The Sci-Fi gamer's guide to Elysium

Rating: 8/10 (24 August 2013)

First and foremost, lets point out the obvious things. As others have said, yes, this movie is a tad predictable and the plot is a rather simple premise. However, I assert that these two attributes work in favor of this film.
As sci-fi gamers, we're all well familiar with simple predictable plots, but who is to say that these plots diminish the quality of the title? We all cried in uproar for a simpler more predictable conclusion to the end of Mass Effect 3, but instead Bioware left us with some weird trying to be poetic style bulldick.
In Elysium, this is not the case. You will dig this movie for the following reasons as a sci-fi nerd: 1) It has rich white people dying: Come on. This is a no brainer if you've seen the trailers. We all know rich white people who pay no nevermind to those less fortunate souls of Earth will get dead. Oh and do they die horribly wonderful deaths. It's so great, because we all know people like this actually exist and its always entertaining watching them get what they deserve. Too bad it doesn't happen in real life enough.
2) It has futuristic weaponry: For some reason, Blomkamp seems to have an obsession with bad ass personal firearms that just utterly destroy stuff. I may add that these weapons are present in abundance in Elysium.
3) Gibs, gibs, glorious gibs everywhere: We all love that moment when you first explode a Vorcha in the Omega underground of Mass Effect 2 or step on the head of a necromorph in Dead Space. Trust me, if District 9 was any indication, Elysium is the perfection of the glorious body parts flying everywhere phenomena.
4) The portrayal of the future is not far-fetched: All of us sci-fi nerds love to be able to immerse ourselves in a science fiction world, but when it can relate to the very fabric of our existence, this makes it even better. Elysium does this really well. The fact that such a setting is even conceivable and a definite possibility in the future for our civilization is something that is generally well known in the modern times, but this is the first time we've seen it like this on the silver screen.
5) There's bad ass tech that make you wonder about the possibilities: All of the technologies in the film are at least theoretically plausible. This goes hand in hand with #4, but it's nevertheless true. The only really far fetched device is *spoiler* a machine that heals all ailments, but it is at the center of the film. Even then, it's not incredibly far fetched that in over 100 years we will have technology that can do such things at quantum level as it is portrayed to do in the film (it even says "re-atomizing", a nice touch I think).
6) The rich assholes get dead: I know mentioned this before, but it bears repeating. This is the best part and most simple part of the movie. It is what makes it awesome, and let me tell you, they die and no fvcks are given.
In fact, it's not at all surprising that most of the people complaining about this film say that the settings/themes are tiresome and liberal in nature. It's then also unsurprising that most of the complaints come from conservatives sitting on a seatless bicycle stand. People need to have deep complexity and themes in their movies these days, but when a movie about rattling the cages of the established high class society comes out, you best watch your back, because they'll come out swinging. They come out swinging with things like "It's for college kids who think they're smart", "it's for people who just want government handouts!", "It's so simple and predictable, the bad guys lose and the commies win!".
Yup. It's simple. The bad guys lose. The rich people lose. You also don't hate them because they're simply rich, it's what they're doing with their power and their money that makes you resent them, and allows you to enjoy watching them die horrible sci-fi deaths.
If you can deal with that, and appreciate these things, go see the film. You will not be disappointed.