A bad wannabe Sci-Fi movie.

Rating: 7/10 (22 September 2013)

The first 10 to 20 minutes of the movie draws you in; showing scenes of a dirty, bare, probably war-torn Earth and a pristine, luxurious, perfect Elysium. The movie is promising as it is visually engaging with an intriguing concept, making you want to learn more about the world of Elysium. Unfortunately, the CGI is the only notable part of the film. Elysium is a let down once you realize that the acting, characterization, and plot are no good. In the year 2154, the people of Earth live amongst filth and desert, the whole world has become vastly overpopulated and polluted. The 1% of the upper-class escape the poverty and devastation by living on a wheel- shaped space station in Earth's orbit, just outside of the atmosphere. These places seem so real and Elysium feels so unattainable. The movie does lack an individual identity, the gritty futuristic world is comparable to Blomkamp's District 9.The CGI is so amazing, one could feel as though Elysium is an actual place and that earth is actually a ghetto at a global scale. The artfully crafted space shuttles move you smoothly from scene to scene in this broken world. Anyone who sees this movie will notice that the CGI is completely convincing. Jodi Foster's acting as Secretary Delacour in this film is absolutely atrocious. It seems as though she isn't quite sure about her character's motivation, or what country she's from. Whatever accent she is trying to duplicate, it doesn't exist. Matt Damon's performance as Max was better, but for me he seemed a little devoid of emotion. Although his performance disappointed me I did enjoy his use of sarcasm towards the robots he encounters throughout the film. I am also confused with his motivation to reach Elysium. At first he wants to get there to save himself, then to save his childhood friend's daughter, then the whole world. As if healing all the people on Earth would solve the much bigger more permanent problems, such as overpopulation and pollution. The concept of the movie was good, a political satire of the haves and the have-not. I was expecting to get to see more into the world of the impoverished, and the extremely wealthy. It seems as though the majority of the movie is too long bloody fight scenes, explosions, and chase scenes. None of that can substitute for a bad plot. The characters in the film are also lackluster. I found myself not caring about Matt Damon, although he's supposed to be the hero. The movie tried to add some depth to the character, but showing the same scene over and over again of young Max running through the dusty city streets of Mexico is hardly readable. Krugar, plays as another one of Max's enemies, he protects Elysium from Earth. His character could have easily been placed in any sci-fi action movie without question. No emotional connections can be made with any of the characters because of the lack of back story, making it hard to want to root for or against them. Overall the movie was okay to watch if you like action movies with a lot of punching and things that blow up, there is not much more to look into it than that. I thought I liked it at first but left the theater confused, and feeling like I hadn't gotten to see enough.