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Matt Damon’s most underrated sci-fi movie is now free to stream before The Odyssey
Neill Blomkamp's 2013 dystopian science-fiction film Elysium, starring Matt Damon, has become available to stream for free on Tubi, having landed on the platform on 1 July. The article frames the film as one of Damon's more underrated genre roles and ties its renewed availability to anticipation for his upcoming turn as Odysseus in Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, situating Elysium within the actor's broad body of work spanning Good Will Hunting, The Talented Mr. Ripley, the Bourne series and Contagion.
Set in the year 2154, Elysium depicts a polluted, overpopulated Earth where the poor majority are left behind while the ultra-wealthy live aboard an orbital space station whose Med-Bays can cure any illness. Damon plays Max Da Costa, an ex-car thief on parole who, after being exposed to a lethal dose of radiation and given just five days to live, is radicalised into trying to dismantle the system so others can access healthcare, aided by hacker Spider (Wagner Moura) and opposed by Defence Secretary Delacourt (Jodie Foster). The writer praises Damon's physically demanding, vulnerable performance and the film's commentary on class division, while judging its social critique surface-level and a step down from Blomkamp's District 9 and Chappie.
In short
- Matt Damon's Elysium is now free to stream on Tubi.
- The 2013 film critiques class division and unequal healthcare access.
- Reviewer calls it entertaining but weaker than Blomkamp's other work.
Explained simply
Elysium is a 2013 science-fiction film directed by Neill Blomkamp and starring Matt Damon. It is set in 2154, where most people live on a polluted Earth while the wealthy reside on an orbiting space station with medical technology that can cure illness.
Damon plays Max, a former car thief who has only days to live after radiation exposure. He joins forces with a hacker, played by Wagner Moura, and clashes with the station’s defence secretary, played by Jodie Foster, as he tries to open access to its healthcare. The film’s divided society makes access to medical care central to its story.