Review: Oblivion

60 years ago, an alien invasion left the Earth looking like Chernobyl and now seriously underpopulated. We won the war, but it sure as shit doesn’t look like it. Whilst most of the human survivors are now on one of Saturn’s moons, Tom Cruise and his absolutely stunning mission partner Andrea Riseborough have quite possibly the dullest job in the world, overseeing Earth, and maintaining drones and watching out for the few alien scavengers still hanging around. It’s near the end of their mission, but it’s not like they have any fond memories or anything, because their memories are actually wiped before the start of their mission. So why is Cruise dreaming of the beautiful Olga Kurylenko, dreams that seem awfully like memories that he can’t quite comprehend? A creepy Melissa Leo plays the pair’s no-nonsense remote commander, Morgan Freeman turns up as a cigar-chomping leader of a human résistance still on Earth. An underused Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is also a part of Freeman’s crew.

 

A lot of people have criticised this 2013 film from director Joseph Kosinski (whose debut “Tron: Legacy” did nothing for me) for being unoriginal, and a bit of a rip-off of “Moon” in particular. I’m not one of them, though, because although it is very similar in plot to “Moon” (and has elements of other classic sci-fi films like “Blade Runner”), it’s at the service of a more traditional sci-fi action/adventure, a blockbuster, whereas “Moon” was a far more quirky, existential film. So I think that saves the film from any accusations of being plagiaristic. How many original plots are there out there anyway? The film certainly operates on classic sci-fi themes, though, and you’ll be reminded of “Silent Running”, “Outland”, and “Dark Star” as well. But that doesn’t make it a rip-off of anything. I mean, was “Star Wars” terribly original? Hell no.

 

Scripted by Michael Arndt (“Little Miss Sunshine”, “Toy Story 3”) and Karl Gajdusek (the truly awful “Trespass”, with Nic Cage and Nicole Kidman), and based on Kosinski’s own graphic novel (strangely unreleased at the time of the film’s release), this is a really good yarn, I think, especially the first half. It’s an extremely unique-looking film, with bloody interesting visuals I must say. The film’s conception of a post-apocalyptic scorched Earth bucks the usual trend by actually looking rather unrecognisable and alien. I actually think that works to the film’s advantage because it sets the film apart from other films that present a post-apocalyptic view of Earth. It’s a tricky thing to balance a desolate and post-apocalyptic look whilst maintaining a pleasing aesthetic. “The Book of Eli”, for instance, looked putrid. I see so many badly-shot, ugly films with crap CGI and colour-corrected cinematography these days that I feel I really need to praise something like this. So Kosinski and his cinematographer Claudio Miranda (“Tron: Legacy”) definitely deserve credit here. The throbbing music score by Anthony Gonzalez and M.8.3 is really cool too, if a bit techno and “Tron: Legacy” esque at times (or at least Giorgio Moroder/Vangelis in their heyday), but it suits the visuals, and the sound design is cool as well.

 

The film looks like it’s going to go in a much lesser direction (but still interesting) when Morgan Freeman turns up, only to head in a much more interesting direction than first thought. I still think the first half is the best, but this isn’t one of those films that takes a significant nose-dive at the halfway point. Some will argue that the action scenes are like a video game and a bit reminiscent of the pod race in “The Phantom Menace”. I don’t care, the action is exciting, even if I found the shape of Cruise’s ship to be rather uncomfortable (It’s a cock and balls, quite clearly). I’m really not sure why some people were disappointed in this film, even Melissa Leo for once didn’t bother me. She’s remarkably low-key and straightforward for a change. Freeman’s role, meanwhile, ends up being more interesting as the film progresses and it’s good to see him doing something different. He can’t narrate everything, you know.

 

It’s actually Cruise, who disappoints if anyone (along with the stiff Olga Kurylenko), he’s a bit colourless in this one. Andrea Riseborough, meanwhile, is good enough that you wish she was in the film even more. She also has a fantastic arse that absolutely needs to be singled out for praise. Seriously, it’s bloody fantastic.

 

I’m not sure I entirely understand the ending, but I’m an idiot, so it’s probably on me. This is solid space adventure stuff, and so long as you’re not expecting a reinvention of the wheel, you’re gonna have a good time with it. I just wish Tom was more fun to be around. It’s not one of his best performances, to say the least.

 

Rating: B-