Elysium - When a Movie has the Wrong Story | Anatomy of a Failure

[@Filmento]

Get the book on Amazon: www.amazon.com/dp/B0BW1TN97D?ref_=pe_3052080_276849420 Physical copies coming later. And if you can't buy from Amazon, email me and I can sell the ebook as a PDF directly: saltyfilmento(a)gmail.com

[@jessetorres8738]

This seems to be a recurring problem with Matt Damon films; this, Suburbicon, & Downsizing all have interesting story ideas, but the overall plot is kind of boring.

[@oksanapashenko]

@Filmento, would you make any video essay on video games? I think it could be a perfect update for your channel.

[@alejandrohenao5574]

I just wanted to tell you that I am impressed not only with the quality of your content but also with the way you edit it. It is simply impressive and I wanted to congratulate you, the passion with which you make the videos is noticeable

[@dgundeadforge17]

I will say if this movie had the money to use the Imagine fragons song radioactive, I think that would have helped the trailer pull morte people.

[@Konstantin9292]

@Filmento are you going to sell hardcopy of the book? I really want to get one! =D

[@dantheman4838]

Actually Elysium didn't do that bad at the box office and with critics. It was Chappie that put the nail in Blomkamps Hollywood career.

[@osenator]

Agreed, Chappie sucked hard compared to his other movies.

[@hunterg1088]

Not saying this is wrong, I did like Chappie tho

[@WarrenBerzerkerLee]

I actually enjoyed Elysium tbh

[@stanleystaklight7555]

I never saw chappie and i happy I never did cuz I knew from the trailer that it would suck, district 9 is just on another level

[@ryantheanimator1156]

@@hunterg1088 The worst thing about Chappie movie is that they tried to make Ninja and his girlfriend's characters to be sympathetic when in the movie they committed crime and Ninja being asshole to Chappie and took advantage of him, smh. The movie should have been about the relationship between Dave Patel and Chappie, kind of like Short Circuit, and not Chappie learning to be a gangster.

[@k.g.7591]

I don’t think Max’s lack of a reason to live was really a problem for Elysium, but I think you’re very right about the fact that the goalposts changing in the movie. When the movie was just “break into elysium, get healed and then try to get out before you get arrested” it was better and more believable than “break in and change the social structure of a country so that a girl you hardly know with leukemia can get in and hope she doesn’t get arrested afterwords because of magic”

[@sastaassh1112]

After your childhood love fucks some other guy

[@elusiveDEVIANT]

I agree with this, to a point. I think the goalposts only changed once they found out they key could unlock the doors for eveyone. Being realistic here, if you are going to die and found out you could save yourself or eveyone, could you really choose yourself? I'm sure some people would, but if your life was nothing but a fight and pain, it's almost like a gift, to go out and change the world. I loved the movie. The only area I did not like was bringing back Kruger. Adding in Kruger little plan at the end was a bit much.

[@ellugerdelacruz2555]

The girl in the movie not being his own daughter was a HUGE missed opportunity...

[@WhiskerDooz]

​@@ellugerdelacruz2555could have had a John Q in space

[@bamhamer]

Think of the story what you want but visually neil is a mastermind. His sci fi visions are breathtaking

[@xChikyx]

the score is good too

[@runningcommentary2125]

I want him to make a full length version of that really depressing short where people have to fight lizard aliens with machetes.

[@howarddavies136]

It's blood diamond in space. That's no bad thing.

[@bamhamer]

@@howarddavies136 i didn't hate it either but it's definitely more controversial than the setting/sci fi style which is just so so good imho

[@TheMadYautja]

I agree. His visuals are absolutely incredible.

[@combatwombat2134]

It wasn't perfect, but I fundamentally believe Blomkamp's gritty, realistic feeling action scenes are amongst the best.

[@worsethanhitlerpt.2539]

I knew Elysium was gonna suck but I saw it because I knew there would be some killer action scenes and future tech. Also the Wikus guy from D9 got to play a psycho assassin which he pulled off awesomely

[@combatwombat2134]

@@worsethanhitlerpt.2539 preach. Kruger was awesome and him and his two Merc buddies were cool; as well as the gear they used. Plus, watching the one of them get shredded by a rail gun was gnarly. 😂 The scene attacking the boss for his data chip was bliss in terms of action, too.

[@hobf8573]

Lmao. Wickus is Kruger? A beard n some weight pump change so much much

[@brucewillis542]

Yeah the movie didn't suck at all, this breakdown misses the point. Just look at USA, they easily have the funds to feed, shelter, and treat the homeless people, but they don't. That is one example of the point the movie is making. I liked the plot. It was raw, and primal. The man had nothing but the most basic grasp on life, and his work stripped that from him. He could either wait to die in agony, end things early, or get treatment. Even if he was to return to his same life, what else was he going to do?

