"Elysium," a stylish sci-fi parable directed by Neill Blomkamp and starring Matt Damon and Jodie Foster, clearly bears a political statement and social conscience.

The movie tells a story set in 2154, when two classes of people live in two separate worlds: the wealthiest live in a luxurious space station called Elysium, while the rest of mankind, who are poor, reside on the abandoned Earth.

Ruthless robots guard the two worlds and Elysian citizens enjoy a life free of disease, through advanced medical devices, which is in fact the hope and aim of many desperate Earth people and illegal immigrants.

Max (Matt Damon), a former car thief and parolee, lives in the Los Angeles ruins and works at an assembly line for Armadyne Corp., the company that built Elysium. An accident at the plant exposes him to lethal radiation, leaving him with only five days to live. His only hope is to get to the Elysium station and use its medical technology to cure himself -- no matter what it takes.

The film probably is one of the best sci-fi epics this year. It has inherited the style of Neill Blomkamp's last classic "District 9." The setting is grand, the script is strong, the plot is engaging and fast-paced. The visual aspect of the movie, with the help of WETA Workshop, is dazzling and distinctively embedded with realism. The sound effects, with the help of Dolby Atmos, are simply stunning.

However, compared to the genius of "District 9," Blomkamp's new effort is a bit of letdown for it lacks novelty, contains less dark humor and has a distinct absence of outstanding cast performances. Although the setting and vision of the futuristic world are ambitious, the film still gradually evolved into your typical American hero story.

Interesting is that the film has its own ideas and serious thoughts more than any other current films in its genre. It cleverly addresses several social and political issues such as wealth discrepancy, bureaucracy, class struggle, revolution, Utopia and socialism, combined with government control and conspiracy theories. But a Utopia is not safe if the "lower classes" are suppressed too hard and for too long. Through a director's eyes, "Elysium" is truly the current world in a sci-fi shell.

In the end, if the rich can share a little bit of their advanced health care and money with the poor, both classes can co-exist without struggle, the film implies. This might be some good PR for Obama's medical care reform. The president should write Blomkamp a thank-you note.

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