Saw the movie Elysium

[philip964]

Went this weekend and saw the new movie Elysium with Matt Damon and Jodie Foster.

I wanted to see the movie since it is Science Fiction, but I did not want to see it the first weekend, since it appeared to be politically charged in a direction I am not in favor of.

It is by the same director of the movie a few years back called District 9. Technically it is a fantastic movie. Special effects and futuristic technology are excellent, so much so, you really don't pay attention since it seems so real. Well there are some orbital issues of how the small ships join up with the space station, but that is being picky.

The story is ok, it received a 69% from Rotten Tomatoes, which seems high to me. Maybe the reviewers are all liberal and liked the theme. It is that rich people are spoiled and bad and if they just shared their riches with the rest of the world, the world would not be so bad.

In the movie, the Earth, due to over population and pollution, is a **** place. All the rich folks have moved to a beautiful circular five pointed U S star shaped space station where it looks like Beverly Hills on a golf course. At least the movie did not blame global warming for the problem with Earth, unless that is what they meant by pollution.

The whole Earth is and looks like parts of the worst parts of Mexico, except the slums go on for thousands of miles. I suspect it is suppose to represent Mexico. Elysium the space station is of course the USA. Homeland Security is called Homeland Security and undocumented immigrants are called illegals in the movie. Naturally everyone on the planet tries to illegally come to the space station. Jodie Foster plays a French speaking conservative who shoots down any illegal shuttles, killing all the women and children who want to come to Elysium for better health care.

No I am not making it up.

Back on Earth evil profit making capitalists who live on Elysium, make robots to keep the peace by beating up with robots, the poor folks and the workers who make the robots. Apparently making police robots is the only business on Earth. Naturally Jodie Foster wants to illegally take over Elysium from the liberal types who have been elected and don't like her killing illegals who try to enter the country. Also on Elysium it is important if your are a citizen, as only citizen's of Elysium get the benefits of these cool machines that cure your cancer. If you don't have an proper photo ID the machine won't cure your cancer.

Spoiler

Matt Damon saves the day and at the conclusion all citizens of Earth are made citizens of Elysium. Yea.

Is the movie political? Naw, its just a good old shoot m up with a really good Australian bad guy and AK 47's that shoot bullets that explode five feet from the target.

I probably would buy the blue ray for the special effects, but the story is just too silly to see it again.

[jimlongley]

Sounds to me like the story is too silly to see it the first time, thanks for the warning.

What difference would the political make to when you saw it? You're still supporting the politics by giving them your money to see it.

[baldeagle]

Thanks for the warning. Another waste of time.

[LabRat]

After hearing Matt Damon's comments on guns, I've written him off my "to see" list for movies.
And, like Jim said, do I really want to give my money to these types anyway?

LabRat

[Redneck_Buddha]

The neo-liberal apparatchik is doing their dead-level best to demonize conservatives and one day purge right wing philosophy.

[Purplehood]

After watching Team America I can no longer take Matt Damon seriously.

[Redneck_Buddha]

After watching Team America I can no longer take Matt Damon seriously.

Derka derka!

[philip964]

You're still supporting the politics by giving them your money to see it.

I waited to see it in its third week so I would not influence anyone to see it. However, I have still sinned.

My son is so conservative he was for the Australian bad guy the whole time. The bad guy capitalist was so evil that he actually said "get that dieing worker off the medical cart, I don't want to have to replace it" He commuted from work on Earth to Elysium in a Bugatti badged space ship.

Matt lived in LA and spoke English and Spanish. The evil head of Homeland Security (Jodie Foster) spoke English and French. Not sure what they were trying to say with that. (French are evil?)

All Matt's neighbors did not work, but Matt got up early every morning and went to work to make something of his life. For that he got beaten up by the robot police and critically injured on the job.

Probably will be my last Matt Damon movie.

[The Annoyed Man]

I actually really liked District 9. It was a heck of a first effort for a new film-maker. But even that movie is basically a retelling of South African apartheid policies through the vehicle of a sci-fi flick. When I saw the trailers for Elysium, I thought to myself that the movie would likely be intrinsically leftist. Given the plot line and the cast of principle actors, how could it not be so? My son saw it the other night. He's who initially referred me to watch District 9. When I asked him what he thought about Elysium, he said it was the same old leftist claptrap in which the conservatives are always portrayed as evil, and the working man is always heroic. He also said he enjoyed watching the movie because of its rock'em-sock'em action scenes and sci-fi "technology."

The idea of a "ring-world" is not new to sci-fi, having been described by authors such as Larry Niven (Ringworld, 1970, Ballantine Books.......which I read in 1970 when it first published), and of course in the popular HALO game, and as a LEGO toy—so Neill Blomkamp isn't really breaking new ground with that idea. And the plot line of Elysium appears to be more of an spinoff/extension of the District 9 story intertwined with John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath......with Matt Damon playing a futuristic Tom Joad.

Both Matt Damon and Neill Blomkamp are on record denying that the movie has a political message: http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/20 ... al-agenda/. I just checked, and monkeys aren't flying out of my butt, but somehow I'm not buying that particular brand of white wash. The thing is, leftists honestly don't view themselves as ideological. They really don't. They just view themselves as always having the right instincts for whatever situation they find themselves in, but they would be positively insulted if you suggested that they are just as ideological as they accuse the right of being. And because they view themselves as having good instincts and being non-ideological, they find it easy to view themselves as heroic and conservatives as being in bondage to an evil ideology.

I would actually go see it, just for the visual entertainment. I have a pretty big TV screen, but movies like that really aren't nearly as spectacular unless they are viewed on a large movie-theater screen. I think you have to just set aside the overbearing message, and watch it as pure entertainment.......or not watch it at all. I'll probably go see it at some point, or I might just wait to see it on my big TV screen. I don't care that much one way or the other. But I probably will watch it, forearmed with the knowledge that it has a political bias which differs from my own. On the other hand, so does Macbeth.

[Purplehood]

Matt...Damon...

[3dfxMM]

Australian bad guy? To which character is that referring?

[philip964]

Sorry I get Australia and South African accents mixed up. He was the big tall hairy guy who spoke with a British accent and like to kill people and grill on the barbie.

[3dfxMM]

Ok. That was a South African accent, not a British one. :) You should recognize him from both District 9 and The A-Team.

[misterlarry]

After watching Team America I can no longer take Matt Damon seriously.

Team America was Matt's best role ever!

[philip964]

After watching Team America I can no longer take Matt Damon seriously.

Team America was Matt's best role ever!

did he have the love scene?