[@justinamerican8200]

Bloomkamp has a villain problem in all his movies. "Why do people do bad things?" "Because they're EVIL." "Thanks for breaking that down for me, Neil."

[@Rubenz343]

Some people are just psychopaths you know

[@ChucksSEADnDEAD]

​@@Rubenz343 A psychopath still has his reasons.

[@highadmiralbittenfield9689]

​@Rubenz343 even for psychos, it has to serve some sort of purpose that gets established somewhere in the film. Maybe they do it because they enjoy suffering, but that needs to be established in an engaging way that isn't just "haha I shot the puppy lmao."

[@IRMentat]

Fully agree. Crappie (thanks auto correct, I meant Chappie) I specially I was halfway rooting for the “evil corporation” because the gangster thugs had no redeeming features. took years to watch the movie despite liking D9 as their looks put me off then when I do watch it they are even worse than expected. Likewise this movie has a bunch of people going smash n grab on some orbital hab block but zero reasons given as to why only those orbital communities had the tech despite all the meaningful resources in a gravity well being on the damned planet not floating precariously in “easily” disturbed orbits/locations.

[@Gadget-Walkmen]

That's fine to do for certain villains like Palpatine and the Sith and I know REAL LIFE business people are REALY greedy and selfish like the stockholders at EA but in fiction, you gotta do a bit more to flesh them out them as people than just stuck up people who are completely cut off from the rest of society, no matter how realistic that is.

[@onlyonewhyphy]

Watching Sharlto go from weak Wikus to this guy was all I needed to see how excellent an actor he is. His character is genuinely intimidating and Wikus couldn't intimidate a puppy.

[@worsethanhitlerpt.2539]

He kind of did that transformation in D9 with the help of an Alien Combat Destruction Suit.

[@timbokousky]

He was totally on point in Hardcore Henry.

[@onlyonewhyphy]

@@timbokousky he's always on-point

[@BatAmerica]

My question is why didn’t they merge the two core concepts? For example, the main character, Max, is trying to save himself and his little sister from radiation poisoning. These orphans are unable to afford the treatment and only have two days before the poison kills them, so they must break into a house in Elyisum to illegally access the machine. Meanwhile, these corporate figureheads are lobbying their Government to prevent this treatment from going to Earth in a week. That way they can minimize competition and keep their prices high.

[@toomanyaccounts]

that isn't his little sister nor was she dying of radiation poison

[@BatAmerica]

@@toomanyaccounts That's my point, you would fuse the concept.

[@daddy_1453]

Because that would be too similar to what happens in the real world. Big pharma shareholders also invest in Hollywood. They would object to such a clear anti-capitalist message. Hollywood serves rich interests so that limits some types of stories it can tell. That's why your, otherwise great, idea would not be implemented on such a major budget movie.

[@BatAmerica]

@@daddy_1453 Good point.

[@vialbite]

​@@daddy_1453 It wouldn't be anti-capitalist, it would be anti-corporatist. Monopolies are antithetical to capitalism when its defined as a market free from government intervention, yet monopolies require government intervention to their favor. Would definitely piss them off

[@SmokesKwazukii]

Thanks for making this! It explains an issue with many films that i have gone into wanting to love and come away feeling like something was just not working despite many great elements. I remember when i first saw Elysium i was pretty young, a teenager, and it was probably the first R rated film my dad took me to see actually. I remember feeling like the story was “random” that it was just kinda this contrived series of events to justify the world the movie created. I couldn’t articulate this beyond saying “the movie had a random story” but this video perfectly explains what i was thinking when i first saw Elysium and a number of other films. Random is still not a bad way to describe the endemic plot issue.

[@bossisin2510]

I’m so proud of you, writing a book is a huge accomplishment.

[@Garian9]

There were a lot of things that were silly in this film, like the human traffickers with hearts of gold and why the healing station are exclusively on the Elysium but Sharlto Copley and Matt Damon easily carried this film into guilty pleasure for me.

[@scudinferno]

Yeah the healing stations only being on the satellite was a silly idea. You’d assume in a capitalist environment the company would want to sell as many as possible

[@dannylo5875]

There are all sorts of motivations for good people to be bad and bad people to be good.

[@louieBlaster]

I was named after my parents coyotes " human traffickers" because he had a heart of gold. Not really silly

[@qumarsharis]

It’s to show the disparity between class. The earthlings have nothing, only hospitals stuck in the past, while the elite have a automated healing pod at every home.

[@stevensigl]

Like wise 👏

[@lilgabriel0517]

Can’t believe you made a video on this movie, my dad and I were just trying to figure out what it was called 😂 we enjoyed rewatching it lol

[@breevonnebenan794]

how did you enjoy rewatching a movie you know in 5 minutes, i call that bs with a scent of cap on top 🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢

[@lilgabriel0517]

@@breevonnebenan794 what? I was just saying that we forgot the name and when we remembered it we saw it again 😂 this was like a week ago that’s why I find it funny lol

[@ThePrisoner881]

This movie is a classic case of having "the message" take the place of an actual plot. The director was so desperate to say "greedy rich people = bad" that he forgot about things like character development, motivations, etc.

