Maleficent: Twisted and Dark -- But All In Good Humor

Every so often, a scriptwriter, or producer or a director feels the need to remake and rewrite a story that has already embedded itself in pop-culture, and that is the case of "Sleeping Beauty.”  Executive Producer Angelina Jolie ("Salt," "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" "Beowulf") stars in this gorgeous rendering of the Giambattista Basile of a girl who is cursed with the magical variety of trypanosomiasis.  Teaming up with veteran Disney Producer Don Hahn ("The Lion King" (1994), "Beauty and the Beast" (1991), "The Nightmare Before Christmas" (1993)) to retell and reimagine the classic tale of "Sleeping Beauty."  The classic stories that we learned and loved as children, and especially via Uncle Walt's Disney's studios, we can be sure we are getting the "family" version of these European folktales.  Keeping with the trend of giving our childhood monsters and villain’s motivation for their evilness, the filmmaker’s goal is to show us the other side of the story.  Angelina Jolie plays the Fairy Queen Maleficent, while Sharlto Copley ("District 9," "Elysium," "Europa Report") stars as King Stefan, and Elle Fanning ("Babel," "Super 8") is the beautiful “La Belle au bois dormant."  Being that "Maleficent" is a Walt Disney Studios distribution, the MPAA gave it a PG rating, and it runs just over an hour and a half.


The story of "Sleeping Beauty" is not quite the true story we heard as children.  That is what the narrator is tells us at the beginning of the film.  The voice speaks of the divide between two kingdoms.  The first is the kingdom of man, with its greed and lust, and the kingdom of the fairies in the moors...  I am always wary of films that start with long expositions.  "Maleficent" does exactly that and my first reaction was to sigh.  I then looked to my left at the kid in the seat next to me, and realized that this story telling method is for the children, not so much for the adults.  I am sure even the young kids who have come to see film with their parents have already seen the Disney's 1959 animated take on the Charles Perrault story from a collection of compiled folktales.  Thus, I think the story-telling motif at the beginning serves the purpose for the children to re-align their concept of the story.  

First time director Robert Stromberg ("Pan's Labyrinth," "The Chronicles of Riddick," "2012," "Life of Pi") drops us into the fairy world which is full of beautiful colors, grand landscapes, and the intriguing Isobelle Molloy as the young fairy Maleficent.  The first twenty minutes or so focus on setting up who the character of Maleficent was "before the fall."  Sweet and free-spirited she flies through the moors with her beautiful set of brown horned wings and introduces the audience to the various gnomes, talking frogs, sprites and the talking and walking trees.  Molloy's portrayal as the young naive and innocent fairy queen is in sharp contrast to the beautiful and malevolent adult fairy that she will become.  Similar in fashion to "Oz the Great and Powerful," we see our main character as she was before a man hurt her and woe to those who forget the axiom, "Hell hath no fury like a woman’s scorn."  The creatures of the moors do not allow men to enter their land; however, they make one exception.  The trees catch a young Stephan (Michael Higgins) stealing from their land.  Maleficent forgives the boy and allows the boy to go on his way.  We see the two become friends and then more.  When Maleficent turns 16, Stefan gives her what he called "true loves kiss."  We all know from "The Princess Bride," there is nothing more potent than true love.  


As the years go by, Stephan returns to the lands of man and pursues his goal of sitting on the throne of the kingdom of men.  The ways of men are greed and desire.  King Henry (Kenneth Cranham) and his horsemen and infantry, lay siege to the moors and now an adult Maleficent comes to defend the creatures of fairyland.  In a short battle scene, reminiscent of "The Lord of the Rings," the tree giants and Maleficent take on the army and mortally wound the king.  In an earlier scene with young Stefan, we find that Maleficent's weakness is iron as it burns her.  She too is wounded when she touches the king's amour.  Jolie's introduction at the beginning of this scene is regal and visually stunning.  Stromberg's strength is his visual style, as he was a visual artist in many fantasy films in the last two decades.  Although there is plenty of action in "Maleficent," there are parts where the pacing is uneven and even slow.  

