Oblivion Reviews

A more or less intelligent dispótico puzzle with a human touch rewarding, despite some narrative developments cuestionables.Oblivion 'is dry and antiseptic, as if it had never been touched by human hands. A fable, between reality and its manipulation is not only an eventful journey full of adventure, action and entertaining mirage, but all crimped between an idea

There were three big sci-fi extravaganzas in 2013, but I didn't get to see Oblivion (the first of those three) until the end of year.

I quite enjoyed it, especially the first half of the film which had me glued to the screen. It does devolve a bit into a series of more common sci-fi tropes (and one action segment that basically looked like a videogame) but on the whole, I thought it was fun and interesting throughout. Aesthetically, it was consistently beautiful and engrossing.

I loved that there was dystopia hiding below the surface of utopia in this movie. You could tell from the beginning that things weren't what they appeared and that the shiny gloss of slick looking technology wouldn't be able to hide it forever. The film's look transitioned from clean to messy just as the characters understanding of the world evolved from stunted naivete to violent revelation.

I also really liked that drones were a central theme and as the plot unfolded they went from silent protectors to menacing enemies. In a decade where drones and drone warfare are coming to the forefront of social and political dialogue, this couldn't have been more timely.

Like Elysium, Mass Effect and many other other sci-fi projects in recent years, it would have benefited from a tighter / more fleshed out third act. I think this is a common problem for science fiction. When you're writing something that's high concept and making predictions of what the future might be, and then extrapolating into the future OF that future, satisfying endings become inherently difficult to write. Writers and producers of science fiction would do well to take their cue from 2001 - A Space Odyssey. The less said, the better. Present your ideas and let the audience draw their own conclusions.

Still, between Oblivion, Elysium and Gravity, I think it can be said with some confidence that 2013 was the first solid year for sci-fi cinema in a long time.

SciFi, Oblivion set in future where Jack Harper is one of the last drone repairmen stationed on Earth. The drones are there to protect the vital stations from the scavengers attack. These vital operations are Part of a massive operation to extract vital resources after decades of war with a terrifying threat known as the Scavs, Jack’s mission is nearly complete. As the movie progresses it appears that the things are not as they appears and the scabs are really human being pitching against the Drones and Clones ....

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

The premise of Oblivion would take far too long to explain, but here it is in a nutshell… In 2077, Earth has been devastated after an alien invasion destroyed the moon. Now mankind is being relocated to Titan, with only a crew of two left on Earth. They're in charge of maintaining the power stations that harvest energy from seawater for the future of humanity.
There's a tonne of other stuff going on besides; I could literally spend this entire review just talking about plot details! But obviously I won't. :) So let's get down to some of my own personal thoughts.
One thing that bothered me was how long it took to get to the actual story. In the first act, there are two fake-outs that lead you to believe it'll be about Jack stranded on the ground.
While the plot did keep my interest and I wanted to know where it was going, a lot of it is very predictable. For example, the true identity of the alien bandits, or "Scavs", can be seen coming from a mile away. Plus, spoilers here, but there's a scene where Jack meets a clone of himself, and all I could think about was Duncan Jones' Moon.
And the last thing I'll mention is the music. It's all wrong. A lot of it's just the same melancholy piece that sometimes sets completely the wrong tone.
So my overall impression is that it's interesting but sadly lacklustre.

My rating: 55%

We almost went to see this one in the theater, me and my step-son Nick, but it didn't happen but, eventually, Nick ended up buying a brand new DVD when were in France on holiday. Honestly, I really had a hard to care about the whole thing. I mean, personally, I think it is rather sad that Tom Cruise still tries to be the same mega star he used to be in the 80's-90's but, honestly, those days are gone. Not only the guy is already 50 years old but the box-office has really changed during the last decade. I mean, even Johnny Depp and Will Smith, probably the last 2 actors who could open up a tent-pole feature, had some huge flops this year and, nowadays, it is all about franchises, remakes and reboots of already established products. Even this movie which is supposed to be an original story was actually a rehash of many SF features made before. But at least, it was something new, so it gets a few points for that. And Cruise really tried, he really gave his best to give a decent performance. He didn't succeed but, at least, he tried. Finally, the whole thing looked pretty cool but, a part from that, I was seriously bored during most of the duration (I even figured out most of the twists which is not something I'm usually good at). To conclude, I think I'm being rather generous with my rating here but I guess it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Not a great movie, pretty much a rip-off of Moon with a few extra characters thrown in. I thought the plot was ridiculous and the twist very obvious. The female characters were nothing more than love-interests for the protagonist. I felt the character interaction was really forced and not given time to develop, relying on flashbacks to establish the romance aspect... which fell totally flat.

Ok let me start by saying that a good movie should have a nice cast , GREAT storyline and most importantly should entertain people. This movie was a great package of everything .I really liked the whole story , twists , cast , screenplay , effects , music .I enjoyed it a lot. It was not a 10 on 10 movie but simply amazing and very , very entertaining. It was kind of film that keeps you interested and makes you feel really good After watching it and YES thank God ending was good . I mean END is one of the things that matter .If ending is bad , the whole movie looks like a shit .but this one was nice. AND of course tom cruise just makes everything look even better.