[@FraggleH]

The worst part was watching the usual suspects fawn over it as an example of 'how easy it would be to solve the world's problems' as if it wasn't entirely reliant on Hand-waved Technology-based Post-scarcity even beyond that of Star Trek TNG.

[@simo3873]

But it is true though. Craven rich ghouls do in fact = Bad. Very bad.

[@ChucksSEADnDEAD]

​@@simo3873 Right. The problem is that you start with ghouls, end up attacking the small business owners too.

[@loganwolfram4216]

Seems to be a rather common problem these days

[@R_lulu]

​@@simo3873, yeah sure. "You know that group of people different from me? They're bad" Where did I heard that before?

[@buzzlightyearpfp7641]

i dont think the plot being 'he wants to live' is an issue considering so many other stories are built on that premise. Infact, a majority of action/survival/combat stories can be boiled down to 'they want to live'. although I think the issue is that after he DOES get to live in the movie, we dont see him do anything with it. He doesn't change his life for the better or anything like that

[@danello9091]

Usually wanting to live is the starting driving goal, and as the story progresses stakes increase to add gravity and weight to the character's actions, if you keep "I want to live" as the main focus through and through you gotta either do more with it or add bigger stakes than it, one life on top of another is falling short, making everyone a citizen of elysium should've been the original stake-rising goal, then you could make it so that there's a twist, like that Elysium is just a smaller space station, that humans from up there had been expanding to other planets and had disregarded earth as a whole, say leaving it in charge of the president while the intergalactic government rules over several colonies that span from earth to the entire milky way, and he has not only to bring down the magic medic capsules but he also ends up exposing the crimes of the corrupt government to the expanded humanity, raising awareness and bringing change to earth turning it a patrimony of humanity as the cradle of humankind.

[@alerav4826]

@@danello9091 not offense man, but that does not sound like an interesting story

[@senny-]

That's exactly what he said.

[@mrmulti5326]

@@alerav4826 I think it starded really well. If the movie endend with this plot twist that there are other colonies and stuff it would be nice. But all that "Expose the corruption" part seams kinda unnecessary. Maybe a hint to a galactic war against the colonies? But that seams a little too big for that first movie.

[@aarishbaig]

Yeah that’s what he said already.

[@n3y14n7]

7:10 good to see Charlie back at it again acting at an extremely important scene what a legend

[@xulqarnaen]

was that actually Charlie tho? i don't see a video of his on Elysium

[@thespaceman8231]

@@xulqarnaen Little bit late to reply but it was an AI voice

[@ardent835]

Kruger was hands down the best part of Elysium

[@roger5555ful]

He was the 🐐

[@thegoodcalavera]

Sharlto Copley crushes damn near every role he gets, regardless of how good or bad the rest of the film is. Dude deserves a lot more work - he’s a seriously underrated actor.

[@Filmento]

Yeah the actor is a true chameleon. Hard to grasp that it's the same person here and in D9 and in A Team

[@TheUrizen]

​@@Filmento Kinda sad this genre died down. Though speaking of old movies. I'd be hella interested in hearing your thoughts about Dredd (2012), since it relates to characterization trough action.

[@marca8368]

You're right, boykie

[@TheBestEverEverEver]

It’s sad that simply being original is so rare in Hollywood that it blows their minds.

[@GarenEvansMusic]

I remember I was on my way to watch this with friends and I accidentally spoiled the entire movie without having watched a single trailer. They were very pissed yet very surprised when the movie was over.

[@John-Doe-Yo]

How’d you accidentally spoil it? Just a lucky guess?

[@JinKee]

​@@John-Doe-Yo yeah he's making a criticism that "matt damon wants to save his own life but then dies to save everyone instead" isn't a twist it's the most obvious thing ever

[@jssandler]

5:30 this is a very good point. It always seemed like the girl friend was a bit extraneous. If instead she was his ex-wife and the girl was his daughter and he was trying to fix his marriage, that would have tied a few elements of the story together a little bit better. Also, If Max worked at a factory that manufactured the healing machines and it was seen that the healing machine factory was running out of resources and they had a limited time up on Elysium in which to use the healing machines, that would have also tied together motivations a little bit better.

[@serotoneeder]

Your editing always amazes me, the perfect way to enhance your writing 👏🏻

[@Ekstrax]

Elysium, Chappie and District 9 were all great movies imo, love them

[@bauloprete3905]

No dude, they were good movies. Improve your tarstes.

[@howardron543]

The action in this movie is flawless

[@peteyd1984]

I wish they'd utilised his exoskeleton more though.

