Why Elysium will be the year’s best sci-fi movie

It seems like 90% of movies coming out are either a sequel in an established film franchise, an adaptation of another medium, or both. The original ideas have long gone by the wayside – they’re simply too big a risk when there are properties with already built-in audiences just waiting to throw their money willy-nilly at movie theater employees. This is true even in science fiction, where filmmakers can create entire worlds from scratch.

Of course there is the rare case like Avatar, an “original” idea – yes, I meant to put “original” in quotes, though I’ll save a rant about my problems with Dances with Na’vi for another article – that made the studio titanic amounts of money (see what I did there?).

But for the most part, executives just have to look at Pacific Rim’s underwhelming box office performance this summer (less than $100 million domestically on a $180 million budget, though its goose wasn’t totally cooked thanks to pretty good numbers abroad) to know that these kinds of movies aren’t exactly guarantees.

But every once in a while, we get a sci-fi movie that is both an original concept and a critical and financial success, like 2009’s District 9. Writer/director Neill Blomkamp accomplished what the best sci-fi excels at and created a foreign world that felt authentic. He made the concept of aliens getting stranded on Earth feel natural through documentary-style footage that addressed first contact from a sociological and cultural perspective while at the same time presenting a compelling science-fiction story with all the requisite action and future tech that you’d expect. Clearly the guy knows what he’s doing, and I’m pretty confident that his next movie, Elysium, is going to be just as well done.

Like with District 9, the world of Elysium is defined by a larger social issue. In the first film it was the history of apartheid and racial discrimination in South Africa, and this time around Blomkamp is dealing with a good old-fashioned class struggle. For those who don’t know, here’s the story in a nutshell: a century into the future, Earth has been decimated every which way from Sunday. The wealthiest citizens have abandoned the doomed planet for life on a climate-controlled, luxurious space station called Elysium, leaving the less fortunate to fend for themselves. Out of desperation, Matt Damon’s Max signs on to receive a powerful exoskeleton in order to carry out a mission to infiltrate Elysium and possibly change society forever.

It’s a theme that is guaranteed to resonate with audiences in a time of the 99% vs. the 1%, and that’s not the only thing Elysium has going for it. It’s obvious that Neill Blomkamp has gained some substantial Hollywood cred because of District 9 when you look at the two stars headlining the movie.

Damon is making his welcome return to an action-oriented role after a couple years doing family-friendly character pieces, and obviously it helps your movie to have somebody that capable out front. Foster plays the government employee in charge of Elysium and should provide plenty of ice-cold antagonism as Damon’s Max tries to break into the space station.

I’m also excited that Sharlto Copley, who starred in District 9, is teaming up with Blomkamp again as some sort of bearded badass sent to take Damon out. Copley gave a breakout performance in D9 and it should be fun to see him as a more villainous character this time around.

Blomkamp set a high standard with District 9, and Elysium has all the elements necessary to live up to it. The special effects appear to once again be top-notch, the cast is even better than his first movie, and the issue at the heart of the film is one people across the world can identify with. Elysium is set to be one of the one of the more complex sci-fi movies of the year, and I personally can’t wait for August 9 to come.