The story follows as the dying king promises the kingdom to whomever vanquishes Maleficent and avenges his death. Stefan (Copley) enters the moors to warn Maleficent about the king and his bounty, and the two renew their friendship.  In this film, we see Copley's range of characters throughout this film, from a seemingly innocent individual as in "Distrct Nine," to the crazed, paranoid, fighter from "Elysium."  After drugging his friend, Stefan cannot bring himself to kill her, but instead does something worse; he takes her wings.  By leaving her alive but taking her wings, Stefan commits a very personal crime against Maleficent, so much so, that her grief and agony is just as great.  So far the themes presented have to do with man verses nature, or symbolically the iron swords and the ways of men represent industrialism and a sort of sexism, while the fairy folk are the ancient innocent pagan tradition.  Stefan becomes king and Maleficent turns her hurt, her anger, and her pain into a force for vengeance.  Without wings she must walk.  She saves a raven that she turns into a human.  The raven name is Diaval (diablo?) played by Sam Riley.  Now with the prerequisite faithful animal servant (or familiar) the villain can go on her way and do her wicked deeds.  



Diaval is Maleficent's eyes and ears, and one day he reports that the king and queen have a new child, a girl.  As in the 1959, Disney animated version, three fairies show up to give the child some fairy gifts.  Introduced earlier in the film, the three fairies, Knotgrass (Imelda Staunton) , Flittle (Lesley Manville), and Thistletwit (Juno Temple) each give the child a gift, the uninvited Maleficent shows up in all her dark regal glory.  It is hard to present the character of Maleficent as evil when Jolie is so beautiful, but somehow it works.  The film keeps the essential storyline of the spinning wheel and the needle.  However, instead of cursing the child to die on her 16th birthday, it is Maleficent's curse that will cause her to sleep.  A warning about curses; be careful what you wish for.  The Fairy Queen adds "...and nothing can reverse this curse."  

The three fairies trying to take care of a child is adorable, the way Maleficent and Diaval watch over the baby is cute, and the emergence of Aurora as a delicate and graceful young woman is enchanting.  Elle Fanning is everything that Charles Perrault's fairies endowed his storybook princess with.  She is beautiful, angelic, and graceful, and she displays these qualities to the audience and to Maleficent, whom she thinks is her fairy godmother.  Played with a fresh and happy naiveté, Fanning’s portrayal brings new life to a character that has always been a bit too syrupy, but without the toothache.  When Elle and Angelina are on screen, their performances together are at times sentimental and moving  This adaptation of "Sleeping Beauty" greatly reduces the role of Prince Phillip (Brenton Thwaites) to the point of three or short scenes and in two of them, he is asleep. 

As Angelina Jolie plays her character with a dark, twisted villainy, Sharlto Copely plays his even darker and more twisted as he descends into torment because of what he did to his childhood friend, and the ruin he brought to the women in his life.  He still loves Maleficent, and hates himself.  He shuts himself in a room rambling to himself as he "talks" to Maleficent's wings, in the meantime his wife dies, his child has fallen to the curse of sleep, and the now he wants is revenge.  Jolie's character is different; her evilness is tempered with a bit of humor, and is much more sentimental than her character's predecessors.  The ending is different than what we remember, and thus the exposition at the beginning.

