About the film Elysium: Paradise is not on Earth

By 2154, the richest people flew from overpopulated and polluted Earth to the Elysium orbital station. Here, clean air, no hunger and disease, helpful droids give drinks. And on the Earth with a hard struggle to live without powerless non-citizens, who dream of saving up for a ticket to heaven. The inhabitants of the orbital station hide from the poor the latest achievements of medicine and ruthlessly shoot illegal immigrants. To the working Max and Costa, who is dying of the disease, earth doctors can not help, which means that he needs to get to the station at any cost.

Poverty versus luxury, dirt against sterile purity, normal human relations against officialdom and intrigue - like the previous work of director Neil Blomkamp, "District No. 9", this film is built on contrasts. Futuristic station "Elysium", reminiscent of entourage Citadel from Mass Effect, contrasted slums, the same as in modern Sao Paulo or Mumbai. Only the dirty Spanish-speaking city where the action begins is Los Angeles of the future, which again reminds us that the current "golden billion" is not insured from catastrophes. A new film throws a picture of the life of the inhabitants of the "third world" and emigrants from there in the face of the Western man in the street. The exploitation of disenfranchised non-citizens, the brutality of the police, unemployment, the contempt of the pampered "Eloi" to dirty "Morlocks" and desperate attempts to escape from the dying Earth are shown so vividly and prominently that certain scenes can be taken for propaganda shot at the request of a Socialist party. From Blomkamp after "District No. 9" they were waiting for an acute social science fiction, and he did not fail.

But, in addition to the basic morality, two works of one director do not have much in common. True neighbors of Elysium in the genre are classic fighters with features of anti-utopia, cyberpunk and post-apocalypse. The film is akin to both versions of Remember All, and the recent Oblivion, and the comparison with "Johnny Mnemonics" arises so clearly that it's time to call "Paradise not on Earth" a very free and more successful adaptation of Gibson. Many of the brothers of predecessors lose the film in entertainment - computer graphics here by the standards of the genre is not so much, the scenery is a slum and ruins, and the eye rests only on the types of space station. And the use of a hand-held camera in some scenes was clearly superfluous. But the film compensates for these shortcomings thanks to a dynamic action, an excellent acting game and a distinct script. The story of a fugitive who has become a target for the authorities and the last hope for the rebels is not original, but surprisingly logical, and the motivation of the characters is perfectly thought out. Elysium: Paradise is not on Earth - a rare example of a blockbuster in recent years, where there is not a single scene that evokes the desire to exclaim: "Why do heroes make this stupidity?" Each side acts reasonably and defends its interests, and even positive heroes at first think not about the great Mission and the salvation of mankind, but about how to survive and get money.

Players in this multilateral conflict look real and alive also thanks to the actors. And the cynical bureaucrat Rhodes, intent on overthrowing the too "soft" government, and smuggler Spider, who by chance became the leader of the revolution, are played as persuasive personalities. But everyone is eclipsed by the savage villain Kruger performed by Sharlto Copley - a cynical wit, a sadist, a madman and a pathological traitor. His phrases ("I'm against showing violence to children ... so close your fucking eyes!") Will surely become aphorisms. Surrounded by these vivid images, Matt Damon's character pales. He seems like an ordinary cool guy from an action movie, to whom even radiation sickness does not prevent the enemies from flinging packs. (Vlokkamp skillfully wriggled out, wearing Max's combat exoskeleton, which allows one to explain the hero's strength as an invalid). But the beautiful act in the finals and Max earns our respect. Such heroes and such stories need good fiction.