History YMMV / Elysium

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Did Delacourt [[spoiler:refuse medical aid for her SlitThroat because of a sudden HeelRealization, or rather as an act of cowardice to avoid the massive legal clusterfuck she certainly would've faced otherwise]]? Given her ruthlessly calculating but [[WellIntentionedExtremist selectively caring]] nature, both explanations are possible.

* {{Narm}}:
** Creator/JodieFoster's portrayal of Delacourt. Combined with her bizarre accent, it's little wonder why she got sidelined by Kruger.
** [[spoiler:Spider changing the status of all Earth citizens to be legal citizens of Elysium by literally backspacing the word "ILLEGAL" and typing in the word "LEGAL" in what appears to be a UNIX command line is a little bit goofy.]]

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Did Delacourt [[spoiler:refuse medical aid for her SlitThroat because of a sudden HeelRealization, or rather as an act of cowardice to avoid the massive legal clusterfuck she certainly would've faced otherwise]]? Given her ruthlessly calculating but [[WellIntentionedExtremist selectively caring]] nature, both explanations are possible.

* WTHCastingAgency: As the years have gone on Matt Damon's casting is seen as a bit of a sore spot. The film is a thinly-veiled allegory for illegal immigration and, rather than having a Latino actor play Max (whose surname is Da Costa), they go for a WhiteMaleLead. While there are of course white Latinos, Matt Damon is not. This gives some of the story a bit of a 'white savior' narrative. Unsurprisingly, he wasn't the first choice, and only got cast after [[Music/DieAntwoord Watkin Tudor Jones]] and Music/{{Eminem}} turned it down.

* EsotericHappyEnding: [[spoiler:Yes, all the people on Earth are now considered to be "citizens" and now they have free healthcare. It still doesn't solve the overpopulation that led to this situation in the first place and in fact will only make it much worse and there might not be enough medpods for everyone.]]

* PresumedFlop: The film is often talked about as though it were a critical flop and Box Office Bomb. The film was incredibly profitable - with nearly a $300 million worldwide gross and most reviews felt it was merely fine as opposed to bad.

* DiagnosedByTheAudience: John Carlyle is so deadpan that even a horrible shuttle crash and being in the middle of a gun battle doesn't phases him, as well as being a high-class germaphobe.

** Specifically, Creator/JodieFoster's portrayal of Delacourt. Combined with her bizarre accent, it's little wonder why she got sidelined by Kruger.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: General consensus is that the film has a great concept that just wasn't fully fleshed out enough. The director himself agreed.

* EsotericHappyEnding: [[spoiler:Yes, all the people on Earth are now considered to be "citizens" and now they have free healthcare. It still doesn't solve the original problem that led to this situation in the first place and in fact will only make it much worse (overpopulation) and there might not be enough medpods for everyone.]]

** Specifically, Creator/JodieFoster's portrayal of Delacourt. Combined with her bizarre accent, it's little wonder why she got sidelined by Kruger. That said, as Richard Roeper notes, [[http://blog.richardroeper.com/?p=5332 Foster's butchered performance is surprisingly compelling.]]

SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: There has been a [[https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/whats-the-most-cringeworthy-alternate-history-youve-ever-read.47523/page-758?post=22129077#post-22129077 defence]] of the supposed lack of subtlety of the film:
->Elysium seems stark to us because there's no massive propaganda machine in the movie itself constantly telling us that the system of the people of the Elysium universe Is A Good Thing, Actually. We're not automatically primed to dismiss the concerns of the people of Earth in Elysium in that sense.
->But let's be honest with ourselves - Elysium is happening right now. Millions of people go without life-saving medical care in America for want of a way for them to personally pay for it. It's not this way because there aren't enough medical resources to go around - America spends more resources per capita than anyone else in the industrial world to get worse health outcomes. It's this way because it is profitable for the ruling class to keep it this way.

* VocalMinority: The film is often talked about as though it were a critical flop and Box Office Bomb. The film was incredibly profitable - with nearly a $300 million worldwide gross and most reviews felt it was merely fine as opposed to bad.

SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: There has been a [[https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/whats-the-most-cringeworthy-alternate-history-youve-ever-read.47523/page-758?post=22129077#post-22129077 defence]]of the supposed lack of subtlety of the film:

SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: There has been a {[[defence https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/whats-the-most-cringeworthy-alternate-history-youve-ever-read.47523/page-758?post=22129077#post-22129077 ]]}of the supposed lack of subtlety of the film:

SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: There has been a [[defence https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/whats-the-most-cringeworthy-alternate-history-youve-ever-read.47523/page-758?post=22129077#post-22129077 ]]of the supposed lack of subtlety of the film:

But let's be honest with ourselves - Elysium is happening right now. Millions of people go without life-saving medical care in America for want of a way for them to personally pay for it. It's not this way because there aren't enough medical resources to go around - America spends more resources per capita than anyone else in the industrial world to get worse health outcomes. It's this way because it is profitable for the ruling class to keep it this way.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: Despite criticisms of it being too heavy-handed, the film raises a topic that definitely needs discussion and even then, the heavy-handedness [[https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/whats-the-most-cringeworthy-alternate-history-youve-ever-read.47523/page-758?post=22129077#post-22129077 can be debated]].
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: General consensus is that the film has a great concept that just wasn't fully fleshed out enough. The director himself agreed.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDroppedAnvilOfTheStory: Despite criticisms of it being too heavy-handed, the film raises a topic that definitely needs discussion and even then, the heavy-handedness [[https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/whats-the-most-cringeworthy-alternate-history-youve-ever-read.47523/page-758?post=22129077#post-22129077 can be debated]].

* SomeAnvilNeedToBeDropped: Despite criticisms of it being too heavy-handed, the film raises a topic that definitely needs discussion and even then, the heavy-handedness [[https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/whats-the-most-cringeworthy-alternate-history-youve-ever-read.47523/page-758?post=22129077#post-22129077 can be debated]].

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Spider, whose fast talking antics and his determination as a badass make him very charismatic.
* EsotericHappyEnding: [[spoiler:Yes, all the people on Earth are now considered to be "citizens" and now they have free healthcare. It still doesn't solve the original problem that led to this situation in the first place and in fact will only making it much worse (overpopulation) and there might not be enough medpods for everyone.]]

* SoOkayItsAverage: There are some truly stunning visual effects and the film touches on some interesting world building - not to mention having a movie with several prominent Latino characters. But the story is considered to be a little too underdeveloped to be anything great.

* VocalMinority: The film is often talked about as thought it were a critical flop and Box Office Bomb. The film was incredibly profitable - with nearly a $300 million worldwide gross and most reviews felt it was merely fine as opposed to bad.

* CreepyAwesome: Kruger, overlapping with CrazyAwesome when he's not doing anything too gruesome. For instance, he prefers barbecuing chicken and ribs ''with his katana.''