Elysium (1 Viewer)

[Tino]

Just saw Elysium in IMAX. I thought it was pretty good. The visuals were great and the performances were fine..although I thought Jodie Foster was surprisingly weak...with an accent that was distracting. Really enjoyed Sharlto Copley as the villain. The story was ok...not as "original" as some ads are claiming. You know, the rich separated from the poor and the poor wanting in. The action was well staged and the film kept me interested throughout. Not as good as Neill Blomkamp's awesome directorial debut, District 9, but a decent follow up.I would give it *** out of ****

 

[Robert Crawford]

Is an IMAX presentation necessary to fully enjoy this film?

 

[mattCR]

It was OK, but I would have sworn I saw this before in a film called "Johnny Mnemonic"

The whole concept of stuff stuck in someone's brain as a computer virus that changes everything was interesting, the characters were neat.. but the basic concept fo the story was kind of mucky. Still, I enjoyed it.and the effects were interesting. I liked the dirty/grimy feel to the environment.

 

[Tino]

Is an IMAX presentation necessary to fully enjoy this film?

Necessary? Probably not. But I always choose an IMAX presentation when available because for me I want the biggest screen and best sound available. There are lots of action and visual effects that are suited for IMAX in this film so it's up to the viewer if they think the IMAX up charge , $5 here, is worth it. YMMV.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Necessary? Probably not. But I always choose an IMAX presentation when available because for me I want the biggest screen and best sound available.There are lots of action and visual effects that are suited for IMAX in this film so it's up to the viewer if they think the IMAX up charge , $5 here, is worth it.YMMV.

The reason why I ask is the nearest IMAX theater to me is 45 minute drive one way. Is it worth a road trip or not? If that theater was in my neighborhood movie complex, it's a no-brainer for me.

 

[Tino]

The reason why I ask is the nearest IMAX theater to me is 45 minute drive one way. Is it worth a road trip or not? If that theater was in my neighborhood movie complex, it's a no-brainer for me.

My IMAX theater is only 5 minutes away so it's convenient for me and one of the reasons I always choose IMAX. . But if it was 45 minutes away would I have made the trip? Probably not. It's probably playing on the biggest screen in your theater anyway so if its a decent theater that should be sufficient. I hope that helps your decision.

 

[Robert Crawford]

My IMAX theater is only 5 minutes away so it's convenient for me and one of the reasons I always choose IMAX. . But if it was 45 minutes away would I have made the trip? Probably not. It's probably playing on the biggest screen in your theater anyway so if its a decent theater that should be sufficient. I hope that helps your decision.

Thanks. They're building a new theater complex about 8-10 minutes from my house. It won't be IMAX, but they got some other kind of large screen format there along with the newest audio craze when it opens later this year.

 

[Edwin-S]

The concept reminds me of Zardoz, but I'm still looking forward to seeing this film.

 

[Quentin]

I didn't like it too much, but Blomkamp is still clearly a talented filmmaker.

There are some fun sequences and some great visuals here. And, I just DIG Sharlto Copley in everything I've seen him in. This film is no exception. He was the best part of the flick for me.

Foster was TERRIBLE - accent, cardboard, over the top evil/cold. What a bore. The structure was clunky, the politics moreso. And, I thought the 'world' lacked the details and delicate building touch that District 9 had. I don't buy this world.

Oh well...another summer disappointment. Why am I not surprised?

 

[AaronMan]

I liked it. Its not as good as District 9, but that film came out of nowhere and blew away a lot of people, including me. This time, I was ready and licking my chops. I thought the production design/visual effects were quite similar to District 9's. In fact, I think this movie could be in the same "universe" without much tweaking. I love the chipped paint, dented up industrial design thing Blomkamp has going on.

I agree that Foster wasn't very good. She was really over doing it. But, she may have just been following orders from Blomkamp. I think Hellen Mirren or maybe Sigourney Weaver would've been better choices. The rest of the cast was fine. Copley was a straight up mad dog and was appropriately evil and unpleasant.