The cinematography is splendid, and the visual effects (CGI) are good through most of the film, but sometimes, draw away from the story.  James Newton Howard's score is elegant and majestic.  Nobody breaks into song, however, Lana Del Rey's rendition of Sammy Fain and Jack Lawrence's "Once Upon A Dream" is hauntingly gorgeous.  Linda Woolverton's story has its own twists and turns, as did the stories of "Briar Rose" and "Sleeping Beauty" of the Brothers Grimm who rewrote many Charles Perrault's folktales who in turn took from 16th century poet Giambattista Basile.  Woolverton's changes to the storyline bring it out of the dark and into a new light.  As we all know, Disney stories usually have a dark background.  Uncle Walt sanitized the stories and brought them into line with socio-economic and cultural norms of the times.  Woolverton takes the focus from "the heroes" of the story and in a feminist sort of way puts it directly on the tough as nails, gorgeous badass that is Jolie.  Best of all, Woolverton does away with the absurd romantic notion of love at first sight, and shows the truth; that love develops over time and is cemented by shared interests and respect.


I am not usually fond of Origin-Stories, or Dark Reboots, however; at times, I have been pleasantly surprised.  Calling this story a deviation from the now nostalgic stories we grew up is ridiculous.  Steven Ford of the Orlando Sentinel explains very well the metamorphosis of this story. The story is fine and will entertain children for many years to come.  If anything, deviations in classic stories will open up people’s minds and give new perspectives to how we look at the world.  Either on the big screen or on DVD or Blu-ray, "Maleficent" is a fun entertaining film that will not replace the Disney classics, but will still keep families happy and entertained.

Movie Data

Genre: Action, Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Romance

Year:  2014

Staring: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Sam Riley, Isobelle Molloy

Director: Robert Stromberg

Producer(s): Joe Roth

Writer: Linda Woolverton, Charles Perrault, Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm, (Erdman Penner, Joe Rinaldi, Winston Hibler, Bill Peet, Ted Sears, Ralph Wright, Milt Banta)

Rating: PG

Running Time: 97 minutes

Release Date:  5/30/2014

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Elysium ~ Somewhere Over The Wheel In The Sky

Watching the trailers and hearing the promotional hype for Neil Blomkamp’s new film, "Elysium,"you might get the idea that this movie is going to set the social-political world on fire.  "Elysium" is many things but not that.  The more the world changes the more people stay the same.  It doesn't matter if it is ten years in the future, or one-hundred and fifty, people's mentality doesn't change that easily.  What Neil Blomkamp tries in “Elysium” is to unify the character, the plot, with the CGI, to a point where the audience forgets that they are watching a film, and become fully immersed in a Sci-Fi world.  Matt Damon ("The Bourne Identity," "The Adjustment Bureau"), Jodi Foster ("Contact," "Panic Room") and Alice Braga ("Predators," "I am Legend")  star in this film about a futuristic Robin Hood taking on the aristocracy. “Elysium” runs about an hour and forty-nine minutes and is R for the violence.

The setup is simple, the year is 2154, and the world is polluted, overcrowded, and just extremely third worldish.  The aristocracy has built themselves a world, just out of reach of Earth's downtrodden, but just close enough to be either, a hope, or a tease.  The giant torus, a circular wheel like space station where the rich call Elysium orbits in a geosynchronous orbit over Los Angeles.  The Ancient Greeks believed that Elysium is where the righteous and the heroic go to a happy afterlife.  To a young orphan boy and a girl, it is a goal that they set their sights on while still innocent.  The world of the future is where robots tend to our every need.  That is, of course, that you are part of the social elite with the money and pedigree. 

Max De Acosta (Damon) lives in a world with little hope.  Los Angeles of the future is nothing more than a giant favela.  Max's world is a place where knowledge is power, and it can be uploaded or downloaded from a computer, into, or out of our brains.  He works in a factory where profit is job one, and safety be damned.  Max who is more of an anti-hero, an ex-con, an orphan, and he is a product of his environment.  A former car thief now on probation, Max is working at a factory that makes security robots.  The factory is owned by corporcrat and CEO, John Carlyle, and top citizen of Elysium, who stands aloof above the workers in his factory.He dismisses the board of directors with a swipe of a finger and demands from his underlings more work and more profits.  While on the floor below Max is doused with a lethal dose of radiation and now has a true motivation to seek the medical attention that only citizens of Elysium can afford.

