Oblivion

Tom Cruise takes a page from Sylvester Stallone's book, and refuses to accept his age. The 51 year old actor looking pretty spry, jumps back into the sci-fi genre where he did a pretty decent job in both Minority Report and War of the Worlds. Joseph Kosinski is no Steven Spielberg however. He tries really hard, and although it's not a terrible film, it is simply unoriginal.

This film is an original. It took me over a day to decide what I thought of it, and honestly, I still don't really know what I thought of it. It was so frenetic and full of shifting plot lines and focal points, that it never really congeals into any sort of discernible story. It is entertaining nonetheless. Think about a combination of The Matrix, 2001, Moon (little known 2009 Duncan Jones film - Sam Rockwell's best), I Am Legend, Star Wars, and a tiny bit of originality, and you will get Oblivion. It is both predictable and surprising, but not in the way that will elicit a positive reaction. It's more confusion and disappointment.

Joseph Kosinski did 2010's Tron: Legacy. A terrible film despite tremendous potential with story, cast, and special effects open canvass. The direction wasn't half bad, but the story was terrible. I can't scathe Oblivion (written by Kosinski) for the story, as I recognize that the Sci-Fi genre is extremely difficult to conjure new material. Impressing an audience is different than entertaining them, and Oblivion was impressive. This is mostly due to the special effects involved in the space ship/drone chase scenes. I saw it in IMAX, which was definitely an advantage for this film, and Tom Cruise didn't hurt the credibility as he is still one of the best action stars around, even at 51.

To summarize, future Earth has been attacked/invaded by an alien being, and Tom Cruise's character is a maintenance technician who fixes drones that protect the processors that provide energy and resources to the humans living on the Tet (sp?), a giant space station just outside of the atmosphere. The rest of the race have relocated to Titan, a distant moon. The remainder of the alien race are known as Scavs, and they attack the drones and the processors regularly, trying to disrupt the status quo.

It seems pretty straight forward, but through a sequence of encounters, revelations, and discoveries, Tom Cruise's Jack Harper finds himself smack dab in the middle of something larger and more complex than what he originally thought. It's quite predictable, but what makes it both unique and a bit impressive is how rapidly the film shifts from one commonly recognized film to the next. There is absolutely no originality (I can't blame Kosinski entirely), but he manages to take pieces of just about everything. From the Matrix concept of human harvesting, to the Star Wars fighter sequences, to the 2001 artificial intelligence creep factor to the Moon cloning idea. It's just a scatter-shot of cliches that doesn't really hit anything.

Even the actors supporting Cruise are ineffective. From the attractive yet unbelievable Olga Kurylenko, to the passive and submissive Andrea Riseborough, they just don't ever seem to fit. Morgan Freeman is a ridiculous pick to play the rebel leader, and he's enjoying his paycheck behind his ridiculous sunglasses. Suspend all belief and just enjoy the ride.

I figured out the "plot twist" way too early in the film for it to be considered credible or even clever. It didn't follow any strain of logical progression, and mirrored too many classic Sci-Fi stories to be given any credence.

That said, I thought it was a valiant effort, and I don't blame Tom Cruise for going along for the ride. He wasn't half bad. The story was just 20 years too late in its delivery. I might be harsh on the genre, but it's because I just can't stand to see recycled material. I have too much respect for the classics and the potential of the genre in its infinite potential. Joseph Kosinski has seemed to come out of nowhere to get approved for huge budget projects, which is odd to say the least given his experience, but what he's produced has been on par or better than what someone with his experience should be expected to produce. I expect big things from him based on Tron: Legacy, and Oblivion. He's working on the sequel to Tron now, which remains to be seen how impressive it will be to the movie-going public (I think not). Anyhow, he takes on a difficult genre, but I would recommend skipping Oblivion and renting Moon (2009). It's a great film and is much more straight-forward with the same results. 6/10.