Good, not great!

Rating: 7/10 (28 September 2013)

How long is capitalism good for global progress and economic growth? Can science help rein in our innate selfishness, and make the world a better place? Or does it just help the moneyed few, and grow the gulf further between the haves and the have nots? Already there are signs of the latter- however the spin doctors may be spinning their numbers, the poor in the world are increasingly getting poorer, and the rich are getting richer. At the same time, global resources are exponentially decreasing- in this kind of a scenario, we might not have to wait till 150 for an Elysium to be created, and it being over-run.
The year is 2154, and nothing else highlights the prevalent social and economic inequalities than Elysium-a pristine, man made space station with magical medical facilities, where the wealthy have retired to, while the poor continue to live in servitude in a devastated earth. All it takes though is one small opening to break the boundaries, and Matt Damon as Max Costa is the catalyst for this revolution, as almost single-handedly and improbably so, he brings equality to the system, battling scheming politicians, and blood-thirsty mercenaries.
Neill Blomkamp is way down from his stratospheric 2009 debut, District 9 here, but there is no doubting his vision, and mastery over action, thrills and visual effects. But the script is not half as good, the characters not interesting enough, and the acting is ho hum too. Matt Damon is almost trans-humanly serene, Jodie Foster looked disinterested, and Sharlto Copley might do the crazed act passably well enough, but has a unintelligible accent and is utterly predictable. Elysium reminded me so much of Oblivion, similar strengths, similar flaws. In fact, utterly predictable is something you could say for the entire movie, and that is never a good thing to say when it comes to sci-fi flicks.
To sum up, Elysium tries to marry social commentary with sci-fi. The aim was honest, the execution, could have been better. See it for it's beautiful imagery and out of the world action set pieces, and brush under the carpet, its improbabilities and lack of emotional connect- 7/10