Critical Review of Elysium Essay Example

Critical Review of Elysium Essay Example Critical Review of Elysium Paper Critical Review of Elysium Paper Elysium is about Max Dad Costa, played by Matt Damon, a man who takes on a mission to save his own life that could end up being the act that brings equality to the polarize inhabitants of Earth. The film is set in the year 21 54, in a version of Earths future where the wealthy live on a space station called Elysium and the rest of the population remain on a derelict Earth. As most modern audiences do, my first stop when considering watching Elysium was to AMID to see what it was generally about. I learnt that the film was written and directed by Neil Blowlamp, who I know from his successful debut feature film District 9, in which he proved that he is able to fuse social commentary with exhilarating action and so established himself as one of the more interesting directors doing hard-core sic-if (Cue-Un]Eng, 2013) I knew I was going to see a big budgeted, distributor tent pole, A-List acted, social commentary with some great special effects and that it would most likely look and feel a bit like District 9. After reading and watching multiple reviews and interviews since seeing the film I have realized I was not alone in this estimation and the reviews of this film an be summed up by covering my initial summations in more detail. Firstly, social commentary colors the reviews of this film, the overarching focuses of the reviews on Elysium are the subject matter of the plot and the clear messages to modern viewers found therein. While a pessimistic sic-if tradition is certainly not a creation of Blowlamp Science Fiction has always been perhaps the most powerful genre in terms of raising a mirror to the world and providing social commentary (Clayton, 2013) the fact that his skills as a director when It comes to the production value are only a side comments or finishing remarks seem to be hard proof of his ability to hone in on modern fears and allow the theme to be the resonating factor of his film making. After discussing the many subversion and hidden messages of the film at length most reviews that I read would only Include comments such as Elysium succeeds because the cinematography Is downright Impressive. The SF and weaponry are also top notch (Cue-unguent, 2013) In the closing paragraphs. Elysium In the simplest description of It Is a sic-if film, It Is set In the future (In this case a historian one), It features advanced technology and It Is a metaphor for our present conditions that Is presented as a thrilling action film. Whether or not you agree with the social Implications It raises, whether you have left or right political leanings or you come from the USA, Australia, Salsa or Europe the film has become a successful allegory that at the same time has been able to exaggerate and simplify a vast array modern status quo In order to create circumstances that force each particular viewer to confront the context of the points raised In relation to how they live their ivies. This view that the film Is able to Inspire a mixed rhetoric about such wide current world situations and the Implications of that Is held by Patch when he says Blowlamps film really lets fly with Its anguished take on where our world Is heading (Patch, 2013) and again by the comments made by Clayton Its worth pondering on when you watch Elysium, should this be making me feel pessimistic about humanity prospects and should I abandon my mere upbeat hopes for a possible progressive utopia ahead? Id say no, Elysium should make you feel bleak he term misapplication in its description of the way Blowlamp has wielded social commentary to his advantage in order to create a box office success. The suggestion that this is, in essence, an angle that has been seized Due to the recognition Blowlamp gained from the success of his previous apartheid themed sic-if, District 9, a film that gave him a status as a sort of sic-if socialist mastermind, it is now generally perceived that he has an inherent talent to skew versions of the present into a setting in the not too distant future that appeals to the widest possible audience and hat this ability can be purposely tapped into. They go as far as saying Elysium has one of the most openly socialist political agendas of any Hollywood movie in memory, beating the drum loudly not Just for universal health care, but for open borders, unconditional amnesty and the abolition of class distinctions as well. (Debugger, 2013) Entertainment Weekly says in its review of Elysium, If you are a member of the 1%, Elysium is a horror movie. For everyone else, its one step shy of a call to arms. Whatever you feel about the context of the film and whatever the means it used, it as achieved what was expected of it, the basic understanding that blockbusters are designed to appeal as broadly as possible (Debugger, 2013) this leaves no question that for whatever reason the social commentary exists it is a meticulously realized and successfully achieved production for its purpose of being wide reaching in its capacity to connect with a large audience. Reviewers from different backgrounds and countries have read into the film in different ways, I believe this is an accurate example of how the film has been able to achieve a connection with a broad range of people. Elysium has a message that many people can relate to, and conveys it in a manner that never becomes overtly preachy. Nonstop, 2013) For Johnston, a reviewer from The Czech Republic the crucial message is equal access to health care. He states those on Earth crowd into hospital emergency rooms where a few bandages and ineffective pills are dispensed for everything, while on Elysium every home has a flat-bed scanning unit called a med-pod that can remove any ailment and eliminate any genetic defect. Nonstop, 2013) And Jones a British reviewer souses on the haves and have onto theme when she says the film will resonate particularly with audiences in countries with extreme wealth discrepancy Cones, 2013) In comparison, Australian film critic Stratton sites some specifically A ustralian and incredibly current issues when he says l like some of the themes that Blowlamp introduces in this film, like the idea of refugees. You dont Just stop the boats, you shoot them out of the water and thats the ultimate, I guess, end of that sort of policy. So thats a very interesting theme for the film. (Stratton, 2013) There is no water and here are no boats in Elysium literally, but Stratton has naturally associated similar circumstances occurring in the film to the boat people issue that is currently front page news in Australia, the refugee motif we see in Elysium could Just as easily comment on the Mexican illegal crossing the Californian border but this issue is not a relevant one to Stratton. Here we have three different reviews from three different cultures that all resonate with different aspects of the films social agenda for reasons that directly affect their community. This is clear example that what Blowlamp has en able to achieve for the second time is a biting social commentary on todays headlines Nonstop, 2013) In an interview with Jones, Blowlamp states that its not problems that people will face in the future, but when it offers insight into the world we live in today. Nonstop, 2013) Blowlamps version of Earth is reminiscent of slums in our modern third world countries and the filming of the scenes on Earth were actually done in the worlds second largest garbage dump on the Bored Opponent landfill site in Mexico City Cones, 2013) The irony that comparably Elysium scenes were filmed in a first world city such as Vancouver is not lost on him It was embarrassing for all of us during filming, because half the movie executives actually do live in Beverly Hills. Wer e already living in Elysium. Were aware of it. Cones, 2013) Blowlamp says he intentionally filmed in one of the most unpleasant areas he could find because the imagery adds to the theme of the film. We could have green- screened the entire thing, but I wanted there to be a real discrepancy in the film between rich and poor. So were not manipulating the audience in any way the poverty is completely real. I believe this is one reason that from the whole cinema going experience of Elysium what is of interest afterwards and what is mostly taken away and dissected are the messages and themes that are explored.