In ancient Greece, Elysium or the Elysian Fields as it’s better known, was believed to be a section of the afterlife where heroes and other mortals of great virtue went when they died. It was essentially a paradise where these great mortals enjoyed themselves for an eternity while the rest of humanity was left with the cold dwellings of Hades. Such is the case with the upper class humans that inhabit the self-entitled space station in “Elysium.”

Neill Blomkamp returns to direct Matt Damon in this futuristic dystopian thriller where the upper class of society have left a now impoverished earth to reside on a space station called Elysium. Elysium is a haven of upper class living and also provides instant health care to its residents through the use of machines set up in every home. These machines can basically cure any status ailment, including diseases and as you’ll see later, melted faces. Elysium is closed off to the rest of the people on earth and its border is overlorded by Secretary Delacourt, a high ranking government official played by Jodie Foster. Delacourt even goes as far as destroying any approaching ships from earth in order to keep all non Elysium citizens from setting foot on the space utopia.

Coming back to the hero of this story, Matt Damon plays the part of Max DeCosta, an ex-con now factory worker who has lived his entire life on this ruined earth. Since he was a kid Max dreamed of someday heading up to Elysium with Frey, played by Alice Braga, a girl who he’s been in love with from the time that they grew up together in an orphanage. This love story both works and fails at different points during the film. It starts off on a strong note during the childhood scenes and also finishes on a high point at the ending. The problem was that for a large portion in the middle of the movie their relationship isn’t really pressed on and it kind of takes away from the chemistry established early on in the story.

One day Max is at the factory he works at and a horrific accident leads to him getting blasted with a gargantuan amount of radiation. This incident creates a cancer virus inside Max’s body, leaving him with only five days to live. Max realizes that the only way he’s going to survive now if is he somehow makes it all the way to Elysium to use one of their miracle working health machines. What follows is an action-packed journey that leads both Matt and Frey, as well as her sick daughter Matilda (Emma Tremblay), on a path that will not only decide their own fates, but also the fate of the earth and humanity as a whole.

In terms of the film’s logistics it scores high in the music and visual departments. During the scenes where we get to see ships approaching Elysium, audiences will marvel at the in depth intricacies of the special effects. When the earth is shown from space moviegoers will get chills not unlike how people must have felt when the first images of earth (from space) were made public. And Ryan Amon certainly does a fantastic job with the musical score. The melodies heard during the childhood scenes will make audiences feel like they’re watching a Terrence Malick film like “Tree of Life.”

Overall this film marks another strong performance by Damon and solid contributions from the rest of the cast. Any viewer can relate to the obvious metaphor of the rich vs. the poor and it was interesting to see a little bit more of an original take on what civilization might look like in a hundred and fifty years. If you’re looking for a thriller with the star power to back it up, “Elysium” is for you.

“Elysium” hits theaters today August 9.

-Jagpal Khahera