Elysium

Matt Damon

In a sea of summer sludge this one was supposed to stand out. It was done by Neill Blomkamp, the South African guy who came out of nowhere with an original, intriguing sci-fi-ish take on race relations.

Given a bigger budget and. presumably more stringent oversight by the suits he has labored mightily and brought forth a compendium of hoary cliches and a plot that hinges far too much on fistfights and movie (CGI) violence of all sorts. We ger the depressing spectacle of the protagonist being pummeled mercilessly for an hour and a half, only to rally at the last minute to save the day...and all of humanity too as a bonus.

There was a thin veneer of social consciousness smeared over the top of this but it was cartoonish and superficial, not the 'serious' sci fi material being pedaled by the flacks. Could also be part of the dumbing down of American culture so desired by the ruling class.

Anyway, as this went by I found myself caring less and less how it all turned out...about how I'd feel if I picked up a Superman comic from my youth.

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