OBLIVION
DIRECTOR: Joseph Kosinski
CAST: Tom Cruise, Olga Kurylenko
RUNNING TIME: 125 minutes
CLASSIFICATION: 10LV
RATING: **
If you read about this film you will realise that there is no middle ground. Either people loved it or they hated it. It brings up the old argument about substance over aesthetics. Can a good-looking movie be a classic even though it has a thin script? Maybe, but not Oblivion.
The year is 2077 and Earth has been reduced to rubble. Humans have been relocated to another lunar destination. A few humans, including Jack Harper (Cruise) remain close to Earth as security repairmen, part of an operation to find key resources from the dying Earth. He sees a lot of things that remind him of what the planet was once like.
In a chance run-in with a survivor, Julia (Kurylenko), Harper realises there is more to the story of how Earth was destroyed and soon has more questions than answers.
As usual with Cruise there are Christian and scientology connotations in the general plot, but when it comes to details you are constantly wondering where the story is heading next.
There are few principal characters, which also include Morgan Freeman, and so you would think their roles would be explored in detail, but that’s not the case.
Instead we are lured into Kosinki’s and his art guys’ breathtaking creativity as cool flying saucers and big guns flood the film. Anyone who loves action will be in awe of the fight scenes and the explosions, but you have to get tired of that and get back to the story.
The pace of Oblivion is so slow you’d think a snail wrote it. There are so many empty and quiet scenes where Cruise is cruising in his flying saucer. The view from the top is incredible as you see an almost “regerminating” planet which gives Harper ideas about whether to stay or follow the rest of mankind.
A sweet ending is in store, but it comes just a little late as by then you have given up on the whole project. Like in Olympus Has Fallen, with its Academy Award material, Morgan Freeman is under-used here.
A lot of Mission Impossible stuff is indirectly used here, making this a familiar project even if you hadn’t seen the former. Since Kosinki is known for Tron, it comes as no surprise that this film is more about the art direction than epic storytelling. This is what makes James Cameron a master, as he can do both the art and the storytelling.
Sci-fi geeks beware, this might not be the movie you have been waiting for.
If you liked Tron and Serenity then you will like this.
WIN! WIN! WIN!
To celebrate the nationwide release of Oblivion, Tonight is giving two sets of Oblivion hampers.
One lucky reader will walk away with the main prize, which consists of an Oblivion Laser Keyboard, a T-shirt, and a cap.
Four runner-up winners will each receive a Oblivion T-shirt and cap.
To stand a chance of winning, all you have to do is answer this simple question:
What character does Tom Cruise play in Oblivion?
Send your answer, along with your contact details, to [email protected]. Please put "Tonight Oblivion competition" in the subject field. the competition closes on Wednesday, April 24, at midnight. Only the winners will be contacted.