Like the world we live in today, there are the coyotes, the immigrant traffickers, who for a price, will give you a new identity, genetically bonded to your DNA, and a ride to Elysium.  The ride might be short lived, as we see to what extent Jodi Foster's character, Secretary of Homeland Defense, Jessica Delacourt will go to keep out the unwanted.  The part of Delacourt was written for a man; however, Foster plays the part with much malice, and cunning, that makes the audience want more of her, yet want her dead all the same.  After ordering the murder of 42 illegals, she justifies her position to the President, (Faran Tahir) that she will do whatever is necessary to protect what they have created for themselves and their offspring.  She speaks with an accent that is not recognizable, yet in some ways reminds me of the former South African Apartheid leaders, although not quite.  She represents a government who stands against the unwashed masses. 

What is shown early in the film, during the illegals scenes is a mother and daughter who do escape death.  They run for the nearest house (think mansion) and breaks in (how dare she!) and places her ill daughter on a medical table.  This device seems to be as common as a stove or refrigerator in every house.  After a few scans; one to determine citizenship, another to diagnose the illness, and with the final scan the machine eradicates the sickness from the little girl’s body.  The mother and daughter are apprehended by the robot security force, the unthinking machines that enforce homeland security, and they are deported back to Earth.  This scene sets precedence for future scenes in the film.  It tells us that what the people on Earth want is not a purely social revolution, but just some sense of equality as people.

Where there are politicians with big smiles and seemingly clean hands, there are those who lurk in the shadows.  Kruger is such a character, a henchmen who operates from the slums of Earth, "District 9's" Sharlto Copley plays Kruger as a one-dimensional shark-like character, whom, in acts one and two is a perpetual hunter focused on his prey.  His South African accent is incomprehensible most of the time, but his intent is clear.  In act three, the Kruger’s character changes both physically, and mentally.  Not that this is a character that grows, but in some way devolves into less than character that takes over as the main antagonist, replacing Delacourt, but without the charm and disdain.

Alice Braga plays strange characters in her films.  She is not quite the love interest, well certainly not a lover, and sometimes she has a child with her, one that is not necessarily her own.  Sometimes she totes a gun, and sometimes she is just along for the ride.  In “Elysium,”she is Max's childhood friend, who unlike Max, left the city, became a doctor, and had a child.  The father is nowhere in the story, however, her daughter Matilda (Emma Tremblay) is dying of Leukemia.  In many ways, this puts Frey in the very same position as Delacourt.  Frey would do anything for her child.

Throughout the film Ryan Amon's score seems to borrow heavily from Inception and the deep bass sounds of impending doom, to J.S. Bach concertos, and all the way to the industrial sounds of Lorn, PRDCTV, Audio Android, and the like of Arkasia to name a few.  The music sets the mood and increases the tension, however, in some cases, especially when Kruger is speaking distracts even more his lines. The question "what did he say" could be heard in whispers throughout the theater.

As a Science Fiction film goes, there are many nice Science Fiction elements to see.  The space environment is breathtaking, and unfortunately, we don’t explore much of it.  We see many of the mansions and some parties but not much of the city life on Elysium.  There are vertical take-off and landing vehicles that I think today's military will drool over, if they are not already working on prototypes of the craft that Kruger uses.  There are communication devices that have digital displays on your wrists (the texting section of a cell phone on your wrist maybe?).  One element of Sci-Fi tropes is the dehumanizing of man.  This takes form of an exoskeleton, that Max is forced to where in order to equalize the battle against the machines.  The suit is an attempt to make Max less man and more like a machine as in "Star Wars" Darth Vader became more machine than a man.  Max fights against this with all his might, as near the end of the film, he sees a part of his body not covered in mechanics, a symbol that Frey tattooed on his hand as children.

