Dystopic premise; Action flick execution

Rating: 5/10 (14 September 2019)

I finally got around to watching Elysium because it was on Sky, and I figured that since Matt Damon was in it, it would be good. For years I have depended on Matt Damon to be judicious in his choice of scripts, having seen that he never made a bad film. All that changed with Elysium, sad to say. Effective today, I can no longer say that Matt Damon makes only good films.
Elysium begins on a dystopic premise holding great potential but descends into a middling action flick severely compromised by plot holes and implausibilities. On top of that, there is a plagiarism problem here. Basically everything interesting in this production has already been presented and executed much more skillfully and intelligently in films such as Robocop, Blade Runner, Gattaca, an episode of Black Mirror, and elsewhere.
My distinct impression is that Damon was tapped for this movie because the lead protagonist has somewhat of a Jason Bourne demeanor. Why he accepted the role is unclear (maybe his kids are approaching college age and he needs some cash?). Unfortunately, Elysium is nothing like the brilliant Jason Bourne series and I cannot recommend it. The schmaltzy ending is especially unbearable.