Max
Da Costa (Matt Damon) spends his days working in a factory, building
the militarized droids that abuse him and never let him forget about
his past life, employed as a car thief. In the sky you can see Elysium, a floating
world that houses the rich and powerful, while the impoverished workers
like Max are left to toil on a polluted Earth, fighting for basic necessities.
Max promised his childhood friend Frey (Alicia Braga) that, one day, he
would take her to Elysium. Today he will make good on that promise.
Frey’s daughter is dying of cancer, and only the medical technology on
Elysium can save her. Max, too, is dying from radiation poisoning,
relying on a power suit to function
normally.
As you may have expected from Neill Blomkamp, the talented director behind District 9, Elysium delivers in terms of visuals and style. However, where District 9 was strikingly original, Elysium falls
heavily into convention, delivering a steady stream of movie cliches,
and unfolding almost exactly as you would expect. That being said, it’s
still an entertaining summer blockbuster that delivers the thrills,
despite a painfully uneven script.