Elysium" is most certainly visually stimulating.

Rating: 6/10 (14 December 2013)

"Elysium" is the second feature film from South African writer/director Neill Blomkamp, whose 2009's "District 9" was one of the few recent Sci-fi/Fantasy films that rightfully deserves the title of visionary. Here, Blomkamp delivers a less astounding effort, but an entertaining and appealing socially conscious bit of futurism made on a much larger scale than its $30 million predecessor. However, unlike "District 9," the story of "Elysium" gets lost in battle once the weapons open fire without an exit plan in its mesmerizing futuristic landscape.
In 2154, the earthly population is split into two camps. The rich live in the luxurious space station Elysium, where the atmosphere is so pure that diseases are nonexistent. All those who cannot afford to reside in Elysium, must continue to existence on the contaminated soil of Earth. One of its inhabitants is Max (Matt Damon), a former criminal, who now works a routine job at a factory that produces security robots for Elysium. One day at work, Max absorbs a lethal amount of radiation, and he is given a bottle of pills from his employer to ease his pain for the few days he has left to live. With his life on the line, Max agrees to take on a daunting mission that if successful, will not only save his life, but could bring equality to these polarized worlds.
Max and his team attempt to kidnap and download financial information from the brain of John Carlyle (William Fichtner), the CEO of Max's former employer. Instead, they download evidence of a coup being planned by Secretary of Defense Delacourt (Jodie Foster), a cold-hearted official in the Elysium government who will do anything to protect Elysium from the unwelcome masses.
At a compact 109 minutes, "Elysium" is great-looking entertainment that might have reached its lofty expectations with a longer cut that would allow characters the space needed to develop back stories and expand. Damon's performance manages to humanize Max to a certain degree, but "Elysium" suffers from some hammy performances, most notably Copley as the video game like villain Kruger. Instead of devoting time to character development and the juxtaposition of the two populations involving associated conflicts, Blomkamp decides to take the action route. The second half of the movie resorts to adrenaline-driven action which grows increasingly tedious with the use of a shaky cam that only leads to a sense of nausea.
As in "District 9," Blomkamp shows a wizardly eye who gets the most out of the visual effects, making sure CG images have the proper movement and texture to blend seamlessly with live-action and practical elements. The CGI effects however, while highly impressive, only take us so far, and offer only diminishing returns. Blomkamp's universe is a fascinating place containing interesting ideas, but there's far too much here to satisfactorily explore in its brief run time. Despite falling short as a social commentary and suffering from tonal severity, "Elysium" is most certainly visually stimulating.