The first reviews for the hotly anticipated "Elysium" have arrived.
The new film by Neil Blomkamp tells the story of a futuristic society in which the rich have set up a base away from Earth to live a comfortable and healthy life. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is forced to endure an eroding planet in the midst of the apocalypse. Matt Damon stars as a cancer patient who sets out to fly to Elysium to find a cure for his disease, breaking the societal boundaries.
The film is slated for release on Aug. 9, but the first reviews have started to materialize. There are currently four reviews on aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes; three positive and one negative.
The Wrap's Alonso Durable writes: "It might not be the thinking man's fill-in-the-blank that some viewers were eagerly anticipating, but it's a solid adventure that oversells its deeper meanings."
Scott Foundas of Variety adds, "Even working within a more conventional framework, Blomkamp again proves to be a superb storyteller."
Tim Grierson of Screen International was also positive and noted, "'Elysium' is best appreciated as an intense, brawny, effects-heavy spectacle that benefits from Matt Damon's sympathetic performance."
The lone dissenter was The Hollywood Reporter's Todd McCarthy who wrote, "A politically charged flight of speculative fiction makes an exciting launch, only to tailspin into an ungainly crash landing in 'Elysium.'"
Blomkamp's first movie, "District 9," earned a 90 percent approval score on Rotten Tomatoes with a critical consensus saying, "Technically brilliant and emotionally wrenching, 'District 9' has action, imagination, and all the elements of a thoroughly entertaining science-fiction classic," according to Rotten Tomatoes.
"District 9" went on to gross $115 million domestically throughout its theatrical run.