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Plot Summary
In the year 2159, two classes of people exist: the very wealthy, who live on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium, and the rest, who live on an overpopulated, ruined Earth. Secretary Delacourt (Jodie Foster) will stop at nothing to preserve the luxurious lifestyle of the citizens of Elysium – but that doesn’t stop the people of Earth from trying to get in by any means they can. Max (Matt Damon) agrees to take on a life-threatening mission, one that could bring equality to these polarized worlds.
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Director
Screenwriter
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Rotten Tomatoes Movie Reviews
TOMATOMETER
68%- Reviews Counted: 229
- Fresh: 156
- Rotten: 73
- Average Rating: 6.5/10
Top Critics' Reviews
Rotten: Like Max, the movie has to keep moving, and Mr. Blomkamp lets you fill in the gaps yourself as it progresses. Or not.
Fresh: Just as the creation of a future nightmare, one that disturbingly resembles the world we already know, Elysium is masterful - definitely worth seeing.
Fresh: A confident sidestep from District 9 rather than an ambitious leap forward, Elysium confirms Blomkamp as an expert genre director. Question is now: can he become more?
Fresh: In lesser hands, Elysium might have played like a Lib Dem manifesto with extra spaceships, but the South African filmmaker wants to explore ideas, not wave placards, and whether or not you agree with the film's politics, the fire in its belly is catching.
Customer Reviews
Unintentionally funny
This has to be the most heavy-handed social commentary I've seen. Damon does a good job acting, but the people of Elysium are such cartoonish lay evil people that it was hard to bear. How evil do you have to be to program your emotionless robots to be pointlessly vicious? More to the point, how cartoonish does your view of politics have to be for you not to find this movie hard to stomach? I've never seen Jodie Foster over act like this, but she clearly thought she had to lay on the evil with a trowel. Oh well.
Plot holes big enough to stuff a space station through
Let's forget all the politics and approach this movie as a pure science fiction story.
Here's an easy pop quiz to tell if you will like "Elysium".
Note: minor spoilers may or may not be present below this line of text. You have been warned.
Do you think it's possible to have "airspace" when there is no air?
Y N
Do you like it when American actresses fake French accents...badly? (Bonus points if you like to see famous performers chewing scenery as if it were popcorn).
Y N
If you ran a huge space station, would you design it without any defense network (even big rocks), so that you have to rely on [stupid plot device] to defend your habitat?
Y N
If smelly illegals are always going for your medical tech bays, would you be sure to put them prominently next to large glass doors, rather than in a secure location?
Y N
Would you fund and arm some crazy dude with [stupid plot devices] that could shred your space station into small bits if he got mad because he ate bad tacos?
Y N
Would you really willingly walk into the container that is about to be zapped with lethal radiation? Really?
Y N
If you just saw your friend have a big, sharp thing stuck through his heart into the ground, would you yell at him to "Get Up!" rather than kill his killer?
Y N
Do you think someone with a fatal wound can walk 10 miles and evade detection, only to avoid medical care in a hospital, and then survive with only nursing (not doctor) care?
Y N
Would you seriously design a huge space station that could be shut down by [stupid plot device]?
Y N
Do you believe that everyone would survive a spaceship crash at 200+ MPH with only minor bruises?
Y N
Would you ask a bad dude who just kidnapped you and is pointing a weapon at you to help your child rather than running for your life?
Y N
Do you think it is wise to operate on people with inadequate anesthesia...especially when said people have super-strength exoskeletons still attached and functional? (Bonus points for letting their loved ones watch without any supervision).
Y N
Do you ask a crazy, violent dude if he has lost his mind, rather than running away to safety? (Bonus points for threatening him while you are unarmed).
Y N
Do you think overdosing on pills is a good idea under any circumstances?
Y N
Have you ever seen "splitting up" work out well in emergency situations (or action/adventure/horror movies)?
Y N
Should a real man ever tell a beautiful woman that he is right behind her (outside of the bedroom), rather than in front of her protecting her from bad things?
Y N
You saw a dude survive once because of [hokey plot device]. You think he is dead now yet again. Do you assume he is dead?
Y N
You are fighting on a narrow walkway 100 feet in the air. Do you purposely throw your enemy 20 feet onto the walkway to land safely, rather than over the railing to his certain death?
Y N
Do you think that resources designed for thousands would be sufficient for billions?
Y N
If you answered "Yes" to all of these questions, then you are stupid enough to like Elysium. No brain waves detected. Access granted.
Offensive
Maybe the most offensive movie ever. The politics of the plot are ham handed and ridiculous. Don't watch this one….
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- $14.99
- Genre: Action & Adventure
- Released: 2013
- © 2013 MRC II Distribution Company L.P. All Rights Reserved.
Available Bundle
- Elysium / District 9 Bundle
- Genre: Action & Adventure
- Released: Nov 26, 2013
- View In iTunes