I'm giving Blomkamp a bit of a break this time since its only his second film. But next time, I expect something quite different from him. I'll say this though, he's up there with Cronenberg in the mutilation department.

 

[schan1269]

I saw an extended preview for this. I liken Foster to how Joan Allen played the warden in Death Race.

 

[Sam Posten]

Hmmm:

Ryan Block ‏@ryan 14m
Elysium = 2 parts District 9, 1 part Gattaca, ½ part Robocop, 1 part V for Vendetta, Really, really good.

 

[Brian Dobbs]

8/10

Liked Damon in this. Foster did not bother me. Copley was EVIL!

Enjoyed the social commentary. I don't think it was over the top.

 

[TonyD]

I hated this movie. Saw it at the Orlando Disney Atmos screen. I actually fell asleep once during the first big fight between Damon and Krueger. There wasn't too much in this movie that made sense. I can usually suspend disbelief but not on this one. So. Many things that were just dumb. As soon as they introduced the kid it was pretty easy to predict how that would end the movie.

Spoiler

as soon as Damon in another dumb part, went into that room it was obvious he was going to get fried. Then as son as we knew the little girl was sickit was too easy to guess that since Damon needed to get to Elysium and now we know the little girl does too that Damon would get her there and sacrifice himself so she would live. Zzzzzzzzzzz. No defense system on Elysium? No force field or enclosed atmosphere? They had to shoot down trespassers from Earth? When the little girl was put on the machine after the reboot how did it know her name and who she was? She was never in the system as per the rules of what we had seen during the movie. Not sure who the actor that played Krueger is but I could understand maybe 10% of what he said. And maybe 40% of everyone else who wasn't speaking English as a native language. What the heck accent was Foster doing? Anyone can become president without an election?

Also, sure Damon had the X-O armor but this was mostly just a crutch literally, except for the brain download thing. He should have sustained major bone breakage everytime he punched a wall and Kroger's armor.Oh and why did he still have his shirt on under the armor that was attached to his body with screws into his bones. I liked the previews I saw early on but a few weeks before release I saw Damon call it a summer popcorn movie. That should have tipped me off that it wasn't the sort sci-fi that it first appeared to be.

 

[Patrick Sun]

This movie was a pipe dream. While technically, the film looks fine, the film's core story is just too simple and ambitious at the same time to take seriously. Plus, the film just looks a little too much like "District 9" in backdrop/landscape on earth, it felt a little too safe in that respect, but I did like seeing the Torus-shaped "Elysium" on the big screen. Too bad the script is just so bad with its simple characters and characterizations to push the movie along. Blah.

I give it 1.75 stars, or a grade of C-.

 

[DaveF]

Elysium is a mediocre movie with a huge budget and big names. It tried to tell too many stories in too many styles, and so failed to emotionally or intellectually connect. I recommend renting it after you've seen all the other sci-fi movies that came out this summer (including Oblivion).

 

[Michael Elliott]

I guess I'll gladly stand up as the oddball. I found DISTRICT 9 to be good but incredibly overrated and it getting a BP nom was one of the most laughable moments the academy has ever done. It seems reviews for ELYSIUM are quite mixed so I'm going to say the movie is very much underrated.

Yes, the story isn't the greatest thing around and the ending is predictable but by God it was f'in refreshing walking into a movie like this and not having to sit there through non-stop dialogue scenes that add up to a big fat zero and do nothing but drag the running time to over two-hours and fifteen-minutes. It felt so good getting out of a movie like this in 1:40 (without the end credits).

The special effects are certainly the highlight of the film because they really do put you in this future world. It's hard to make a "vision" of the future because so many films have been set there but I thought the director did an excellent job with the visuals but also making you believe the characters in these worlds.

I thought the performances were very good for the most part. I didn't mind Foster too much, although the accent was rather strange to say the least.

*** 1/2