Neill Blomkamp recreates look of 'District 9' without the same success

Rating: 6/10 (26 April 2014)

It's the year 2154. Max (Matt Damon) is an ex-con living in a dystopic police-state earth and crumbling Los Angeles. He's trying to live the straight life working in a factory. The rich and powerful are now living in the space station Elysium. Everybody wants a ticket to the utopian world where advanced med bay can cure almost anything. During an industrial accident, Max is flooded with a lethal dose of radiation. He has 5 days to live and is desperate to go up to Elysium. Defense Secretary Delacourt (Jodie Foster) is threatened by the president and is now orchestrating a coup. Max reunites with his old criminal boss Spider to try to steal some brain data. Except the data they stole is something more valuable than some bank accounts.
The look and feel of this is reminiscent of Neill Blomkamp's other and better sci-fi 'District 9'. The story is weighted down by a few questionable setups. There are a lot of recycled sci-fi ideas in this movie and one unexpected one from 'Johnny Mnemonic'. The movie has its moments. If you could overlook some of the simplistic setups, there is a fun little action movie. However the backstory is a little too simplistic. It's fine for a small campy movie like 'Johnny Mnemonic', but this movie wants to be taken seriously. And I just can't take its message too seriously.