A generic sci-fi movie, low on thrills and intelligence

Rating: 5/10 (28 September 2013)

Neill Blomkamp's Elysium starts off with a moderately interesting yet not completely original premise. Its 2154 and earth is in a nearly dilapidated state. The rich have moved on to a Utopian space station called Elysium where exists a nearly magical device that can cure any disease while the poor remain on earth still struggling to make ends meet and dying of various illnesses. One such orphan Max(Damon)a dreams of visiting Elysium before he dies. Events at the factory he works for, force him to take drastic measures to make his dream come true.
Jodie Foster plays the antagonist Delacourt and sadly its one of her worst roles ever. Her character is a caricature villain who exterminates poor sick people while trying to become more powerful and with the corny lines written for her,there is not much of a performance she can muster. Another antagonist in the film who is far more menacing is Kruger, a psychotic mercenary played impressively by Sharlto Copley, who was the protagonist of Blomkamp's fantastic debut district 9.
Although the pacing of the movie is good there is an inherent fatigue in the way the vaguely familiar plot unfolds. Throw in a female lead who is a childhood friend of Max who somehow gets entangled in his messed up life and a child who mouths off kiddish tales that you know will somehow reflect the movie's ending, the film drivels towards the predictable climax.
Although the freshness and trenchant tone of his earlier film is largely missing, the realistic CGI that blends with the somber looking backdrop is back and is quite impressive. However CGI is only a part of sci-fi genre which makes this film only partly worth the time and money. All I can say is if your in a mood for a film that involves trashed out earth and a man made space abode, hey there is the infinitely better WALL-E!