More character, less action, please.

Rating: 7/10 (13 August 2013)

This is an enjoyable movie that uses science fiction, as it is often used, to present an allegory of what 21st-century America has become since Ronald Reagan began what has eventually turned into the Tea Party. We have walls to keep out illegal aliens; the 1% living in a paradise they think is separated from the great unwashed; unsafe working conditions that lead to the deaths of workers who produce goods for the 1%;medical care available only for the 1%. The characters include an ineffectual President clearly modeled on a liberal fantasy about an Obama who is powerless to do anything. Jodi Foster is a combination of Hillary Clinton and Dick Cheney, ruthlessly combining Homeland Security and the State Department. There is even a weapon-obsessed Tea Party type who is a tool of the powers that be--a tool who gets out of their control. Much more could have and should have been done to develop these characters; Matt Damon's heroic orphan and hero of the people, Max, is the only character developed to any extent. And this is what keeps the movie from being great: character development is sacrificed for the sake of fight scenes. Still enjoyable and even moving, but it could have been much better.