Worth Seeing but Less Than It Could Be

Rating: 7/10 (9 August 2013)

I saw Elysium in IMAX, so my review is only for that format.
In a future where Earth is like the slums of Mexico City, the richest few have escaped to live on a satellite world. Our protagonist, played by Matt Damon is just another nobody in the overpopulated Los Angeles of 2154. The story is about his character trying to get to Elysium against seemingly impossible odds.
Elysium is cut from the same cloth as District 9 (also directed by Neill Blomkomp). Both of them owe their gritty, industrial tone to Blade Runner.
The idyllic world of Elysium is visually wonderful. I wish more of the action was set on that world. Perhaps viewers in 1939 felt the same way about the world of Oz, feeling that the bare glimpses of the Emerald City did not satisfy.
The primary antagonist to Damon's character is Delacourt, played by Jodie Foster. Like Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men, she is "civilization's" line of defense against the enemies beyond the walls. She plays her part with an iconic stoniness that some might find annoying. I thought her acting was fine.
One thing that I found distracting to the point of annoyance was the overuse of hand-held cameras. I want to be thinking about the action, not the cameras.
The story itself is filled with action. That may be enough. But I wish I had cared more about the quest of our hero. Maybe I didn't because it was overshadowed by the political and social implications of the story. Not that it was preachy, but distracting. Imagine The Wrath of Khan if Captain Kirk were just one of a population of millions, not an individual who is a genius warrior with an unbending will.