Neill Blomkamp’s Elysium Gets A Quick New TV Spot

By Brent McKnight | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

Neil Blomkamp’s Elysium, his follow-up to 2009’s District 9, is one of our most anticipated movies of the summer. We’re all slavering over the sci-fi action, and the portrayal of a dystopic future world. Both should be fertile soil for Blomkamp’s allegorical and political leanings. We’ve seen the first trailer, but now we have a new TV spot for the impending August 9 release.

By the year 2154, Earth has become a rancid, festering hellhole of a planet. Anyone with any money or clout has abandoned the cursed rock in favor of space station called Elysium that orbits overhead. From their space-based ivory tower, the rich and powerful look down on the poor and downtrodden forced to live in the crime-ridden filth and squalor. Those left behind are hungry, crowded, and sick, in desperate need of healthcare that is only available in Elysium. Well, it just so happens that an everyday, ordinary guy named Max (Matt Damon) is plenty pissed off about the state of things, and is going to do something about it.

This puts him in direct conflict with Secretary Delacourt (Jodie Foster), who runs things in Elysium, and all of the resources she has at her disposal. But if he succeeds, he’ll save his own life, as well as improving the lot of humanity in general. And he has a kick-ass mechanical exoskeleton to help him do it.

While only 30 seconds long, this video packs in a ton of tension, gives you an idea of the stakes, and paints a picture of the movie’s gulf between rich and poor. There’s obviously going to be a ton of action and special effects to hang your hat on, but the story and the world of the film sound pretty incredible as well. All in all, Elysium looks like a complete package.