Neil Blomkamp and Max Damon keep the story human.  In scenes where robots deal with everyday police work, keeping the peace, enforcing immigration rules, and in general just keeping the humans in line.  This is another concept that goes back to George Lucas’s “THX1138” and perhaps further.  Damon’s Max tries to keep things lighthearted.  When in line to get the bus to work, he is questioned by the robots he tries to joke with them, but that backfires and ends up with a broken arm for his troubles.  He is sent to probation where the probation officer is a bureaucratic robot.  When he is told for the incident at the bus, his probation is extended, the robot detects Max’s blood pressure rise and offers him a pill.  Max replies in an “Mr.Roboto”voice.  In the world of Elysium, technology and information rules, and those who have it write the rules, and that is the underlying theme of the film.

Max, for all his sins, cannot enter Elysium, however, he can open the door for the weak, and abused, like Captain Miller in "Saving Private Ryan," Max just wants piece.  Although there are some elements of the social and political class struggle in this story, I found "Elysium" to be a film about the hopes and dreams of all humanity.  To live in a world where social classes are not so far apart, and humankind, need not be so desperate for basic needs.  "Elysium"is an enjoyable mix between action, environment, and story.

Related 

Elysium ~ How To Ask A Girl Out On A Date In The Future
Elysium ~ Heist Trailer
Elysium ~ Two New Featurettes | Special Ops - The Tech of Elysium
Elysium ~ Two New TV Spots | Flight - Promises
Elysium ~ Featurette -01
Elysium ~ A Tale of Two Worlds
Elysium ~ Extended Trailer
Elysium
Elysium Poster
Elysium Trailer 2013

Movie Data

Genre:  Sci-Fi, Thriller

Year:  2013

Staring: Jodie Foster, Matt Damon, Sharlto Copley, William Fichtner, Alice Braga

Director: Neill Blomkamp

Producer(s): Bill Block, Simon Kinberg

Writer: Neill Blomkamp

Rating: R
Running Time: 109 minutes
Release Date: 8/9/2013

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Elysium ~ How To Ask A Girl Out On A Date In The Future

Director of "District 9," Neil Blomkamp, has a new trailer out for his latest film "Elysium." 

Matt Damon's Max character asking for a date, or just a cup of coffee with Frey (Alice Braga) in one of "Elysium's" more human moments  Thanks to MovieWeb for the trailer.

Here is the official synopsis:

"In the year 2154 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. Secretary Delacourt  a government official, will stop at nothing to enforce anti-immigration laws and preserve the luxurious lifestyle of the citizens of Elysium. That doesn't stop the people of Earth from trying to get in, by any means they can. When unlucky Max is backed into a corner, he agrees to take on a daunting mission that if successful will not only save his life, but could bring equality to these polarized worlds."

Look for "Elysium" hits theaters August 9th, 2013

Related 

Elysium ~ Somewhere Over The Wheel In The Sky
Elysium ~ Heist Trailer
Elysium ~ Two New Featurettes | Special Ops - The Tech of Elysium
Elysium ~ Two New TV Spots | Flight - Promises
Elysium ~ Featurette -01
Elysium ~ A Tale of Two Worlds
Elysium ~ Extended Trailer
Elysium
Elysium Poster
Elysium Trailer 2013

Movie Data

Genre:  Sci-Fi, Thriller

Year:  2013

Staring: Jodie Foster, Matt Damon, Sharlto Copley, William Fichtner, Alice Braga

Director: Neill Blomkamp

Producer(s): Bill Block, Simon Kinberg

Writer: Neill Blomkamp

Rating: R
Running Time: 109 minutes
Release Date: 8/9/2013

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Elysium ~ Heist Trailer

Director of "District 9," Neil Blomkamp, has a new trailer out for his latest film "Elysium." 

Matt Damon ultra elite soldier in Neil Blomkamp's class warfare film conducts a heist on an a VIP from Elysium. The VIP is protected by security robots featured in "The Tech of Elysium" featurette. 

