So I knew going in that this was going to be political propaganda, but I was only expecting a small dose of it.  That was basically the entire film though, and personally I found that to be a bit of a disappointment.

On the other hand, visually, the movie was stunning.  I really liked what little they did show of Elysium; it definitely made me wish it were real and wish I was living there.  Although I’d imagine it’s probably not the safest place to live; since it’s man-made, if the power to go out completely I’d imagine people would probably suffocate to death or something out there in space.

There were two major turn-offs in this movie for me.  The first was all the accents.  Some were so thick that I couldn’t even understand what people were saying half the time; it was rather frustrating.  The second was the leading female character.  I don’t think it was the actress so much as how the character was written.  I really dislike characters that are a little too far over the self-centered/selfish type that only seems to care about the hero after he or she got whatever it was that they wanted from them.

Some of the scenes were really corny, and a few of the lines definitely had me cringing.  Personally I didn’t have an opinion one way or another about Jodie Foster’s performance, but I’ve heard mixed reviews from others.  Some say her role was hyped a little too much and didn’t live up to it, others say she was phenomenal.  I’m not sure I fall into either camp—I don’t think her character really added or subtracted too much overall to the story.

I can’t really put a finger on why, but the ending seemed incredibly familiar to me.  I did like it, in fact, I think that’s the only part of the entire movie I think I can say I personally liked the most, but I think a lot of it had to do with how familiar it felt to me.  If I figure out where else I feel like I’ve seen a similar scene, I’ll be sure to write about it, but for now it’s just a mystery.  If anyone else out there thinks they might have an idea as to what I’m talking about, do feel free to drop a line.

FINAL VERDICT: C

I wouldn’t say it’s a complete waste to watch in theaters—I think there’s definitely people out there who would probably enjoy this movie a great deal more than I did.  However, I can’t say that I think this was the best movie I’ve seen all year.  It was right in the middle of the road for me.