Elysium (2013)

Neill Blomkamp has one idea, rich people in a space resort and everyone else stuck on a busted Earth, and he says it louder with every scene until your ears ring. Matt Damon gets a robot suit bolted straight onto his body and spends the whole movie in a hurry, which is fair since he’s on a deadline. The world building is legit great: Los Angeles looks like a junkyard that got a zip code, and the station looks like a golf course in orbit. Then the action starts and the camera shakes so hard you can’t tell who’s hitting whom. Sharlto Copley’s Kruger is a sword-swinging maniac having more fun than the script deserves, and Jodie Foster plays the defense secretary like a hall monitor with missiles. It made $286.1 million worldwide on a reported $115 million budget. A 5.2 because the world looks incredible and the story treats you like you’ve never heard of rich people. $797 says you look up at the night sky later and get irrationally mad at a satellite.

What works: The design is fantastic, from the grimy future Los Angeles to the spotless station, and Sharlto Copley’s unhinged villain wakes up every scene he’s in.

What doesn’t: The message is hammered so hard there’s no room for subtlety, and the shaky fight scenes make the action hard to follow.

Who it’s for: Sci-fi fans who care more about cool robot suits and space station design than a story with any surprises.