Oblivion

Starring: Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Melissa Leo
Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
2013

Times Seen:
Tim: 2


Summary: A drone maintenance worker (Tom Cruise) is one of the few humans remaining on Earth after a war with an alien race. As he begins to wind down his tour of duty and prepares to join the rest of civilization on Titan, he begins to question his mission.

Review:

Tim: I really believe Joseph Kosinski has the talent to be one of our greatest directors. He impressed greatly with Tron: Legacy, his directorial debut, and he gives us another solid science fiction film in Oblivion. The guy is able to create some beautiful movies to look at- the visual effects in both these films are astounded. He's also comfortable playing with some lofty ideas and pushing the audience's thinking. I love that aspect of his film making. The problem is that he hasn't figure out how to create a truly compelling, great movie from start to finish. There's moments of true brilliance in this film, but not all the pieces fit together the right way. There was missed potential here.

I actually loved the first hour and fifteen minutes of this film. It was engaging, compelling, and interesting. I was swept up in this post-human Earth and loved the mystery and the drama that Kosinski created. I thought this could be a truly great movie. And then, unfortunately, as Kosinski pulls up the curtain and gives us the answers we'd been waiting for, the film is suddenly flooded with genre cliches and tired events- things we've all seen before. The film lost significant standing over it's last 45 minutes. I still enjoyed the film as a whole, but it could have been much, much better.

The special effects are pretty astounding. I loved the combination of special effects with creating some beautiful sets as well. This gives the film this futuristic, minimalist beauty that stuck with me long after the first time I saw the film. Kosinski uses some amazing landscape shots to give the impression that the story is taking place on a ruined Earth. It really puts you in this world. The glass tower was truly breathtaking as well, surrounded by desolation. The bubble ship was pretty amazing to see as well. Kosinski is incredible with visuals, which results in a truly beautiful movie to behold. The cinematography in this film is top notch, and one of my favorite aspects of the film.

I really enjoyed Tom Cruise in this movie. This is a film certainly in his wheelhouse, and he takes advantage of that. He's enjoyable, likable, and I could relate to his character. It's a very good performance. Morgan Freeman was fine- I love the guy, but he didn't have a whole lot to do. I was actually very impressed with Andrea Riseborough. I wasn't familiar with her before this film, but she added a great deal. She gives a strong performance and worked exceptionally well with Cruise. She was a standout. The same can't be said for Olga Kurylenko. I just don't think she has any acting talent, and she bored me in her role. She was too one-dimensional, too wooden for me. The film would have been improved with a better actress in this role. I'm not a fan of Melissa Leo, but she was a great addition to the cast and added some real value with her creepy performance. The cast in this film was quite good, for the most part.

As I said before, the film was incredible for first 65-67 minutes. There were all these questions, and as the film went on, it became apparent that there was much we didn't know. Kosinski did a tremendous job of slowly revealing the truth, allowing us plenty of time to connect with the characters. That's one of the best aspects of this film- we are given a plethora of opportunities to relate to and understand these characters. Science fiction films often fail when we can't relate to the characters- Kosinski ensures that does not happen here. I loved the first half of this film. Unfortunately, then the twists start to occur. If you liked the twists, you probably loved this film. I just struggled with them. They were plausible enough, I suppose, but it was a little too much at all once. It felt like it disrupted the story, and most worrisome, felt a bit cliched. It just felt like I'd seen all these events before. The movie builds to the climax, which was way too close to a number of other sci-fi movies. The beginning of the film works because it felt fresh and original. The end of the movie disappoints because the ideas seemed to run out and the story falls back on typical genre devices. I was disappointed in that.

While I truly believe Oblivion could have been an instant classic, as is, the film is a solid science fiction entry. I enjoyed the film, and I'd certainly watch it again. It was entertaining, thought-provoking, and fun. However, it wasn't quite a great film. This movie does give me hope for Kosinski- when he figures out how to combine all his strengths in a film from start to finish, he'll be able to give us some truly incredible movies. Until that day, his second directorial effort isn't too shabby at all. I liked (but didn't love) Oblivion.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Tron: Legacy, Minority Report