtrack for me, and after a certain point I wasn’t even paying attention to the score. I also felt the way that the way Blomkamp handled the cinematography of the last fight scene was a bit odd. He has a certain visual language that carried over from DISTRICT 9, which is just brilliant, and those few shots in the end just felt out of place. But we got to see Damon and Copley battle it out, so no biggie. Also, just for fuck’s sake, I’d like to try and take a pot shot at Blomkamp’s visuals by saying that the Elysium’s (the space ship in outer space) perspective was a bit off in some of the shots. But that’s just me trying really hard to be a ‘critic’.

My Rating is EPIC.

Tarun’s FilmyFoodies Rating: 3 – EPIC

Tarun: Also, ELYSIUM could be an unofficial sequel to PROMISED LAND, no? All that fracking causes earth to become uninhabitable and earth’s elite have to move out? Also, Damon, found guilty of trying to frack the world, which is why he was in prison? Just saying.

Lalit: Haha, nice connection between PROMISED LAND and ELYSIUM. So, in a way Damon is responsible for Earth's destruction.

Tarun: In a way.

Why is that Waqar Younis guy angry in every movie ever?

Lalit: And why is that Waqar Younis guy angry in every movie ever?

Tarun: He's possibly the worst actor any production could pick to be an Indian or Paki or anyone from the Indian subcontinent. Kal Penn would've done better as the President of Elysium. Harold could be his Asian assistant, for racial diversity.

Lalit: He's too cocky.

Filmy Foodies Aggregate: 3 – EPIC

(Big Boss aapse kehna chaahte hain ki review samaapt ho chuka hai. Baaki ki bakwaas ke liye padhte rahein.)

Lalit: Also, we spoiled ELYSIUM for Varun. On that note, Batnipples is a go from me.

Tarun: How so?

Lalit: Because he hasn't seen it and we discussed almost everything in front of his eyes.

Tarun: No plot points.

Lalit: Still.

Varun: Post the review on FF.

Lalit: Varun, tu edit kar :-D

Varun: Haha. It's been a while since I've caught up any movie. I think I'll go today for any. You guys up for it?

Tarun: Not sure.

Lalit: Not today, bro.

Tarun: I’m not your bro, dude.

Lalit: Don't call me buddy, pal. I mean dude.

Tarun: Don't refer to me as pal, friend.

Lalit: Don't friend me, man.

Tarun: I’m not a man, kid.

Lalit: I'm out.

Tarun: You could’ve used buddy.

Lalit: Ho gaya naa buddy.

Tarun: Nahi hua na. Pal hua.

Lalit: Fucked it up, didn't I? Varun, I watched Adaptation. Brilliant.

Tarun: I’m out of this conversation, in case of unintended spoilers.

Varun: I hope all of this comes in the review.

It just might.