[@jeremybrown9611]

​@@peteyd1984 yep

[@insidemymindinc]

Holy shit yeah it was! The scene where he completely dissolved a dude through a wall still sticks in my mind

[@martinqizeaq]

@@peteyd1984 i wish they would swap the bad guys to bad robots instead. That would be awesome. I kinda find the bad guys here are irritating to watch.

[@spencerstevens2175]

The guy who played the main character in d9 assuming the role of the psycho jar head spec ops guy he played opposite was a nice touch Kruger. Just remembered his name lol

[@HQ_Default]

I find it hilarious that one of the major issues with the story is that Max is too much of a total loser to justify trying to save his own life

[@AshGCG]

It is strange when someone else has to explain to me why I haven't bothered rewatching a film. I usually know but, for this one . . ? It has sat in its shelf space, gathering dust, since the day after I bought it. I remember who is in it and think "oooh" but, before my hand has reached its plastic case, my eyes/mind fall upon something else I'm far more likely to watch. This has been happening for nearly 10 years now.

[@LyricsFred]

It happened to me with the Star Wars Prequels. I watched them as a kid. But never actually got back to watch them. I always felt something was off with the movies. Then as an adult i watched the Plinkett Reviews and then it made sense.

[@SniperFallen06]

my problem with the film was that krueger got head blown off and got reconstructed easily while Max cannot do that for that chip only

[@JustTooDamnHonest]

-District 9 was a good start. -Elysium was a rocky mid ground. -Chappie sadly was the nail in Blomkamps filmmaking career.

[@ethanstevenson7040]

God I love these videos Soooooo much man. All the little jokes and references you make I always catch like the comparison to fight club at 4:20. Most other film analysis channels can come off as know-it-all’s, but you have such a great senses of humor that accompanies your discussions that always makes me want to watch to the end. I really appreciate the work you put into each video. Keep em coming!

[@ryantheanimator1156]

I actually enjoyed this film, District 9 is still Blonkamp's best film and my favorite, but Elysium is not too shabby.

[@behrwillsonn3181]

TO THE CREATOR: Yo, just got your book. I don't think you're always wrong. I've been to film school. I've read numerous screenwriting books, some of which I like. But you put everything so clear, concise, and entertaining the way cinema can be. If anything, why do you think filmmakers get this stuff wrong so often? Is it that some productions are so big the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing? To me, the mysteries of cinema shouldn't be that mysterious because they're in the movies themselves which are recorded and can be played back, that's the whole point isn't it?

[@TheArklyte]

Imagine if someone accidentally mixed up pages of Elysium and Time scripts? We could have gotten one whole great movie😅

[@RollOutRory]

Krueger and his squad were just so much more memorable and charismatic than cyborg Matt Damon that it was genuinely distracting

[@Whitebeardtheking9]

I love your breakdown of what gives movies substance or lack thereof. I tell people all the time that great movies should be art. That's why they are called motion pictures.

[@giascle]

I always imagined the sequel to this movie would be Elysium has gotten overpopulated and all the rich people just went back to Earth. Then you can loop the two forever.

[@coldermusic2729]

It’s actually unbelievable just how better the film would have been with those slight changes. Giving him a grander purpose, developing the girl and her mum a little more, interconnecting the overthrowing plot with the reason why the protagonist was rushed and injured, reducing the severity of the entire overthrowing thing and giving a proper reason as to why they can’t have the healing pods on earth. Doing all this could have made this one of the better sci-fi films.

[@worsethanhitlerpt.2539]

Elysium really felt underwhelming and preachy. D9 was a far better movie and the message was more low key and didnt outshine any of the other stuff in it

[@SpecialAgentBillMaxwell]

It's nice to see someone mention the difference between plot and story. Plot is one of an infinite number of journeys through the story. I agree with you 100%.

[@Broco1L]

Once again I knew something bothered me but you perfectly articulate why in an easy to understand and fun way. I’m keeping an eye on Amazon for those physical copies of your book once you’re done checking! 📖

[@goldeneddie]

Same here! I wondered why this movie failed to move me. I thought it was just Matt Demon's wooden attempt at acting. He was perfect as a monotone, emotionless , brainwashed assassin in Bourne, but that was really his match, and he fails badly when anything requires a level of character waaay beyond his limited po-faced abilities.

[@alimzazaz]

Love when in a couple hundreds of years, the common weapon is still an AK, brilliant

[@omisan771]

Elysium is like Prometheus to me. I see all the flaws and problems with it, but I still think it's a great sci-fi ride.

[@Sigismund697]

I remember me and my sister watching Prometheus on cinemas and loving it Until we found out it was an Alien movie Somehow we managed to avoid all info about this particular element of the story and that made the movie better since we had no established lore to anchor it Still on re-watch I've become aware of the many nonsensical things that happen on it

[@mart6844]

Just to say your channel is amazing. A lot of reviews, for any medium I see really, fall into this pattern of only reviewing bad things they hated, just to proceed to hate on them for 30 minutes. I love that you take everything you loved about movies to highlight it, and review the bad parts in a constructive manner. It really shows that you are actually just someone that loves movies with passion, and it's extremely refreshing.

