With a premise reminiscent of Battle Angle Alita & Astro
Boy (or even Metropolis) Elysium (a kind of afterlife / heaven in Greek Mythology) would have enough going for it talent wise
with acting heavyweights Forster and Damon; but this is the next film from Neil
Blonkamp, the man thrust onto the world stage by Peter Jackson after their
failed attempt to turn Halo into a feature film, led to District 9, (If you
haven’t seen District 9 yet, then for shame! If you have and you share my
brother-in-law’s opinion that it isn't that good then double for shame.), so it
is very highly anticipated indeed.
Synopsis...
“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. The people of Earth are
desperate to escape the planet's crime and poverty, and they critically need
the state-of-the-art medical care available on Elysium – but some in Elysium
will stop at nothing to enforce anti-immigration laws and preserve their
citizens' luxurious lifestyle. The only man with the chance to bring equality
to these worlds is Max (Matt Damon), an ordinary guy in desperate need to get
to Elysium. With his life hanging in the balance, he reluctantly takes on a
dangerous mission – one that pits him against Elysium's Secretary Delacourt
(Jodie Foster) and her hard-line forces – but if he succeeds, he could save not
only his own life,
but millions of people on Earth as well.”
Characters...
Max Da Costa (Matt
Damon)
Max Da Costa hasn't always played by
the rules. As a result, he's spent a good chunk of his 36 years locked up.
Nobody, including himself, expected much of the orphan who grew up on the
streets in the sprawling shantytowns of 22nd-century Los Angeles. But now Max
is committed to playing it straight in spite of his endlessly routine existence
as an assembly line worker at an Armadyne plant. That is until one day
something goes awry, and consequences out of Max's control once again test his
resolve to stay on the right side of the law.
Secretary Delacourt
(Jodie Foster)
As Secretary of Defense, Delacourt
directs Elysium's security apparatus. She monitors Elysium's borders and
commands the Civil Cooperation Bureau, the organization that keeps Earth in
line and its citizens where they belong. While her hawkish assessment of the
illegal immigration threat is not shared by all of Elysium's leaders, with a
stream of filthy, graffiti-laden shuttles headed their way, she will do
whatever necessary to keep Elysium safe.
Minister Patel (Faran Tahir)
Recently elected to lead the orbital
habitat's 8,000 super-high-net-worth citizens, Patel understands how critical
public opinion can be and prefers a more humane approach to keeping Elysium
free of illegals. That puts him at odds with Defense Secretary Delacourt who
has no issue with the ruling class getting a little blood on their hands.
Frey (Alice Braga)
The County Hospital is dirty,
decrepit and crowded far beyond capacity. Nursing is what Frey always wanted to
do, but working here is dispiriting and exhausting. It's also a necessity as it
provides access to things she can't live without. When Max shows up in her ER,
she knows she shouldn't trust him. They were so close growing up, pilfering
food, dodging police bots - surviving together. But that was years ago and
things are drastically different.
Trailer...
Release dates...
Country
|
Date
|
Hong Kong
|
08-Aug-13
|
Sweden
|
09-Aug-13
|
Taiwan
|
09-Aug-13
|
Turkey
|
09-Aug-13
|
USA
|
09-Aug-13
|
Belgium
|
14-Aug-13
|
France
|
14-Aug-13
|
Italy
|
14-Aug-13
|
Australia
|
15-Aug-13
|
Denmark
|
15-Aug-13
|
Netherlands
|
15-Aug-13
|
New Zealand
|
15-Aug-13
|
Russia
|
15-Aug-13
|
Brazil
|
16-Aug-13
|
India
|
16-Aug-13
|
Norway
|
16-Aug-13
|
Spain
|
16-Aug-13
|
Germany
|
22-Aug-13
|
Ireland
|
20-Sep-13
|
UK
|
20-Sep-13
|
Argentina
|
03-Oct-13
|
