Inequality in 2154

Rating: 7/10 (4 November 2015)

In the year 2154 the Earth has become overpopulated and the vast majority of the population live in squalor while the rich and powerful live on Elysium. Elysium is a space station whose inhabitants live safe lives in a beautiful environment; where every home includes a medical device that can cure all ailments something those on Earth will risk everything to access. Max is an ex-con working in a factory on Earth until an industrial accident leaves him with only five days to live thanks to radiation exposure. The equipment on Elysium could save him in seconds but it doesn't cross the mind of the factory's Elysium based owner to help him.
Max must get there illegally and to that end he agrees to help a criminal commit and audacious robbery; they will capture an Elysium citizen and hack his cyber implants to access his vast wealth. To this end Max is given various cyber implants and a robotic exoskeleton. Things don't go according to plan though; their chosen victim has other very important information in his brain; information that will give control of Elysium to whoever uses it. An operative is ordered to capture Max and return him to Elysium so the data can be used in a planned coup. Max's criminal contact has a better idea though; he wants to use the data to make everybody a citizen of Elysium so that nobody will go without the healthcare they need.
This is an enjoyable sci-fi action thriller even though there are some flaws and plenty of clichés. The action is exciting and sometimes quite bloody. The cast do a solid enough job with Matt Damon being pretty good as Max, although not as good as he was in the 'Bourne Trilogy', Jodie Foster is suitable cold as the Elysium Defence Secretary who is planning a coup and Sharlto Copley is delightfully over the top as the villainous Kruger does anybody have a stronger South African accent than this man!? The film is clearly trying to make a comment about social inequality but here the inequality it is so great that is seems unbelievable those on Earth all appear to be slum dwellers while those on Elysium live in mansions. Equally the health care inequality makes little sense; why are people on Earth denied access to the healing technology when they are working for companies owned by the people of Elysium?  Surely a healthy workforce is a more efficient workforce. This is a fairly minor quibble though and anybody wanting a good action film is likely to enjoy this it isn't a great film but it is rather fun.