Let's skip the unrecommended sequel of The Percy Jackson. Let's fast forward to the year 2154 and jump high to the sky to Elysium. Yes, this movie is such a must-see one. At first time you see the first scene, you'll think that the movie is another manifestation of revolutionary idea we once found in District 9 the movie. Yup, this is from the director of District 9 and the movie's just like "Good job!". There's something more behind the idea of Elysium, but let's go to the story first.
Los Angeles, 2154 AD
The Earth is over populated and over polluted. The Tinseltown base becomes like a slump-chaotic-overpopulated city where the poor, pollution, radiation and strives collide. The rich people have moved to space where Elysium, a new exclusive environmentally habitat was built miles away above the Earth. Unlike the Earth, the Elysium offers human being ageless, curability-from-any-disease life. Thus, under the Secretary of Homeland Security Delacourt Rhodes (Jodie Foster), the Elysium puts a very exclusive strict immigration law regarding the man flow especially for those from the Earth. In the meantime though, Secretary Delacourt has a principle disputes with President Patel and she plans to knock him down and overtake the seat. She commands Carlyle, a billionaire and agent Kruger to smooth her plan.
Max de Costa (Matt Damon) who had work accident, has to strive and do whatever it takes to keep himself alive. The only way out of this issue is none other than going up, to Elysium, where there's a medicine capsule and he'll get back to life. He then goes to Spider, a cyber crime master who tries his best to hijack the Elysium system. Then, the deal is made up. Max trades with Spider for his ticket to Elysium, as he's only got less than 5 days to live. Spider wants him to "steal" the data from one of the Elysium's billionaire's brain and give it to him. And guess what's on Max mind? His boss, Carlyle. That's when the conflicts start...rolling.
They carry out the mission. They hijack Carlyle's capsule on his way up to Elysium, they steal the data, and they kill him. What a dangerous thing they've done. Knowing the Carlyle's death, Delacourt commands agent Kruger to hunt the killers. The fight between Max and Kruger is inevitable. The agent wants the data to reboot the system of in Elysium and smooth Delacourt's mission to take over the presidential seat. Max wants the data as it's the only way to get the ticket to Elysium. Spider wants the data as he wants to hijack the system so that everybody can go to Elysium. In the end of the story, I bet you'll get MOVED by as Max is doing something way beyond he EVEN EVER can imagines.
The issue behind the story:
Neill Blomkamp, who previously directed District 9, has done a good job for this movie. The social and political issue is rightly blended with the imaginary futuristic dream world. The exclusiveness of Elysium reminds us on the immigrant issue in the United States, particularly, and the West developed nations in a wider scope. We can see it in the character of Delacourt which is firm and strict in dealing with the immigrant issue for the shake of the state, and in the end, for the shake of the people. Migrant workers and other kinds of immigrants have become s serious problem in the developed countries as they have to maintain social stability (in avoiding any possible clash between immigrant and local citizens), meanwhile, the migrant workers offers the cheap labors for employers. That's what happens in the US nowadays, especially in the border states like California. It can be seen on how Neill depicts the 2154 Los Angeles which is fulled
of Spanish-speaking (Hispanic) people. As we all know, most migrants
coming to the US are from the neighboring countries, mostly Mexico. Elysium also represents how health care are so costly that some people cannot just afford their medical treatment. As, basically, people, regardless whoever they are, have the same right for health care. After all, this movie outstandingly delivers a quite story line and it's just off the hook!
