The budget’s bigger and the special effects are slicker, but this is a blockbuster with a brain. Best enjoyed with a big helping of popcorn.

His debut feature, District 9 (2009), was one the more dynamic sci-fi epics in recent years. Embracing a similarly dazzling visual style, Neill Blomkamp envisions another dystopian future in this follow-up fantasy set in 2154 when Earth has become a gigantic ghetto.

No matter how gripping, Elysium is no match for Blomkamp’s hard-hitting District 9. Scenes of the protagonist Max running around, trying to get help from the thugs featured here, become repetitive.

Visually, Elysium looks stunning, the science fiction elements and the futuristic designs are innovative.While there is plenty of action, towards the end the film gravitates towards being a Hollywood actioner but the foundation laid earlier, gives it an edge. It is that ‘extra’ which Elysium has to offer in terms of socio-political issues that it raises which makes it a cut about the rest.

If you can ignore the three-four instances of inelegant preaching, Elysium is a blast from start to finish. There’s not a dull moment here thanks to the gravelly editing. The production design is incredible, from all the gleaming futuristic hardware of the first world to the rusty crapware of the third world.

All those who love the sci-fi genre will find the film entertaining, yet they will leave the theater with a sense of dissatisfaction as we haven’t seen a classic piece of work in that genre for a long time. In terms of comparison with previous movies released this year, it is one of the best so far, but genuinely could have been better if Elysium would have manged to escape the constraints of convention.