Star Trek on Steroids

Rating: 7/10 (3 January 2014)

This is a decent movie. The story is an old one, dating back to Metropolis and in the not- to-distant past on Star Trek. A group of "haves" have removed themselves from the "have-nots" to a castle in the air. It is a self sustaining place where the lucky are able to live picket fence existences with little conflict. Unfortunately for them, there are people down on earth who are quite aware of their presence and would like a piece of the action. Matt Damon is a malcontent with a whole host of problems who finds himself the chosen one, through a series of events, not all of his own choosing. The movie is striking in that the world created visually defies the imagination. Unfortunately, there are so many holes in the plot, so much suspension of disbelief, that things just go too easily. Jody Foster is quite good as a sort of iron maiden who devotes her life to the status quo at any cost. Unfortunately, the infrastructure proves to be pretty fragile, considering how much effort and expense has been put into it. It is remindful of Mr. Spock disabling an entire planet by shooting at a single computer console. Backups and fail-safe systems seem to be lacking. Still it's a fun ride and keeps the audience in suspense.