Here is the official synopsis:

"In the year 2154 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. Secretary Delacourt  a government official, will stop at nothing to enforce anti-immigration laws and preserve the luxurious lifestyle of the citizens of Elysium. That doesn't stop the people of Earth from trying to get in, by any means they can. When unlucky Max is backed into a corner, he agrees to take on a daunting mission that if successful will not only save his life, but could bring equality to these polarized worlds."

Look for "Elysium" hits theaters August 9th, 2013

Related 

Elysium ~ Somewhere Over The Wheel In The Sky
Elysium ~ How To Ask A Girl Out On A Date In The Future
Elysium ~ Two New Featurettes | Special Ops - The Tech of Elysium
Elysium ~ Two New TV Spots | Flight - Promises
Elysium ~ Featurette -01
Elysium ~ A Tale of Two Worlds
Elysium ~ Extended Trailer
Elysium
Elysium Poster
Elysium Trailer 2013

Movie Data

Genre:  Sci-Fi, Thriller

Year:  2013

Staring: Jodie Foster, Matt Damon, Sharlto Copley, William Fichtner, Alice Braga

Director: Neill Blomkamp

Producer(s): Bill Block, Simon Kinberg

Writer: Neill Blomkamp

Rating: R
Running Time: 109 minutes
Release Date: 8/9/2013

Read More

Elysium ~ Two New Featurettes | Special Ops - The Tech of Elysium

In the "Special Ops" trailer below, actor Matt Damon discusses two different droids that are featured in "Elysium." First, is the Security Droid, which special effects house WETA built. The droid acts somewhat human at first, and then more spider like when crawling over a car to get to  Damon's character, Max. 

Matt Damon then goes on the describe the Civil Servant Droid as being with D.M.V. (Department of Motor Vehicles) worker on steroids; the experience is a bureaucratic nightmare 

In the "The Tech of Elysium" trailer, Max (Damon) wears a 3rd generation "exo-suit" witch director Neill Blomkamp explains is just an " extrapolation on current day technology that the military is looking into." The WETA special effects company designed the suit to weigh only 25 lbs and is distributed over Damon's body, making it comfortable for the actor to wear all day.

Matt Damon,. Jodie Foster and Sharlto Copley star in "District 9" director Neill Blomkamp's
new Science-Fiction film "Elysium."

"In the year 2154 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. Secretary Delacourt,  a government official, will stop at nothing to enforce anti-immigration laws and preserve the luxurious lifestyle of the citizens of Elysium. That doesn't stop the people of Earth from trying to get in, by any means they can. When unlucky Max is backed into a corner, he agrees to take on a daunting mission that if successful will not only save his life, but could bring equality to these polarized worlds."

Look for "Elysium" hits theaters August 9th, 2013

Related 

Elysium ~ Somewhere Over The Wheel In The Sky
Elysium ~ Heist Trailer
Elysium ~ Two New TV Spots | Flight - Promises
Elysium ~ Featurette -01
Elysium ~ A Tale of Two Worlds
Elysium ~ Extended Trailer
Elysium
Elysium Poster
Elysium Trailer 2013

Movie Data

Genre:  Sci-Fi, Thriller

Year:  2013

Staring: Jodie Foster, Matt Damon, Sharlto Copley, William Fichtner, Alice Braga

Director: Neill Blomkamp

Producer(s): Bill Block, Simon Kinberg

Writer: Neill Blomkamp

Rating: R
Running Time: 109 minutes
Release Date: 8/9/2013

Read More

Elysium ~ Two New TV Spots | Flight - Promises

In the "Flight" trailer below, "District 9" director Neill Blomkamp depicts the social inequality and the more extreme measures that Jodi Foster's character will resort to while trying to keep the undesirables out of beautiful "Elysium."

Official TV spot for the upcoming motion picture "Elysiums" titled "Promises," shows Matt Damon as Max, a man just trying to live in the world that he was born into just trying to get along, but finds himself becoming a symbol of promise and hope against the people of Elysium.

