The movie takes places in the year 2154, a future in which all of Earth's civilizations look as broken as Somalia. The planet has been wrecked by pollution, disease, and overpopulation, and the wealthiest and most political powerful of humankind have retreated to Elysium, a decadent space station where every rich person owns a tanning bed that can cure practically all illness and repair every organ and body part. The Earth's poor aren't allowed access to these medically magical tanning beds, and suffer and die in large numbers. (Attempts to illegally fly to Elysium are typically met with plutocratic missile fire.)
Damon (in a role once meant for rapper Eminem) plays Max DeCosta, one of the future's great unwashed. DeCosta—carrying gigantic weapons and wearing a high-tech, steel exoskeleton—becomes the accidental hero in a righteously violent, pro-universal health care revolution that alters the course of human history. One obstacle to a glorious proletarian victory is Agent Kruger (Sharlto Copley, star of District 9 and Spike Lee's upcoming Oldboy remake), a rogue government operative who commits human rights abuses and rape like it's his day job. Another obstacle is Delacourt (Jodie Foster), Elysium's murderous secretary of defense who commands an army of peasant-killing robots. So Delacourt is almost as terrible of a defense secretary as Robert McNamara was. (According to Blomkamp, the character's personality and look were inspired by French politician Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund.)...What, no scene showing the virtuous poor being buried alive in the Alberta "tar" sands by the wicked, well-tanned rich? You're letting down the side there, Matt.
Update: I think Mark Steyn's dystopia scenario is far likelier to come to pass than Matt Damon's deranged lefty fantasy (but don't expect a Hollywood film called Eloi any time soon--or ever).
No comments:
Post a Comment