Elysium **½

Neill Blomkamp wrote and directed this Sci-fi action film. Watch Preview. Cast: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Alice Braga, Diego Luna, William Fichtner, Wagner Moura. Rated R for strong bloody violence and language throughout. Running time is one hour and forty-nine minutes.

A citizen (Damon) from an overpopulated, ruined Earth in an attempt to get medical treatment attacks a pristine man-made space station protected by a ruthless, ambitious Secretary of Defense (Foster).

Writer/director Blomkamp is at it again, blending social commentary with science fiction/action. We first saw this in his 2009 film, District 9. In that film it was human/alien inequality, this time it's the one percenters vs. everyone else. He contrasts an Earth where everyone lives in extreme squalor and without proper medical care, with a huge space station whose wealthy, privileged inhabitants want for nothing. Damon's attempt to get medical treatment is the crux of the plot. The film is well made, with good production values but the plot should have received a lot more attention. There are too many coincidences at just the right time for the story to be believable. And one of the minor leads, Copley, has a South African accent so strong you can almost never understand him. Action fans (the obvious intended audience) will find more than enough violence to satisfy them. But that same violence, combined with the constant, depressing bleakness of the story, makes this film sadly lacking for those interested in being entertained.

There are no additional scenes once the final credits begin. A large screen will provide greatest visual impact. Theatres/Times. IMAX times.