Elysium

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Steve, Cicely, Belinda, Claire

I really love District 9 and Neill Blomkamp's follow up is even more impressive with its visuals and even more of a sledgehammer with its themes. Seems to be the general trade off when you get a higher budget. The character work isn't as strong this time around so when we segue into the action set pieces it's all pretty typical. Although Sharlto Copley is having a lot of fun playing a real creepy guy, which is hilarious and horrifying at the same time.

It's certainly a fun ride and there are some really great sequences. The realistic shooting style and location work really sell this world and effects are integrated seamlessly. There's also a surprising amount of people graphically exploding. I didn't check the rating going in, I just presumed that being a big budget film it would be PG. It's certainly not PG. Heh...

I must admit I was hoping for a little more from Blomkamp but as a Hollywood sci-fi actioneer it certainly delivers.