[@Sigismund697]

I remember watching this movie I forgot most of it except for one thing which you mentioned: The whole magic healing machines being only on Elysium made no sense since everyone and their mothers seems to have cancer on earth and if everyone on earth dies who's going to do the grunt work the rich would not do? Same as why I hated the plot of the Total recall remake, same nonsense, even worse since in that movie they don't have a legion of robots who in theory could be repurposed for grunt work

[@WolfHreda]

I really enjoyed Elysium, but I've noticed that when I want a Blomkampf fix, I always go back to District 9.

[@MrLuiguimaster]

I actually love this movie for the message it has. This hit hard back in the day, and now hits even harder. Btw, Chappie was cool af.

[@kristofori]

A man of class in the comments.

[@mikenolan73]

I really liked the suggestion of tying the coup to maxs factory accident by having the security bots be a priority order that needs to be completed quickly. Its no longer a series of coincidences of things happening at the same time.

[@TheDaniel9]

The one thing that I really truly loved in Elysium was the effect they used to show his enhanced abilities when using the exoskeleton. It's wild in it's amazing simplicity too. All they did was stabilize the shaky footage and crop in. That way you get these really amazing motion blurs on everything but can still understand what's going on.

[@justthinkingoutloud2538]

I recently watched this movie and loved it. The ending feels like a bit of a contrived and unearned happily ever after, but overall I thought the story was great. Could more have been done with some of the concept? Sure, but I thought the characters were well written and acted enough to get me totally invested. Besides, you talked about his changing motivations as if that was a bad thing, but I thought that was the whole point of his arc, that initially he's just selfishly desperate to survive, but he ultimately realizes the girl's life, not to mention the lives of countless millions on earth that could be saved if he succeeds, is worth more than his, so he becomes willing to sacrifice himself for them. 7:54 Yeah, I can agree the magic healing stations were ridiculous, but I didn't question why they're only on Elysium, because a) the people on Elysium clearly don't care about people on earth any more than for the resources they produce, and b) this technology must be insanely expensive, so even if they were willing to spend money bringing it to earth, they wouldn't be able to bring enough of it to earth for it to make any difference, it would still be totally inaccessible to 99.999999% of people down there anyway, so what would be the point? The one thing I can totally get behind you on is that the economic implications of the ending are nonsensical. A sequel would actually be great to further explore what the world would look like following the events of the first, because it certainly wouldn't be the utopia the ending seemed to suggest.

[@gunargundarson1626]

At they none of them failed art school or else we would’ve had a much bigger problem to worry about.

[@TheSmokingMustache]

I love to see you break down his personal short films from Oats Studio, he has some really cool short films

[@peterand]

I really enjoyed this film, real shame Blomkamp isn't doing more, I think his work is brilliant

[@jamiekeane471]

He seems to be a concept man, not really a narrative man. Every movie he's made has brilliant concepts, but only D9 landed on the story department too. Doesn't matter how awesome a concept is, of we can't get behind the characters/story then its all wasted potential.

[@thegoodcalavera]

@@jamiekeane471 Yeah; seeing _Elysium_ and _Chappie_ fall so hard despite their immensely promising concepts make me wish Blomkamp simply stuck with Peter Jackson following their success together on _District 9._ Blomkamp has an abundance of original stories and a unique visual style that pairs well with Jackson’s penchant for high-concept storytelling.

[@jakefoley9539]

Seems he's completely abandoned the whole OATS Studio thing as well

[@faku1350]

out of topic. but recently finished cyberpunk 2077, now i understand how important the sense of urgency is. also, i agree that making your hero gradually get worse is good way for showing that

[@wrstefg]

Appropriately, in Tyler Mowery's (also a KZbinr) practical screenwriting course, the Elysium script is used as a case study on how not to write a story ^^

[@Piledriver2006]

Too bad no one's listening

[@ABeardedDad]

Mate, sell the hell out of that book, seriously. The are the most talented and detailed movie analyst I've seen on KZbin. That book is next on my reading list. Can't wait. :)

[@bamhamer]

I'm still sad we didn't get an alien movie from neil instead we got the Prometheus movies from scott which were an absolute disaster 😭

[@o-wolf]

No film in history has made it more fashionable to simp for the ultra rich ultra caputalist &that is just an insane achievement

[@RayearthIX]

Biggest issue Elysium had was that the movie was so focused on telling you rich people are evil, it forgot to give you the reason why the rich elite in the movie are evil and forgot to develop any characters or plot. The why to everything is “rich people are evil” with no basis in any reality or world, including the world the movie creates. I recommend the manga Battle Angel Alita if you want to read a great “elite sky city” vs “poor underworld” setup for a world. The movie for it just scratches the surface of what’s in the original manga.

