But looking closely, there is still a big difference between the two. Bronkamp's starting point is obviously much higher than Edwards. The impact and refreshing feeling brought by the "Nineth District" back then are unmatched by "Monsters". But a high starting point also means higher expectations, both from movie fans and investors. Whether there is a breakthrough in the work is still second. At least one of them has to be explained. To put it bluntly, either don't let the audience down, or don't let the boss lose money.
If you look at it by this standard, "Elysium" may be considered passable, and the $230 million box office is also a small profit. However, for the audience who went to the sign of "The Ninth District", the film was undoubtedly disappointing to most people. Faced with more derogatory comments but less praise, I am afraid Bronkamp is not so emboldened.
Personally, I don't think "Elysium" is so bad. It's not as good as "District Nine", but it's still above average. In terms of style, the two films have similarities. Both have a pessimistic and dystopian cyberpunk color. Elements such as "large corporations", "government corruption", "slums", and "social alienation" are enlarged. In short, it means "high-quality technology, low-quality life." The living standards of human beings (at least most people) are not proportional to the development of technology.
From this, we can see Bronkamp’s thoughts and worries about this world-in the face of highly developed technology, it is the annihilation of human nature and the decline of civilization. In "The Ninth District" it is manifested as racial discrimination and bureaucratic government, and in "Elysium" it is manifested as the polarization between the rich and the poor and elitism. Although their respective focuses are different, the ultimate direction is clearly human heartlessness and indifference. . Look at the different attitudes of relatives and friends towards Vykus before and after the mutation in "The Ninth District", and then look at Dracourt's disdain for the poor in "Elysium", the director's intentions are so obvious.
Of course, there is indeed a gap between the two films. "Elysium Space" has a certain improvement in entertainment, at the cost of losing the sharpness and depth of "District Nine", especially under the premise that the entertainment component of the film has been criticized by many, the loss of connotation is It is more obvious. In addition, the portrayal of the characters is another big inconsistency. Compared with the tangled and complicated inner drama of Vykus, Max's image is much thinner. From the beginning to the end, his behavioral motives and demands are very simple and direct, or the director did not incorporate political ambitions into the characters. If "Elysium Space" is regarded as an uprising of "equalizing the rich and the poor, etc.", then Max can at best be regarded as an unconscious vanguard of this uprising.
Looking back at the issue of the gap between the rich and the poor, in any capital-based economic system, the interests of most people will inevitably be sacrificed, and it will inevitably lead to the gap between the rich and the poor. As most rulers, as long as the gap does not reach the point where the poor can rise from the pole, they will basically take a blind eye, even if they have made a lot of bold promises before they came to power. But if you are a clever ruler, you will definitely be able to grasp the degree. Whether it is falsehood or hypocrisy or hypocrisy, the superficial article must not be ignored.
Dracourt in the film is a typical negative, clever can play, but after all, lack of great wisdom, and the emotional intelligence is not high. Instead of dying unclearly in the end, what about opening the door to the poor and letting the poor enjoy the same medical technology? As long as the lifeline of the economy is in his own hands, this little favor is really not enough. "Politics" is a process of compromise between all parties. How can we achieve a win-win situation without paying a price? After all, "Hello everyone is really good." In fact, the lack of excitement of the film has a lot to do with the low level of the villain. Relying on Max, he can make trouble in such a field single-handedly, and the management organization of "Elysium Space" is really a big problem.
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