Oblivion (2013) – A HO Film Review

 

 

 

 

 

Starring Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Andrea Riseborough, Olga Kurylenko
Directed by Joseph Kosinski

Oblivion casts Tom Cruise as drone repairman Jack Harper in the year 2077.  Jack is stationed on Earth with his co-worker / mate, Victoria (Andrea Riseborough), to supervise the final stages of Earth’s plan to suck up the remaining resources, pack up operations and head to Titan, Saturn’s moon, where all humans now reside.

60 years prior, an alien-invasion (think Independence Day if Goldblum hadn’t come up with that nifty PC virus) destroys Earth’s moon and therefore led to our eventual destruction.  The lack of the moon caused our weather to go into a tailspin complete with earthquakes and tsunami’s ravaging the areas left that weren’t already destroyed by our nuclear war with the visitors.  We won, though we lost the planet in the process.

Two weeks remain until Jack and Victoria complete their task and leave for Titan when Jack, haunted by memories he cannot understand, comes across a lone human survivor, Julia (Olga Kurylenko).  This event also forces him into contact with the Scavengers, rebel aliens stranded on Earth…and Mr. Morgan Freeman.  These two events cause Jack to question his mission, life and future and…well you get the jist of it.

If you have seen the trailer for Oblivion, you will be pleasantly surprised that they have left an impressive portion of the story out of it.  There is more to this tale and some genuine surprises.  How well you enjoy the film solely depends on how much you buy into these turns.  What seems at first to be a run-of-the-mill sci-fi action opus also has a fairly touching love story at heart.  For me?  The love story works much better than the portions pertaining to Jack’s mission.

Visually, this is one of the more stunning sci-fi films in some time.  It also suffers a hair from the Prometheus curse, big ideas that lack conviction enough to pull those ideas off convincingly.  Thankfully, the emotional portion of the film succeeds where the broader elements could not and makes the film more than worth recommending.

Cruise is, well, Tom Cruise.  There is nothing in his performance that you haven’t seen before, yet that never stops you from remembering the man can carry a film like few others can.  His Jack Harper is a man on and confused by a mission, and Cruise hits every beat perfect.  Also, I personally am convinced that Tommy boy has made some fantastic deal with the devil to never…ever…age.  How this man is 50 and still looks this good is something every scientist in the world should be investigating…right now.

Riseborough is sweet, scared and wounded all wrapped in one and carries the role well.  I would love to compliment Freeman, but Laurence Fishburne played pretty much the same role better.  And Olga Kurylenko?  She’s quickly becoming 2^nd to Jennifer Lawrence as one of the brightest young actresses to watch.  Her varying roles over the past few years have truly taken her beyond the doom that a Bond girl typically endures.

As for director Joseph Kosinski?  Kosinski also directed a film I have little love for, Tron Legacy.  That film was visually stunning with absolutely no heart and a densely told story.  The visually stunning portion of the film is still present with Oblivion, but the heart portion is definitely coming along.  Now if he could have tightened up the last 1/3 of the film’s story, he could have made a modern sci-fi classic.  Regardless, Kosinski is auspiciously growing as a filmmaker and this film showcases large strides to becoming one to watch.  Also be sure to listen closely to the film’s score as it is one of the most enthralling film scores of recent memory.

Oblivion consists of many pretty pictures, yes, and the mission storyline does suffer a bit in the 3^rd act.  But there is heart to be found with a touching love story and solid performances all around.

If $10 is the full price of admission, this one is worth $7.

Aaron Peterson
The Hollywood Outsider Podcast