Matt Damon ("The Bourne Identity," "Hereafter"), Jodi Foster ("Contact," "Flight Plan") and Sharlto Copley ("District 9," "Europa Report") star in "Elysium."

The official synopsis:

"In the year 2154 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. Secretary Delacourt,  a government official, will stop at nothing to enforce anti-immigration laws and preserve the luxurious lifestyle of the citizens of Elysium. That doesn't stop the people of Earth from trying to get in, by any means they can. When unlucky Max is backed into a corner, he agrees to take on a daunting mission that if successful will not only save his life, but could bring equality to these polarized worlds."

Look for "Elysium" hits theaters August 9th, 2013

Related

Elysium ~ Somewhere Over The Wheel In The Sky
Elysium ~ How To Ask A Girl Out On A Date In The Future
Elysium ~ Heist Trailer
Elysium ~ Two New Featurettes | Special Ops - The Tech of Elysium

Elysium ~ Featurette -01

Elysium ~ A Tale of Two Worlds
Elysium ~ Extended Trailer
Elysium
Elysium Poster
Elysium Trailer 2013

Movie Data

Genre:  Sci-Fi, Thriller

Year:  2013

Staring: Jodie Foster, Matt Damon, Sharlto Copley, William Fichtner, Alice Braga

Director: Neill Blomkamp

Producer(s): Bill Block, Simon Kinberg

Writer: Neill Blomkamp

Rating: R
Running Time: 109 minutes
Release Date: 8/9/2013

Read More

Europa Report ~ Message Received

The film "Europa Report" is a simple story of man reaching out toward the heavens even further than he has gone before.  We are talking about the days before we witnessed the starship Enterprise whisk around the galaxy.  Before our extraterrestrial mining ships became infested with xenomorphs, and long after an Empire was conquered and a Republic rose and fell many times.  We hearken back to the times before "2010," when Russian and Americans both ventured out into space together.  We go back in time before the year 2001, the year we made contact.  In some ways, we go back to the days before the "Apollo 18" mission, and we start all over with a fresh take on space exploration and what lies beyond our moon.  After detecting ice on Jupiter's moon Europa, A private company sends out six astronauts to explore the ice in hopes of detecting some primeval signs of life.  The film stars an international cast including Sharlto Copley ("Elysium," "District 9"), Michael Nyqvist, ("The Girlwith the Dragon Tattoo" trilogy), Christian Camargo ("Hurt Locker" "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn" Parts I & II), Daniel Wu, and Anamaria Marinca.  "Europa Report" is 95 minutes long and is Rated PG-13.

This is not a new story.  Man's reach for the stars is told in a slightly non-conventional way.  As a found footage film, "Europa Report" has a few things that are different from say "Apollo 18," or the classic "2001: A Space Odyssey. “  Using the ship's on board cameras in a dazzling display of storytelling by way of multiple images on screen at once, focusing on individual characters, and cutting to CEO of Europa Ventures, Samantha Unger, we get a complete, if not time twisted version of the fate of the Europa One crew.

The crew consists of two pilots, two, scientists, and two engineers.  The most vocal of the crew, is engineer James Corrigan (Copley).  He narrates the activity for the sake of his young son back on Earth.  Andrei (Nyqvist), his engineering partner, is stoic and grumpy.  The oldest of the crew, he is somewhat of a father figure.  The two scientists sent to study the ice and perhaps the water below is Dr. Katya Petrovna (Karolina Wydra) and Dr. Daniel Luxembourg (Christian Camargo).  Katya is the explorer, while Luxembourg tends to play things safe when dealing with the unknown.  Flying the Europa 1, the many millions of miles to its destination are pilot William Xu (Wu) and co-pilot Rosa Dasque (Marinca).  We never get to see fully formed characters, however, what we do see, is something akin to the ideal of innocence of going into space with an open mind without the luggage of over a hundred years of self-imposed dread of the unknown.

