Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on September 2013

In the next century, Earth has become an overpopulated hellhole, with the one-percenters living in an orbiting gated community featuring advanced healing machines. Matt Damon is a reformed car thief who must get up there or die. His already risky mission is complicated by the fact that Elysium’s defense chief (a miscast Jodie Foster) is staging a political coup. There are a lot of thought-provoking ideas bouncing around here, but it’s intelligently imagined and visually arresting. Ending’s a bit facile, but it’s a wild ride getting there. Waiting to see what District 9’s Neill Blomkamp does next.