Movie · 2013 · Science Fiction, Action, Drama, Thriller · 1h 49m · R · English
Curator score: 1.9/10 (744.5K ratings)
He can save us all.
Overview
In the year 2159, two classes of people exist: the very wealthy who live on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium, and the rest, who live on an overpopulated, ruined Earth. Secretary Rhodes, a hard line government official, will stop at nothing to enforce anti-immigration laws and preserve the luxurious lifestyle of the citizens of Elysium. That doesn’t stop the people of Earth from trying to get in, by any means they can. When unlucky Max is backed into a corner, he agrees to take on a daunting mission that, if successful, will not only save his life, but could bring equality to these polarized worlds.
Ratings
Curator score: 1.9/10
IMDb: 6.6/10
Letterboxd: 2.94/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 64%
Metacritic: 61
TMDB: 6.5/10
Director
Neill Blomkamp
Production
TriStar Pictures, MRC, QED International, Alphacore, Genre Films
Cast
Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Diego Luna, Wagner Moura, Alice Braga, William Fichtner, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Faran Tahir, Maxwell Perry Cotton, Brandon Auret, Josh Blacker, Emma Tremblay, Adrian Holmes, Jared Keeso, Michael Shanks, Carly Pope, Ona Grauer, Terry Chen, Chris Shields
Curator Review
Verdict
A visually sharp, high-concept sci-fi action movie with strong production design and a blunt but timely class-inequality premise. It’s worth it for the world-building, hardware, and a few memorable set pieces, but the writing and character work are uneven enough that the film lands more as an ambitious near-miss than a fully satisfying thriller.
Best for
viewers who like big-budget dystopian sci-fi with social commentary
fans of tactile effects, armored combat, and grim future world-building
people who enjoy flawed but ambitious genre films
Skip if
you need tight plotting and nuanced dialogue
you’re allergic to heavy-handed political allegory
you want a character-driven sci-fi drama over action spectacle
Overview
Elysium is the kind of studio sci-fi that feels both overbuilt and underwritten: the premise is instantly legible, the imagery is strong, and the action has real physical heft, but the screenplay keeps flattening its own ideas. Neill Blomkamp’s interest in inequality, borders, and medical access gives the film urgency, even when the storytelling is blunt to the point of self-parody.
Worth noting
What keeps it watchable is the craft. The ruined Earth has grit, the station has sterile luxury, and the contrast between them does a lot of the movie’s thematic work before anyone speaks. The combat tech, robots, and industrial design are memorable, and the film has enough momentum to stay entertaining even when the emotional beats don’t fully connect.
Bottom line
As a political sci-fi action movie, it’s more provocative than profound, but that still gives it value. If you’re receptive to big ideas delivered with pulp energy, it can play like a rough-edged crowd-pleaser. If you want elegance, depth, or a truly satisfying payoff, it’s likely to frustrate you.
Top Letterboxd reviews
MenOnFilm (3.5★) · 1905 likes
Proper health care is science fiction to Americans.
Josh Lewis (2★) · 479 likes
I still can't believe they let Sharlto Copley get away with his performance in this, everyone else involved is making an ostensibly serious sci-fi movie and then every few minutes groundskeeper Willie shows up with a katana, it's inspiring honestly. Admirably ambitious, stellar FX work, would be a pretty cool pulp movie if Blomkamp wasn't a terrible writer and could chill the fuck out a bit with the action coverage.
Todd Gaines (3★) · 454 likes
Elysium, a place in Space where your tanning bed can cure all sickness and disease, but of course it's only for the rich, until Boston Bad Boy Matt Damon tries to change the rules, in Neill Blomkamp's sophomore effort that's nowhere near District 9, but it does highlight Blomkamp's talent as a gifted filmmaker. It's hard to love Elysium, but it sure looks pretty. Very nice visuals. The robots look cool as fuck. The gunplay kicks ass. Matt Damon looks… more Elysium, a place in Space where your tanning bed can cure all sickness and disease, but of course it's only for the rich, until Boston Bad Boy Matt Damon tries to change the rules, in Neill Blomkamp's sophomore effort that's nowhere near District 9, but it does highlight Blomkamp's talent as a gifted filmmaker. It's hard to love Elysium, but it sure looks pretty. Very nice visuals. The robots look cool as fuck. The gunplay kicks ass. Matt Damon looks… more
adambolt (3★) · 448 likes
bane has officially been dethroned from having the funniest bad guy voice
comrade_yui (4★) · 342 likes
reading all the reviews on here for this from 10 years ago is a real barometer for how much people took original sci-fi films for granted during the early 2010s -- elysium, edge of tomorrow, oblivion, audiences in that era were awash in genre riches compared to today, where it is increasingly impossible for these movies to exist on a big budget scale -- just look at how badly the creator bombed. in the span of ten years we've gone… more reading all the reviews on here for this from 10 years ago is a real barometer for how much people took original sci-fi films for granted during the early 2010s -- elysium, edge of tomorrow, oblivion, audiences in that era were awash in genre riches compared to today, where it is increasingly impossible for these movies to exist on a big budget scale -- just look at how badly the creator bombed. in the span of ten years we've gone… more
Shares the same filmmaker’s interest in segregation, displacement, and kinetic sci-fi world-building, but with sharper writing and more emotional force.
A classic of bureaucratic dystopia that turns social control and institutional absurdity into darkly comic spectacle.
Topics
dystopian sci-fi, action thriller, social commentary, class warfare, future Earth, space station, cyberpunk-adjacent, grim tone, political allegory, blockbuster spectacle