Preachy and unpleasant - don't waste your time

Rating: 1/10 (19 August 2013)

This is a strange movie. The story isn't well written and the characters aren't interesting or involving.
The premise is that Earth is an overpopulated disease ridden poluted disaster zone for common people and the elite live on a space station called Elysium. They didn't show enough of the latter for contrast - too much was on Earth.
The immigration message is confused and didn't get what it wanted to across. I don't understand why future LA (filmed in a slum in Mexico) is portrayed as a mainly Hispanic slum. Why didn't they have a multiracial future city? Instead of showing that immigration boundaries should be relaxed and highlighting bad treatment of illegal immigrants it looks more like a warning against letting more people across the border. I think the message backfired - unless that was the real intention.
I didn't like the character Matt Damon was playing - very me me me. His selfishiness in seeking a cure for himself got his friend killed and his lady friend and daughter in trouble. She was rather annoying too with my daughter this and that. There was no chemistry between the couple. The hit-man villain's accent was hard to listen to and out of place (was it South African?). The brutal fighting didn't really advance the plot and was tiresome. Just as annoying was "Secretary" Jodie Foster's strange clipped accent. She lacked dignity for the role and looked too high strung and mentally unhinged. Another evil guy is the CEO - how clichéd.
I don't think the writer director thought out this story very well and it shouldn't have been made into a movie. Not worth a watch.