“Elysium,” a Sony Pictures Production, is a sci-fi thriller based on life in the year 2154, where people are either abundantly wealthy or poverty stricken.
Earth becomes an impoverished society, Los Angeles resembles an overpopulated third-world country where disease is rampant. The wealthy have left Earth to reign in the skies on Elysium, which looks down on earth and is free of poverty and illness.
Oscar-nominated director Neill Blomkamp unnerves the audience by blurring the lines between reality and fantasy, toying with perception of the truth.
Secretary Delacourt (Jodie Foster) is cold and heartless as she controls Elysium, granting permission to those wanting to live in the lap of luxury. People less fortunate either remain on Earth or die trying to enter this secret world.
Max (Matt Damon) is determined to get to Elysium, his lifelong dream. Max takes on the mission to find a way to this pain-free palace and change the course for those on Earth. This is Damon’s first sci-fi role, which he says he chose carefully, due in part to director Blomkamp’s provocative take on the genre.
“Elysium” opens August 9 in 2D and IMAX theaters.