Kituria’s ProFan Review: Oblivion
Oblivion | PG-13
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Oblivion is a post-apocalyptic science-fiction drama starring Tom Cruise (Commander Jack Harper), Andrea Riseborough (Communications Officer Victoria Olsen), Morgan Freeman (Malcolm Beech), and Olga Kurylenko (Julia Kurasova).
Jack Harper is one of the last few drone repairmen stationed on Earth. 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. Living in and patrolling the breathtaking skies from thousands of feet above, his soaring existence is brought crashing down when he rescues a beautiful stranger from a downed spacecraft. Her arrival triggers a chain of events that forces him to question everything he knows and puts the fate of humanity in his hand.
I went into this movie knowing the following: Morgan Freeman does a killer Morpheus impression, things aren’t quite what they seem, and Melissa Leo’s southern accent sounds like she is chewing on gravel. The story in Oblivion is a familiar one. The movie starts in 2077, 60 years after the attacks, with Jack waking in the arms of a beautiful red head. Followed by our leading man working out in what could only be described as a human-sized hamster wheel. It’s all very Jetsons. We are introduced to Jack’s main form of transport, a bad ass helicopter/plane, which along with one of the drones is a character in and of itself.
There isn’t much dialogue just enough to show the watcher that this is their daily routine, these people care for one another and may be the only surviving humans on Earth. Beautiful scenes of a ravaged planet—New York City to be exact—lakes, waterfalls, and chasms where there were none in a previous life. Through his daily travels, we are already clued in that Jack is not completely satisfied with this life. We’re eventually introduced to the Scavs: Morpheus, The Kingslayer, and Zoe Bell, as they help usher us into the 2nd and 3rd acts of the movie.
For an avid movie watcher, Oblivion shows its hand very early on, but that doesn’t make it less enjoyable. The sound, visuals, and futuristic technology are outstanding, and the story is, well, good enough. Tom Cruise is his usual beguiling self. And as good as he looks for being 50, as my fellow Project Fandom contributor stated, it is becoming exceedingly difficult for me to believe his love interest would be in her 20s. I’ve read other reviews that are gushing over Olga Kurylenko’s performance, which was good, but my heart ached for Andrea Riseborough’s character. She is someone to watch.
This film was made to be seen in D-box, 3-D, or an IMAX experience. Coming in at about 20 minutes too long, with some questionable editing choices at the end of the 2nd act, Oblivion is worthy of your time and at least Matinee worthy.
