Oblivion
3.5/4
Starring: Tom Cruise, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, Morgan Freeman, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Rated PG-13 for Sci-Fi Action Violence, Brief Strong Language, and Some Sensuality/Nudity
When I watched the trailer for "Oblivion," I was intrigued because it looked awesome, but I had absolutely no idea what it was about. There's a reason for this: the film is about ideas, rather than action. No doubt Universal wanted to highlight the gunfire and special effects to bring in the teenagers. They'll earn their money's worth, although not in the way they were expecting. This is not "Star Wars."
A war has decimated Earth. In Jack's words, "We won the war, but lost the planet." Jack is a technician who cleans up the last of the aliens that attacked Earth, and making sure that the machines that are being used to extract the last of Earth's resources (which are going to be moved to Titan, Saturn's largest moon). But strange occurrences are happening around him that are causing him to believe that things are not all that they appear to be. Jack's partner, Victoria (Riseborough) wants him to ignore his misgivings so as to not jeopardize their future on Titan, but Jack is determined to find the answers.
"Oblivion" is more of a mystery rather than an adventure. There are some action sequences and they're competently done, but there's not much of it. This is about ideas and story.
The acting is effective, although this is Tom Cruise's show. And as we all know, he is one of the few actors working who can carry a $120 million movie entirely on his shoulders. Cruise is terrific; this is the actor's best performance in years (looking at his credits, the last film that comes to mind is "The Last Samurai," and that was released in 2003). Also good is Andrea Riseborough, who brings to mind Jennifer Ehle. Olga Kurylenko has her stiff moments, but is usually just as good. Morgan Freeman, despite getting heavy billing, doesn't have a lot of screen time.
The film looks fantastic. This is a visually dazzling and vividly imagined movie. Considering that it was co-written and directed by Joseph Kosinski, who made "Tron: Legacy," that's not surprising. The film is built around technology that could be invented in another few decades (I kept thinking to myself, "why haven't they made a plane like the one in this movie?").
Emotionally, this is a pretty chilly movie. While I understood the characters and wanted to see the movie through to the end, I didn't feel much for them (it is there, just understated).
Finally, there are some problems with the plot. When the truth is explained, I was confused. Either the writing was bad or I didn't catch the dialogue, I'm not sure. It becomes more clear later on, but it makes for a frustrating ten minutes.
I think this movie is worth seeing. It has a compelling storyline and it's well acted and directed. It's not the best film of the year, but it is worth seeing in a theater (preferably in IMAX).
Starring: Tom Cruise, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, Morgan Freeman, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Rated PG-13 for Sci-Fi Action Violence, Brief Strong Language, and Some Sensuality/Nudity
When I watched the trailer for "Oblivion," I was intrigued because it looked awesome, but I had absolutely no idea what it was about. There's a reason for this: the film is about ideas, rather than action. No doubt Universal wanted to highlight the gunfire and special effects to bring in the teenagers. They'll earn their money's worth, although not in the way they were expecting. This is not "Star Wars."
A war has decimated Earth. In Jack's words, "We won the war, but lost the planet." Jack is a technician who cleans up the last of the aliens that attacked Earth, and making sure that the machines that are being used to extract the last of Earth's resources (which are going to be moved to Titan, Saturn's largest moon). But strange occurrences are happening around him that are causing him to believe that things are not all that they appear to be. Jack's partner, Victoria (Riseborough) wants him to ignore his misgivings so as to not jeopardize their future on Titan, but Jack is determined to find the answers.
"Oblivion" is more of a mystery rather than an adventure. There are some action sequences and they're competently done, but there's not much of it. This is about ideas and story.
The acting is effective, although this is Tom Cruise's show. And as we all know, he is one of the few actors working who can carry a $120 million movie entirely on his shoulders. Cruise is terrific; this is the actor's best performance in years (looking at his credits, the last film that comes to mind is "The Last Samurai," and that was released in 2003). Also good is Andrea Riseborough, who brings to mind Jennifer Ehle. Olga Kurylenko has her stiff moments, but is usually just as good. Morgan Freeman, despite getting heavy billing, doesn't have a lot of screen time.
The film looks fantastic. This is a visually dazzling and vividly imagined movie. Considering that it was co-written and directed by Joseph Kosinski, who made "Tron: Legacy," that's not surprising. The film is built around technology that could be invented in another few decades (I kept thinking to myself, "why haven't they made a plane like the one in this movie?").
Emotionally, this is a pretty chilly movie. While I understood the characters and wanted to see the movie through to the end, I didn't feel much for them (it is there, just understated).
Finally, there are some problems with the plot. When the truth is explained, I was confused. Either the writing was bad or I didn't catch the dialogue, I'm not sure. It becomes more clear later on, but it makes for a frustrating ten minutes.
I think this movie is worth seeing. It has a compelling storyline and it's well acted and directed. It's not the best film of the year, but it is worth seeing in a theater (preferably in IMAX).
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