If there was ever a quintessential love letter to the sci-fi genre, “Oblivion” comes mighty close to being it. From its opening scene, this film is a clear celebration of CGI and the ability of modern moviemaking to create a fictitious, futuristic world that we can inhabit and dedicate hours of imagination to. Joseph Kosinski, who helmed “Tron: Legacy” back in 2010, has great refinement in his direction and an excellent sense for what a mature sci-fi fan wants to see: breathtaking landscapes sailed by a sleek and sonic spaceship, a daring hero hoping to uncover the truth, a faceless alien threat and a heck of a lot of action involving devilish drones and a human resistance.
PLOT IS A "TRIBUTE NARRATIVE" TO OTHER SCI-FI FILMS
In the year 2077 — frighteningly not far away — Jack Harper (Tom Cruise) serves as a drone repairman, living in a levitating tower high above a post-apocalyptic Earth with his partner, Victoria (Andreas Riseborough). Decades before, an alien race known as the Scavengers, or “Scavs,” attempted to destroy the moon. This threw Earth into a state of seismic chaos, and most of its surface was buried under earthquakes and tidal waves. The Scavs invaded, and though humanity defeated them, our race was forced to move to Titan, one of Saturn’s habitable moons.
A human mothership called the Tet was built with the intention of harvesting what’s left of Earth’s resources. It’s Jack and Victoria’s job to protect the massive harvesting machines from the remaining Scavs. After a mandatory memory wipe, Jack and Victoria accepted their drone-maintenance duties with the understanding that they would one day join the rest of humanity on Titan. However, lingering memories haunt Jack’s dreams, and when he happens upon a human resistance hiding below Earth’s surface, they reveal a monumental secret that changes everything.
“Oblivion” essentially blends the plots of many prior sci-fi films together and amounts to one big tribute narrative. What’s different about “Oblivion” is how it approaches these themes. The post-apocalyptic wasteland of Earth has been seen a hundred times over, yet here instead of fire and brimstone or an endless sea of ash, “Oblivion” offers scene after scene of gorgeous scenery.
The Earth we see here has been swallowed by nature — half of the iconic Washington Monument protrudes from grey sand, and Jack can climb 20 feet and be on the observation deck of the Empire State Building. This unique setting is the most original thing about “Oblivion,” save for the very abrupt twist in the third act that takes longer to understand than the climax takes to resolve itself.
FILM HAS "BRILLIANT CINEMATOGRAPHY" AND SCORE
Though it is a spectacle to behold with brilliant cinematography and Oscar-worthy special effects, the film’s story is nothing to write home about. While the mystery of Jack’s dreams promises the resolution of suspenseful plot secrets, I never felt as engaged as I should have, what with all of the visual stimuli. This isn’t a shortcoming by Cruise, either. He portrays Jack in a way that helps us root for him as an everyman, an all-American average Joe who just happens to be flying around in spaceships and battling Scavs. Jack isn’t the problem: The story lacks a certain electricity that could have made it great. “Oblivion’s” climax is as good a finale as you can get, still I felt like I was always on the other side of the glass while watching, and just that much separated from it on an emotional and psychological level.
With a killer score by the popular group M83, this film hits a homer overall in terms of how beautifully it’s shot and composed. I walked into “Oblivion” thinking it would be an exciting two-hour screensaver, and walked out more entertained than I’d anticipated. Though I am ever wary of Mr. Cruise these days, he plays a very likable hero, and the charming Morgan Freeman makes an appearance as the wise leader of the human refugees. Sci-fi movies will typically fall short in terms of story because the spectacle-to-narrative ratio is off, or else the plot is just too complicated to deliver coherently. Last year’s big sci-fi event “Prometheus” suffered from both. It’s a curse that movies like “District 9” have overcome in the past. “Oblivion” is caught somewhere in between, but it is worth watching for its dynamic visual elegance.