Let me start by saying I thoroughly enjoyed this film.
Not a 'huge' sci-fi fan, but I do appreciate the genre once in a while.
That said, there were a few things that didn't make sense - no spoilers here, but high heals? seriously? Besides this, the story was captivating (although IMO 60 years is not far enough in time to have the technology shown), the actors' performance was decent and the special effects were simply amazing. Truly impressed by them.
A little "star wars" at times... but I really, really was entertained and recommend this film to anyone who's looking for a decent sci-fi film.

Right from the beginning to the end. A very beautiful film, with wonderful performances, great music my M83 and fantastic film making. A very unique piece of art from J.Kosinski and team.

"60 years ago, Earth was attacked. We won the war, but they destroyed half the planet. Everyone's been evacuated. Nothing human remains. We're here for drone repair. We're the "mop-up crew"."

Helmed by Joseph Kosinski (TRON: Legacy), 2013's Oblivion is a striking visual feast, displaying remarkable attention to detail in production design and cinematography. It's a pleasure to watch the effort unfold on a large screen, as the picture's aesthetics are a marvel to behold. And despite Oblivion being marketed as an action fiesta, it's more of a patient, old-fashioned sci-fi film that only indulges in a handful of blockbuster moments. Kosinski's film possesses all the right ingredients to become an instant genre classic, but unfortunately, it falls far short of its potential. Despite its ambitious ideas and lavish visual construction, it's a thoroughly hollow effort, and the screenplay is cobbled together from so many other familiar movies that every plot point and twist is visible from miles away.

In the year 2077, Earth is a desolate wasteland as the result of a war involving aliens that poisoned the planet. The majority of Earth's population now resides on the moon Titan, while a corporation oversees the rehabilitation of the planet, using drones that patrol the land in search of leftover alien invaders. Jack Harper (Tom Cruise) and Victoria (Andrea Riseborough) are tasked with maintaining the drones on Earth while their superior Sally (Melissa Leo) watches them from afar. The daily rounds are growing tedious for the pair, though only two weeks remain before their tour ends, and they can join the rest of the human race on Titan. Despite having his memory wiped, Jack dreams of life before he was born and of a woman he's never met. When a deep-sleep space capsule crashes nearby containing Julia (Olga Kurylenko), the very woman he's been dreaming about, Jack's life is suddenly thrown into turmoil, leaving the worker baffled and desperate for answers.

If Duncan Jones' Moon was produced for $120 million and was aimed at the blockbuster market, it would look exactly like Oblivion. In fact, Oblivion comes across as a beat-by-beat remake of the earlier film, right down to the main narrative twist, the message of corporate greed, the ostensibly isolated setting, and even minor plot details (in Moon, the protagonist was nearing the end of his service contract, and so is Jack here). Although Kosinski reportedly pitched his film in 2007, it's hard to ascertain just how much of this stuff was in his initial pitch, as the project was developed over a full six years. Sure, it's hard to tell an original story since practically everything has been done, but there's a difference between reusing clichés and reusing big twists. It's the equivalent of someone using the twist of Psycho or The Sixth Sense for a thriller. Unfortunately, the rest of Oblivion is just as derivative, taking cues from Planet of the Apes and WALL-E, while the climax is a mix of Independence Day and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Unoriginality is not a big problem per se, but Kosinski never enlivens the material; it lacks a touch of soul.

On the positive side, it's easy to be impressed by Claudio Miranda's superlative cinematography, which makes good use of the beautiful production design and eye-catching Icelandic locales. The score by French outfit M83 is also a solid inclusion, though it sounds distinctly influenced by Hans Zimmer. Certainly, Oblivion is competent enough, engaging for isolated sections of time and containing several standout sequences. The script is a misfire, but at least the finished picture is easy to consume, and unfussy movie-goers may find something of worth, especially since the film is not as brainless as Hollywood's regular output. Yet, the experience as a whole remains underwhelming, as it's an emotionally empty experience and the deliberate pacing does not always work. It's quite astonishing that the film is as flat as it is, considering Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3) and William Monaghan (The Departed) were involved in the writing process.

Cruise may now be fifty years of age, but he's still working furiously to maintain his movie star status. Oblivion allows the actor to pull off the usual action movie stuff: driving fast, posing while beautifully lit, running away from explosions, using firearms, and so on. There's even an aerial chase that reminded this reviewer of Top Gun. Cruise haters may dislike his performance, but he's good enough as Jack Harper. Meanwhile, unfortunately, Morgan Freeman is not the lead he was marketed as being, showing up in a phoned-in performance that takes up fifteen or twenty minutes at most. And whenever he's on-screen, Freeman just delivers obvious exposition. It's a wasted opportunity. The rest of the actors are serviceable if unspectacular.

As an exercise in production design and sound effects, Oblivion is a success, as the movie always looks handsome. In fact, it's surprising that the film wasn't in 3D, especially considering Kosinski was responsible for the 3D TRON sequel. Despite the movie's visual strengths, the lack of imagination in other areas reduces the overall value. It's too distractingly familiar and empty. Moon was produced for a substantially smaller sum, yet it contains humanity and soul, two things lacking in Oblivion.

6.1/10