Elysium

This is about a lot of big ideas. Politically, it’s everything but the kitchen sink: Health care, discrimination, immigration, class warfare. It’s important that filmmakers are thinking about these subjects and using sci-fi to tell their story. Some of the best political statements in the history of movies and literature have been told in a sci-fi realm. The problem is, big ideas don’t leave a lot of room for character development. Characters tend to be allegories. That’s Matt Damon’s everyman, “Max” -- similarities to Mad Max are purely intentional. He’s a trope; an archetype. Nothing wrong with that, it’s just that: they had Matt Damon. They could have used him a little better. Same story with Jodie Foster. If she signs up to be the villain, make her play the villain. Notwithstanding, there’s a lot of entertainment value here, even if there aren’t a lot of surprises. And we need guys like Neill Blomkamp thinking of the big ideas about how to change the world, and then beating us over the head with them.