BY JOE TYRRELL

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

MOVIE REVIEW

The future is so bleak that it almost looks like the present in “Elysium,” which puts Matt Damon into orbit.

In his previous sci-fi adventure, “District 9,” South African writer-director Neill Blomkamp envisioned an apartheid regime unwisely imposed on interstellar aliens.

This time, he foresees that by 2154, gated communities and French-quality healthcare are entirely removed from grubby working people. The giant wheeled star “Elysium” glitters above the horizon, not so much a space station as a space-Monaco of mansions and pools and Bach.

Down in Los Angeles, rubble-strewn and burning, reformed auto thief Max Da Costa now works in a factory refurbishing the large metal robots that are servants of the orbiting class. Not servants in the sense of lawyers or reporters, more like bone-crushing police.

“District 9” is one of the most original sci-fi movies of the current century. But Hollywood is the place where originality goes to die.

We have seen the set-up of “Elysium” before, not least 40-some years ago on Star Trek in “The Cloud Minders” episode by Margaret Amen. The only appreciably new elements are the explicit links to our growing social inequality and anti-immigrant hysteria.

If the story is hoary, though, Blomkamp still has shiny skills at meshing both the personal and the political into what otherwise might be yet another clamorous and empty-headed summer action flick.

He sketches the overall situations quickly but effectively. Leading what looks like a Mexican drug gang, Spider (Wagner Moura) instead launches several “undocumented” space shuttles from grimy Earth toward pristine Elysium.

Called away from her glib routine, but not for a moment removing the stick from her butt, Elysium Secretary of Defense Jessica Delacourt orders the “illegals” be shot down. In an effort to deflect blame, Delacourt, a frosty Jodie Foster, even has a secret agent on Earth fire the missiles.

Unfortunately, secret agent Kruger (Sharlto Copley) only goes two for three. That will cause political problems for Delacourt, since one shuttle lands on Elysium and most be publicly dealt with by hench-people human and mechanical.

But two frantic refugees temporarily escape. A woman carries her crippled daughter into a nearby mansion. Using a “citizenship code” incised on the girl’s skin by Spider, her mother places her on sort of luxury medical scanner. And after scanning, it cures.

That’s a household item on Elysium, but Earthlings are fortunate if they have houses. In Max’s slum-cum-garbage dump, he meets an old friend, filling in background.

He has unfortunate encounters with robot authorities, showing the system in action. That sends him to a crowded, dingy hospital where he unexpectedly meets nurse Frey (Alice Braga), a girl he grew up with in an orphanage run by a kindly nun.

But before Max and Frey and resume their relationship, he goes back to work and suffers a horrible accident. John Carlyle, the big boss down from Elysium, complains about the slowdown on the line and orders the damaged worker discarded.

All this happens quickly yet clearly, showing how the two worlds work, putting the characters together in various combinations and setting their actions for “collide.”

Lots of stuff does collide, explode or otherwise go awry during the course of “Elysium,” but the visuals are often more compelling than that. Blomkamp sends aircraft, weapons and trackers skimming over rooftops and hovering above barrios like killer angels.

Not so amusingly, for all the computer graphics and models, the outdoor scenes of chaotic earthly poverty were shot in present day Mexico City. Unsurprisingly, the outdoor scenes of Elysium are real-life British Columbia.

Blomkamp is also blessed with an excellent cast to put his words into action. After playing the well-intentioned Afrikaner hero in “District 9,” Copley has a literally lip-smacking good time, turning his harsh accent to creating a villain with panache.

When it comes to exuding creepiness, Steve Jobs had nothing on William Fichtner, who makes Carlyle a man who exists in his own personal orbiter, looking down on all the mere humans.

As Spider, Moura starts out approaching but not quite over-the-top, but he knows when to back off. And as it happens, the plot twists justify his excitable nature.

Braga easily conveys a woman who sports a no-nonsense surface while remaining open to persuasion. Her character also has a sick little girl, although initially that is not enough to win Max’s aid.

But Braga and Damon do forge an easy connection. Even post-40, Damon remains the go-to dude for working-class sass and smarts. If Max is a bit older, somewhat wiser and very tired, both the actor and the character are able to rise to the occasion.

“Elysium” isn’t the most original movie you will see this year. But even in Hollywood, Neill Blomkamp shows it is possible to keep your wits about you while making an entertaining action film.

*** *** ***

Joe Tyrrell may be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or followed on Twitter @jtyrrell87