The only negative comment I can make about Elysium is the disconnect between the plea for a more solidary World on immigration, health care, human rights, and democracy, and the insipidity of Max, the hero. The problem is that Max is not trying to save the World but does it almost by accident; the fundamental problem of the Elysium dystpia i shta nobody is trying to do anything to improve the living conditions of the peoople living in Earth. Max just wants to heal himself, and when he realizes he has no hope that he decides to save the life of his friend's daughter. The guys who get health care for the people on Earth are Max's friends. Max really couldn't care less.
Elysium could have been a movie about resistance, about the left-behinds trying to take back what they could legitimately consider as theirs. Instead, we are offered a pathetic version of the Mexican-American Dream: a guy trying to go by himself to the place where the rich guys live. Blomkamp has reportedly said that Elysium is an allegory of life on Earth today. If he really thinks that collective action to improve the World is impossible, and that the only way things can improve is through fortunate coincidences, then he's probably more part of the problem than he realizes.
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