Fast—paced gritty thriller, Damon is outstanding

Rating: 9/10 (17 October 2013)

'Elysium' excels at most chapters—very intense, well written, masterly directed, sharply acted, etc.. This gritty thriller offers one of the most positive images of the religion in nowadays mainstream movies—a young workman boosted by the Gospel taught to him in his childhood; the women are also well portrayed—the nun, the single mother, her daughter, the old woman with the pigs.
Jodie is mostly a presence—bitchy ruthless politician, etc., on a par with Patel and Carlyle. But the script handles quite a few villains—the agent, etc..
I would also like to single out two things—Damon's very good performance, he is today the workman's image, and remember he is an well educated person, etc.—and the fact that in a few Sci Fi movies released this year, the ends are bitter, the main character has to give his life, etc., which may not sound like something very new or intriguing, but I think it nonetheless expresses well a trend. What certainly is uncommon is the positive representation of the religion, as a lived culture—the nun, the Gospel, etc..
I also liked the way the future world was imagined, the template—the droids, the vehicles, the guns, the place of the workmen, etc..
Unfortunately, there was my bladder.
While seeing 'Elysium', my bladder was exploding—because I had drank quite a few ice-tea (lemon ice-tea, perhaps).