From the director of Tron: Legacy, Joseph Kosinski, comes Oblivion. Kosinski delivering an epic two hour sci-fi onslaught that is sure to command your attention while featuring a cast of high caliber, including Tom Cruise, Olga Kurylenko and Morgan Freeman.
Cruise plays Jack Harper, a security repairmen assigned to contain the restructure of planet Earth, which was devastated in a nuclear war against aliens, or ‘Scavs’, 60 years prior… or so it seems. Harper must face his past and present while dealing with a difficult love triangle, along with some home truths in a quest of redemption, multiple plot twists underpinning his journey of self-discovery.
The special effects in the film are brilliant, its production values complementing a truly original plot, a unique approach to the sci-fi genre nailed through the creation of an unrecognizable planet earth and futuristic set, with the help of CGI. These elements are the perfect recipe for sci-fi success, and so my expectations for this film were as high as the platforms in Tom Cruise’s shoes.
Ironically, (Scientology jokes asides), I found his performance to majorly be the film’s saving grace. Cruise is comfortable in his sci-fi role, delivering another reproduction of the bad-ass character we have come to know and relate him to; Ethan Hunt, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, Jack Reacher, the list goes on. Yet while Kosinski achieves the perfect balance between thoughtful emotion and undeniably awesome action sequences, the film’s general let down is the somewhat loose approach to plot progression, resulting in momentary stagnancy.
If sci-fi is your thing then Oblivion is certainly worth your while – it’s a subversive take on the genre, it’s a box office smash and it’s captivating. If sci-fi isn’t your thing, it may be a bit hard to chew through, but I’d say that it’s definitely worth a try.
6.5/10
Reviewer: Sami Swilksy