2/5★
Manipulative from start to finish, Elysium is an unsubtle metaphor for a pessimistic view of where modern society seems to be headed. The 1% are literally living in the sky, disconnected from the reality back on Earth, where the middle class seems to have disappeared and all that remain are the desperate poor, who appear to be non-white for the most part, the oppressed classes building the tools of their own oppression until along comes the one white guy who sacrifices himself for justice.
Elysium is very functional, moving from A to B to get to C, but in a checklist fashion, not in an organic flow. Its also miscast, has plot holes and a while it asks serious questions like all intelligent sci-fi should, it makes no serious effort to answer them.
Verdict: Its ok, but no District 9.
Plot: 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. The people of Earth are desperate to escape the planet's crime and poverty, and they critically need the state-of-the-art medical care available on Elysium - but some in Elysium will stop at nothing to enforce anti-immigration laws and preserve their citizens' luxurious lifestyle. The only man with the chance bring equality to these worlds is Max (Matt Damon), an ordinary guy in desperate need to get to Elysium. With his life hanging in the balance, he reluctantly takes on a dangerous mission - one that pits him against Elysium's Secretary Delacourt (Jodie Foster) and her hard-line forces - but if he succeeds, he could save not only his own life, but millions of people on Earth as well. -- (C) Sony
Cast: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Alice Braga, Diego Luna, Wagner Moura, William Fichtner
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Drama, Thriller
