Elysium

"He can save us all."

2013 1h 49m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

★6.5TMDB · 9,854

Science FictionActionDramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In the year 2159, two classes of people exist: the very wealthy who live on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium, and the rest, who live on an overpopulated, ruined Earth. Secretary Rhodes, a hard line government official, will stop at nothing to enforce anti-immigration laws and preserve the luxurious lifestyle of the citizens of Elysium. That doesn’t stop the people of Earth from trying to get in, by any means they can. When unlucky Max is backed into a corner, he agrees to take on a daunting mission that, if successful, will not only save his life, but could bring equality to these polarized worlds.

“He can save us all.”

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Cast

Matt Damon
Max
Jodie Foster
Delacourt
Sharlto Copley
Kruger
Diego Luna
Julio
Wagner Moura
Spider
Alice Braga
Frey
William Fichtner
John Carlyle
Jose Pablo Cantillo
Sandro

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Neill Blomkamp
Writers: Neill Blomkamp
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

$115M budget — tentpole studio territory.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 13 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Neill Blomkamp, shot by Trent Opaloch. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Ryan Amon. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Julian Clarke shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Matt Damon and Jodie Foster and Sharlto Copley carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "He can save us all.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt1535108 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Neill Blomkamp directs. Trent Opaloch behind the camera. Ryan Amon scores. Julian Clarke cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1$115M budget — tentpole studio territory.
2Released 13 years ago.
3Directed by Neill Blomkamp, shot by Trent Opaloch. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Ryan Amon. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Julian Clarke shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Matt Damon and Jodie Foster and Sharlto Copley carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "He can save us all.".
8IMDB entry: tt1535108 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 9 themes, including "future", "capitalism", "dystopia", "space station".

The technical file

Cinematography: Trent Opaloch
Original score: Ryan Amon
Editing: Julian Clarke
Production design: Philip Ivey
Costume design: April Ferry
Makeup / hair: Gitte Axen
VFX supervisor: Mark Breakspear
Sound: Craig Berkey
Stunt coordinator: Gerardo Moreno
Runtime: 109 min · 1h 49m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $115,000,000
Box office: $286,140,700
Return: 249% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Elysium (2013)

Also by

Neill Blomkamp

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CGGB2013-08-26
Parece que fuera el sino de la tierra y de los hombres, situacion que es posible observar a traves de la historia universal. Pero no seria posible hacer una película que muestre lo contrario? sería una lección o un modelo para todos en un mundo tan convulsionado?
Andres Gomez2013-09-03
★ 7/10
If you want an action movie, this one really rocks. There are some unneeded clichés but, all in all, is quite an enjoying journey. In addition, Matt Damon, Jodie Foster and, remarkably, Sharlto Copley perform at great level.
DoryDarko2017-02-21
★ 10/10
Wow... Where do I begin? I just got back from the cinema and I can still feel the adrenaline rushing through me. I was already a huge fan of director Neill Blomkamp's previous effort, District 9, so my expectations were running pretty high. And for once, I was not disappointed. No, I got even more than I could have hoped for. Elysium is a terrific film. Plain and simple. The story is fairly simple, which I consider a good thing because the plot was easy to follow and so it wasn't overly complex and trying to be too intelligent and contrived. It is the year 2154, and planet Earth is one hot mess. The rich reside on a space station called Elysium while the poor remain on Earth, basically grabbing at every straw just to get by. The story we follow is that of Max, who, after a terrible accident at work, is in dire need of medical help, which is only available at Elysium. In order to get there, he must go to extreme measures. I won't tell you anything else, because that would just spoil the fun. Max is played by Matt Damon, and he is very good in this role. He truly carries the film, start to finish. It always pleases me to see an actor who is just as good at tackling the character elements as well as the action parts of his role. When you think about it, that doesn't actually happen that often. Matt Damon can do both perfectly, and he is convincing in every aspect. Jodie Foster plays the role of senator Delacourt, a rich bitch who thinks she can get away with anything just because she calls the shots on Elysium. Well, somebody's about to prove her wrong... I absolutely love Jodie Foster, so it's hard not to gush, but she is a delight to watch. Her character is cold, calculating and without a sliver of conscience. And Jodie is so convincing you just want to slap her. It was great, and the fact that her accent is a little weird and distracting at times, is easily forgiven. William Fichtner also appears in a relatively small, but crucial role. The biggest surprise for me, however, was Sharlto Copley. Remember him from District 9? He played Wikus, a dorky and kind of sissy character... Well, not in this one. His character Kruger, is the meanest, most vile bastard you can imagine. A card-carrying sadistic psycho. It really was a great opportunity for Copley to prove his versatility as an actor, and he used it to the fullest. Also, somehow his South-African twang made his character even more menacing, so I'm really glad he didn't drop it in favour of a – perhaps more crowd-pleasing – American accent. My biggest compliment goes to the special effects department. As was the case with District 9, the SFX are so convincing, it's actually hard to realise that you're watching something that was probably 96% computer animated. Unlike D9, the visuals were even better here, if you can believe that. Usually, when a director's first film is a success and they up his budget for the next one, they go completely overboard and essentially ruin the aesthetics that made the first film so successful coughMatrixcough. In this case, all and everything was a major improvement. The action scenes are incredibly solid, the spacecrafts were eye-poppingly gorgeous (without being all flashy and futuristic – adding to the reality factor) and Elysium was a true sight to behold. 109 minutes of pure eye candy. There were only two things that slightly bothered me. One, the somewhat stereotypical characterization of the Rich vs. The Poor. Simply put, rich = evil and poor = good, no exceptions. Especially with the rich Elysium folk I found it a little bothersome that there wasn't a single person who seemed to have a heart, they were almost mechanical and so the polarisation was pretty black-and-white. Two, the lack of emotional involvement. I didn't really feel much for any of the characters, except Max. There is a plot line with a woman he has feelings for, whose daughter is very ill, and that's a sad thing but the film failed at really convincing me why I'm supposed to care. Could be personal, but that's the way I experienced it. However, these two minor plot points are not sufficient enough to deter me from giving this film any less than 10 stars. What I think is most thrilling about Elysium is the fact that it actually paints a frighteningly plausible picture of what our future might just look like. It is, in any case, much more realistic than pretty much every other post-apocalyptic film I've ever seen. Don't write this concept off too easily, this might very well be the world we live in one day. In the end, Elysium is a terrifically made film. It's gritty, it's gnarly and highly realistic. And, to the zero-attention-span MTV kids out there, it's also an incredibly entertaining, action-packed thrill ride. Tiny side note: the violence is quite graphic at times, so some amount of parental guidance is definitely advised. That leaves me with nothing else to say but: go watch this film. You won't regret it. (August 2013)