The question that is posed at the beginning of the film is what happened to the Europa 1 crew.  The question should be what isn't going on?  Director Sebastián Cordero works with Philip Gelatt's script as deftly and as beautifully as he can in the confines of a long cylindrical tube.  We don't get the same claustrophobic feeling that "Apollo 18" gave us.  We do get a sense aloneness and fear as the crew lands on the surface and gathers readings.  Accidents happen, and because of the skill of the actors, we feel for them, we really do.  A Basing the climax on the Lovecraftian theory of only hinting at a creature so hideous, the director only gives us glimpses of what is out there.

The found footage approach tends to cause more problems telling a story than it solves.  Because this is not a straight narrative, we are not allowed to experience the full effect of composer Bear McCreary's score.  We are not allowed to feel the tension rise with the music, as it is muted, restrained, and becomes unmemorable.  Nor can we experience the full vastness of space and the Europa 1 against the backdrop of Jupiter.  We do get some beautiful scenes of the planet as a backdrop against the planet, but not the beauty or elegance that a filmmaker can create with a camera that is not mounted stationary on a ship, or attached to a helmet.  We don't feel the danger, the dread, or the fear as one would as the music rises and falls, the camera zooms or pans to meet the upcoming threat.  We have none of this.

Filmgoers are such a whiney bunch!  We see a film like "Star Trek Into Darkness" and we cry, where is the Science Fiction?  Then, we are presented with a film like "Europa Report" and we cry, where's all the action?  Films such as "Virtuality," "Sunshine," or either of the two films named "Solaris" that tend to focus on the true Science Fiction aspect don't seem to be reaching its intended audience.  Or, is that audience truly limited in scope.  In this film, we have solid acting, decent story, not enough character development, and not enough tension.  "Europa Report" leaves me wondering if the found-footage concept has any place in Science Fiction.  With over 1000 hours of footage, sent back by Rosa Dasque in a last ditch attempt to tell the story of her doomed shipmates, I am glad I only had to watch an hour and a half of it.

Related

Europa Report ~ Trailer 2
Europa Report ~ Trailer

Movie Data

Genre:  Sci-Fi, Thriller

Year:  2013

Staring: Sharlto Copley, Michael Nyqvist, Christian Camargo, Daniel Wu, Anamaria Marinca

Director: Sebastián Cordero

Producer(s): Ben Browning

Writer: Philip Gelatt

Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 90 minutes

Release Date: 8/2/2013

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Elysium ~ Featurette -01 | A Constantly Racing Mind

Director of "District 9," Neil Blomkamp, has a new featurette out for his latest film "Elysium." 

Matt Damon ultra elite in Neil Blomkamp's class warfare. Jodie Foster and Sharlto Copley also starScience-Fiction film "Elysium."

"In the year 2154 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. Secretary Delacourt,  a government official, will stop at nothing to enforce anti-immigration laws and preserve the luxurious lifestyle of the citizens of Elysium. That doesn't stop the people of Earth from trying to get in, by any means they can. When unlucky Max is backed into a corner, he agrees to take on a daunting mission that if successful will not only save his life, but could bring equality to these polarized worlds."

Look for "Elysium" hits theaters August 9th, 2013

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Elysium ~ Heist Trailer
Elysium ~ Two New Featurettes | Special Ops - The Tech of Elysium
Elysium ~ Two New TV Spots | Flight - Promises
Elysium ~ A Tale of Two Worlds
Elysium ~ Extended Trailer
Elysium
Elysium Poster
Elysium Trailer 2013

Movie Data

Genre:  Sci-Fi, Thriller

Year:  2013

Staring: Jodie Foster, Matt Damon, Sharlto Copley, William Fichtner, Alice Braga

Director: Neill Blomkamp

Producer(s): Bill Block, Simon Kinberg

Writer: Neill Blomkamp

Rating: R
Running Time: 109 minutes
Release Date: 8/9/2013

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