Items in Reveiw! #4

Hey everyone! :)

Last weekend I went with a group of my friends to go and see a movie. I figured that while it was still fresh and new in my mind I will go ahead and give you my review and opinion of the film! However, I will put this warning again THERE ARE SPOILERS! I don’t want to ruin a perfectly good movie plot for you, and I really do recommend going to see the movie. Which movie am I talking about? Elysium. The movie is a future thriller/action flick that stars Matt Damon and Jodie Foster.

Credit for image to: First Showing Net.

The beginning of the movie gives us a look at the childhood of the main character Max and his devious habits of thieving from the over-populated, poverty stricken, community around him. The part of the community that is startling for most people is the fact that all the characters are of Spanish speaking descent (my friends and I believe that it was supposed to represent the movement of Mexicans from the impoverished side of the border into what should be a prosperous America). Elysium is, in fact, a giant space station in which all the ‘white’ English and French speaking people live. They hold all the money and power for the space station, as well as the earth.

Credit for image to: Dawn.com. An image of Elysium from space.

Originally, I thought that the movie was going to be much the same as all the other “end of the world” kind of movies, and I was pleasantly surprised that it was not. The movie follows the character of Max, who grew up on the bad side of town so to speak and his constant quest to get to Elysium. That new world is completely perfect, no one ever gets hurt or sick simply because they heal themselves in seconds with medical beds and barcodes of their DNA. All of his life Max has been saving up to get to Elysium, and it seems to be one of those childish wishes that will never be accomplished due to the poverty that ravages the citizens of the earth. Yet, it takes a major emergency to finally push Max to do whatever it takes.

Credit for image to: Ign.com. Frey and her daughter with one of the rouge agents.

After being contaminated with radiation and knowing that he is going to die within the next week, Max agrees to do anything that can get him to Elysium and heal him. Being a “lone ranger” it doesn’t appear that it would be hurting anyone for him to try and kidnap a man and steal all of the important information in his mind. However, when he comes across a friend he grew up with—Frey and her daughter—he finds out that he may not be able to do exactly what he planned. In fact, Frey risks the life of her daughter and herself in order to help him after a brutal shootout that almost killed Max. This results in the three of them eventually being kidnapped by special agents sent to capture them by Jodie Foster’s character—the defense secretary of Elysium.

I grew up with the idea of the Jetsons as a future, where a robot would become your maid and that everything would be made easier by the advancement of  technology. In Elysium, yes that does happen, but only for those who afford it. As someone who has taken a few classes on social justice issues and the overwhelming differences in economic wealth, I found Elysium to clearly show the way that the world is excelling toward a terrible fate. When the richest in the world horde everything for themselves then there will be almost nothing left for all those others who need it the most. I also found that the movie ended on an unexpected note; the death of a main character in order to save the world. Yes, that sounds cliché and as though it is predictable, but it came as a shock to most people and ended in tears for a few of my close friends. It shows that no matter where you are coming from you can still make a change in the world; one person can change everything.

Credit for image to: Film Social

All in all, I found myself on the edge of my seat and enjoying every single minute of Elysium! I may have looked a far too deep into the social justice aspects of the movie while I was watching it, but I truly did find the movie a worthwhile view. Would I go and see it again? Yes, probably, but I don’t know if it would be as good a second time around because the biggest plot twists that kept you guessing would be completely and totally ruined.

That’s it for now everyone! If you’ve seen the movie, let me know what you thought about it! If you have anything you’d like to see me review let me know in the comments as well!

Cheers! x

-A