Oblivion: Review
The year is 2077 and the Earth has become unable to support life following an alien attack sixty years earlier. Most of the survivors fled and now are on a space station known as the Tet. Jack (Tom Cruise) and Victoria (Andrea Riseborough) are the only remaining humans left and they have been stationed on Earth to provide maintenance to security drones that scout the planet and to retrieve any remaining resources to send back to the space station. With two weeks left of their mission they suddenly realize that they aren’t the only ones left on Earth.
Oblivion is a film that takes a familiar story and gives it an interesting new twist. We’ve seen “Last Man on Earth” films before but with Cruise’s intensity and a compelling story it really had me wanting to see where exactly it was going. The visuals of the film look tremendous and the post apocalyptic landscape (as weird as this sounds) looked beautiful. One thing people may find surprising is that it’s not a fast paced action flick. Instead it’s more of a steady moving drama/thriller with sci-fi elements infused in. The action sequences that did take place were exciting and perfect enough so that the audience was engaged. There were aspects that reminded me of 2001: A Space Odyssey but by the looks of it was to done as a sort of an homage to the type of films that have come before. Cruise takes his time to make you “feel” the character and sympathize with the revelations that he experiences. Even though some of the early parts of the story are somewhat predictable, the final act of the film gives you a fresh (and sometimes head scratching) take on something you think you may have seen before. If you’re looking for a good thought provoking sci-fi film then this is perfect for you. You’ll definitely appreciate the storytelling but you may want to make sure you pay attention to the film completely to avoid being confused at some of the events.
