When District 9 was released in 2009, it caught a lot of people’s attention. Finally, the sci-fi genre had found a new type of film for the genre that wasn’t bogged down by an emphasis on special effects or a hard sci-fi slant that wouldn’t appeal to broader audiences. Beyond that, writer/director Neill Blomkamp explored social themes within the film, using the separation of aliens and humans as a metaphor for segregation and xenophobia. This isn’t anything new in science fiction, as sci-fi writers have always used aliens as an analogue for social relations. However, as I alluded to earlier, the sci-fi film genre has moved away from exploring such issues, instead focusing more on special effects and character design.
Elysium, Blomkamp’s new film, follows similar themes found in District 9. In a future where Earth has been ravaged, a space habitat, the titular Elysium, exists as a mecca for the wealthy where disease, hunger, poverty, and crime cease to exist. Of course, the inhabitants of Elysium look down upon the poor living on Earth, refusing to grant immigration rights to those desperate to relocate. When Max (Matt Damon) is left in critical condition following a work accident, he’s outfitted with an exoskeleton that will help get him to Elysium and, hopefully, topple the utopia’s regime.
While the conflict between the wealthy and the poor isn’t anything new (especially when compared to the recently-released trailer for Snowpiercer), Blomkamp isn’t one to sacrifice action and sci-fi elements when discussing such issues; like what District 9 did, Elysium should be able to properly balance action with deeper themes. I mean, come on, Matt Damon has a robotic exoskeleton, and that’s pretty badass in and of itself.