[@marcus4424]

That little snippet of Where is My Mind by Pixies at 4:15 is gonna drive me insane because it's already stuck in my head again

[@shakawhenthewallsfell8570]

For any faults, big and small, Elysium is still a very entertaining movie.

[@IRMentat]

Only if you can get past the preaching that refuses to provide a reason as to why the “other” side are unrepentantly evil.

[@Minptahhathor]

Bloody sad movie, 😔

[@1marcelfilms]

I just wish the "good guys" lost though.

[@Youre-Welcome]

Entertaining for 5 year old maybe.

[@luminousparadox7529]

The intro had more meaing in it with the little girl being healed in this film 😂😂

[@thatomokgautsi6266]

Isn't the motivation of him getting to Elysium, healing his radiation poisoning and saving himself from dying not enough?

[@Krosis_]

It is in my opinion. He argues that the protagonist has "no life" to return to once healed, which is wrong, because even tho his life sucks, he wants to make it better, as he doesn't want to get involved with crime and wants to "climb the ladder" at his job. Even without this, not wanting to die is motivation enough for anyone who's put in that position.

[@TheTaintedWisdom]

5:56 - While it's true that it's completely illogical, it's not at all unrealistic. You have to remember that this is a Hollywood movie, an _AMERICAN_ movie, and our healthcare system is anything *but* logical. Take that Mr. Beast video where he paid for a procedure that would give people their sight back. Inside of 10 goddamn *MINUTES* people were getting their lives back. Would it be better for those people, and the country as a whole, if we had a healthcare system that let them be productive members of society? Obviously, yes. Do our politicians, Republicans especially, have any interest in letting that happen when all they have to do to enrich their own lives is gut programs keeping vulnerable people afloat in the first place? Fuck no. So, while yes, it's completely illogical and runs counter to what a society should strive for, it's 100% realistic. We already have an Elysium, it's called American healthcare.

[@earthlingcarl3179]

Elysium is literally Martha's Vineyard.

[@zoch9797]

Especially after the illegal migrants were dropped off there a little while ago, except they had a better PR campaign to hand-wave away the "undesireables".

[@Mikewee777]

Haha. Everybody forgot about that right winged immigration stunt .

[@Joe27248]

Good video, makes me want to go rewatch District 9.

[@d0ubtingThom4s]

I just thought it was so ridiculous that his psychologist was a robot and he's doing a factory job that involves potential radiation exposure. Like... Shouldn't those jobs be reversed? Among so many ridiculous things, it just set the tone for the rest of the movie

[@Johnnywilsonforever]

I was just thinking about that scene but with a different perception a few days ago, when I tried to apply to a job only for them to tell me, by whatsapp message, to record a video that was to be analyzed by AI instead of a simple phone call using the same friggin whatsapp. Talk about being judged by a machine.

[@user-mq4xp1gq3q]

This movie's storyline can be summarized as "paving the path to hell with good intentions", or "short-sighted gains in exchange for long term loses". Matt Damon's character literally dooms humanity. Glad you pointed this out as so many fail to acknowledge.

[@Caleb6000]

When you describe the movie Elysium should've been, you're essentially describing Snowpiercer.

[@steffenbach3580]

And yet, Snowpiercer is not a better film.

[@knolty]

I've recently rematched this one and imo it managed to hold its weight, even after 10 years.

[@DG9-q6f]

Actually, I think that having a piece of media where a person originally driven by blunt survival instinct stumbles upon a meaningful purpose (or "changes stakes" as you put it) is a great idea. It's hard to make it justice over a film rather than a TV series though.

[@jaimedeleon1194]

Beautiful execution on this video. I love the splicing of GTA into the game and subtle layering of music. *Chef's kiss*

[@Metalders]

Elysium was important to us brazilians, because of the actor Wagner Moura. He recently(back when this movie was made, at least) did Elite Squad which was a massive success here and we had high hopes for him in Hollywood. Now he hits the top with Puss 'n Boots, he made the Bad Wolf's voice there.

[@jrr7031]

I definitely want to see that movie. The wolf just looks so dope!!

[@rhyswong8976]

He was amazing as Pablo Escobar.

[@cansrick1806]

Filmanto is the only KZbin channel where I have to watch a video twice to understand it. Which is a good thing.

[@aminturajev4502]

I loved the movie and still do. Love your video as well bro

[@alisterfolson]

Filmento always comes thru with epic editing etc. Never stop stopping, Fam

[@tylerskiss]

I had such high hopes for this film. It’s not terrible, but it should have been so much better.

[@julius-stark]

I have a sneaking suspicion this film (or script) was butchered by the studio. All I remember was that it was an allegory for US healthcare/immigration, which is fine if the story is good, but it didn't seem to have a coherent grasp of those two issues. It really did feel like they took two different scripts and mashed them together.

