THREE STARS

Accordingly to a report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the gap between rich and poor is accelerating. Fast-forward a century to the setting of Neill Blomkamp’s Elysium, and it seems plausible that only the privileged few will colonise new worlds while the rest of us scrabble for scraps.

South African writer-director Blomkamp painted a bleak vision of the future in his superb debut, District 9. His follow-up is even more grim, imagining two distinct classes, whose chances of survival are directly linked to their bank balance.

The year is 2154 and most of the population lives in squalor while the wealthy live in a state-of-the-art space station governed by President Patel (FTahir) and his no-nonsense Secretary Of Defense, Delacourt (Foster).

Although it lacks the depth of District 9, Elysium is an entertaining yarn which unfolds at a brisk pace, punctuated with flashbacks to Max’s childhood.