[@jojopojo9516]

I think you nailed it with Elysium and that core aspect of the plot is why the movie was a let down. One easy to fix this is that instead of making robots, Damon could work at a mining facility which produces a rear mineral that powers these magic, healing machines. The machines could be further limited by how often they could be used. And this would create a meaningful conflict when his employer states categorically that he won't be healed following his accident. Having come to the realization that he is just a tool for the elite to maintain their vapid lifestyles, it becomes his motivation to radically change that system. The elite, of course, would make the case that it's their resources which facilitate the minerals being mined and machines made and it's their right to use the machines as they see fit. Not perfect but it would give the film an edge and some much needed thrust.

[@Groaznic]

God damn it man I pissed my pants laughing at your memes and hilarious editing, this is better entertainment than watching 10 Netflix comedy specials combined. And I melted laughing at the new pseudonim Filip Mentos. A true knee slapper. Now I don't have any more knees.

[@orarinnsnorrason4614]

There should have been only one healing station instead of everyone owning one. That way some stakes could have been established.

[@danieljabonski4705]

Scenes with Mr. Amazon-priceless! What a absolute brilliant editing

[@alexlazzerly3677]

I haven’t seen the movie in a while but isnt the fact that Max is alone and doesn’t have much of a life before the accident kind of the point? It works for his character arc by the end when he makes the sacrifice for the mother and daughter.

[@darrengordon-hill]

SIMP

[@ArifRWinandar]

Did the movie establish that Max was looking for something greater in his life which is later fulfilled by the sacrifice?

[@alexlazzerly3677]

@@ArifRWinandar idk I thought it was about how he realized he wasn’t living much of a life to begin with, and so he decided to give up his own to save the little girl.

[@vfxninja5503]

"if you don't have family you should die for people who have families" is a pretty bad moral imo

[@ArifRWinandar]

@@alexlazzerly3677 did he at any point in the movie realize that even if he managed to heal himself he won't have much of a life to go back to?

[@Mexishark909]

I liked the visuals a lot, I actually have this movie. But the story does suck. In fact when people ask me what its about I just say "Its about Space Cholos fighting Robot Ninjas in space"

[@Tjaldprd]

Great video. Loved your simple suggestion: if the coup had taken place before the accident, things could be better linked, 'organically' as you say...

[@scr3aming3agle83]

I love this movie so much, hate how its ignored

[@yeahmhmmrightokaymhmmyeahsure]

your videos always help me better my stories, i deeply appreciate you man!

[@jessetorres8738]

This seems to be a recurring problem with Matt Damon films; this, Suburbicon, & Downsizing all have interesting story ideas, but the overall plot is kind of boring.

[@goldeneddie]

Absolutely. I believe he's a big part of the problem. In fact, at first when. I wondered why this movie failed to move me, I thought it was just Matt Demon's wooden attempt at acting. He was perfect as a monotone, emotionless , brainwashed assassin in Bourne, but that was really his match, and he fails badly when anything requires a level of character waaay beyond his limited po-faced abilities. He brings literally NOTHING to this movie.

[@princejellyfish3945]

@@goldeneddie I tend to agree with this assessment of Damon, though I would suggest checking out "The Informant". A damn good movie with pretty nuanced acting from Damon.

[@goldeneddie]

@@princejellyfish3945 Hey, you know what - I appreciate that response. It's a rare thing on yt to have balanced view presented, so I will respect your suggestion and check that movie out. Cheers.

[@princejellyfish3945]

@@goldeneddie Cheers, hope you enjoy it.

[@Do27gg]

Kruger is one of my favourite villains

[@echsecutioner]

Funny, I remember kinda liking this movie, but also feeling it just could have been "more". Great analysis as always! Also kudos on writing that book! Nice work, will definitely buy the physical copy!

[@JuanHernandez-ze3si]

The funny thing is that CHAPPIE also suffers from this but mostly in the third act of the movie

[@viaxon6]

I remember i watching in a cinema... Don't remember anything beyond that. Truely, one of the movies ever made.

[@found_it]

It's so cool that you have a book with all the concepts from your videos

[@DonVigaDeFierro]

"With this technology you can cure *every known disease* and save the world! You could be filthy rich and become a hero!!" "But I don't *want* to save the world and become a hero!! I want to live in a space station!"

[@davemccage7918]

He should have just stolen some expensive suitcases filled with designer dresses from the airport! Nobody who works with nuclear materials ever gets caught doing that! It’s the perfect crime…

[@LuvzToLol21]

"I can't help her" says the man wearing an exo suit that's specifically meant to help him reach Elysium

[@ayuvir]

Filmento you're probably the best Movie channel around. Could you consider making a list of must watch movies, a list of must watch actor movies and a list of must watch indie movies?

[@chasehedges6775]

I totally forgot this movie existed but it looks really good. Is it worth watching?

[@EGRJ]

Yes.

[@Filmento]

yeah there are a lot of cool elements in it. I still think Blomkamp has some really amazing visual ideas as a director

[@darwincity]

@@Filmento I would recommend it just for the cast. Jodie Foster is too rarely in movies, and it has Wagner Moura (Pablo Escobar, Death from Puss in Boots II) and Diego Luna (star of the other Narcos Netflix series and Andor) making their first major Hollywood picture. Just for that, I think it is worth checking out as a fun piece of movie archeology.

[@nnnp634]

If it's on TV - sure, but otherwise is pretty bleak. I don't remember if we're even shown why the rich guys are guilty for the situation on Earth, and even if we are, it's not memorable, so I can't really cheered for their world to be ruined. As for people on Earth we're not shown anything except cancer is really solved for them so there's no real celebration at the ending either.

[@Done25.]

I personally didn't enjoy it. Many of the reasons why being pointed out in this video. The movie is a blatant appeal that "The US should open its borders and allow in all the immigrants with full citizenship and benefits." and that "Rich white people are evil because they're rich and white and being evil is what they do best.".

[@WittyDroog]

I actually thought, as the movie progressed, that was going to be a reveal that Elysium was effectively waiting for Earth to die out so they could cleanup and rebuild, like a warring army waiting out a castle keep starving to death because its resources have been cut off, which would have given our lead reason to not only use but STEAL the technology and bring it back to Earth thus thwarting such plans. Oh well. I still think Neil is an interesting filmmaker and I hope he's able to find his footing again soon.

[@VeritabIlIti]

Blomkamp's heritage shines so strongly in all of his films that I think sometimes the themes he presents justify themselves for him, without feeling like he needs to do more with them. This simultaneously makes some of them feel more heavy handed and less relatable to people who haven't been educated on Apartheid

[@ricardoklement-yj8sr]

Maybe some people don't want to get "educated" by movies and just have a good time watching them?!

[@MichaelCasanovaMusic]

@@ricardoklement-yj8sr Perhaps sesame street is more your speed.

[@ricardoklement-yj8sr]

@@MichaelCasanovaMusic Projecting hard, snowflake?! 😂

[@geoeira]

you know, learning how to make good movies ultimately is learning how to live good. thx you taught me this

[@HFRA69]

One of my main gripes about this movie is the ending: he activates the healing machines for an overpopulated world. The radiation room accident looks ridiculous to me: "Go into a radioactive room to fix a glitch or get fired.","Guess I'm fired, then."

[@crushedcan5378]

how was it overpopulated to begin with? I mean if the factories are that bad,the world looks like a desert, gangs and druglords are everywhere, what appears to be a food shortage, there is no medicine or enough hospitals and robots killiing peeps around why are there that many people?

[@HFRA69]

@@crushedcan5378 We're baby-making machines, don't you know? We're all about the snu-snu and narcs!

[@HFRA69]

@Andy , it's deadly radiation. It was more than obvious that once he unstuck that platform, the door would close. Even living paycheck to paycheck, when you know with 100% certainty that you would die...single, no kids, living in poverty...only if you had no will to live would you do it.

[@HFRA69]

@Andy, it's a factory, where things tend to work one way only. That's not an elevator door. Also, radiation doesn't go away when the door is open, it stays in there. That thing was a death trap regardless. That's why he shouldn't be in there longer than seconds. Even X-Ray rooms are isolated! The techs are behind thick concrete and lead walls to keep the radiation away. That's a baking oven! At least make sure the door doesn't close behind you, for whatever reason!

[@HFRA69]

​ @Andy Radiation can accumulate in several materials, especially metals. Many times, X-Ray rooms have to be rebuilt because alloys are used instead of just lead, causing the sheeting to be activated. He didn't have the door propped open, he didn't even jam it with anything to keep it from accidentally closing. And to feel the radiation like he did and the time it took him to die, it was for sure gamma radiation(Gamma and X-Ray are in the same category). On a metal room. I get that even glass makers get burned trying to pick up a hot glass piece that's falling, but that's all of a sudden, not a clear, preventable error. Also, notice how the whole line is stopped, waiting for him? Nobody helped him out? It would benefit everyone NOT to be an accident happen.

[@BionicleC4]

I love watching your videos. You have single handedly helped me write better stories.

[@sebastianfernandez8613]

I love this movie despite its flaws.

[@barrbudo]

Elysium is a "Uh! Rich people bad" movie and nothing else.

[@the98themperoroftheholybri33]

Exactly, "rich people bad, illegal immigrants good" was the terrible message this movie gave. It ends with Elysium accepting the entire planet onto the space station, why doesn't it address what happens next? The utter paradise will become an utter shithole

[@barrbudo]

@@the98themperoroftheholybri33 they don't ever talk about the aftermath because it would make it hard to sell their ideas. Worse yet, they could have to face that annoying question: "Why don't you live the consequences of your ideas?"