Back in 2010, there couldn't be more excitement for Joseph Kosinski's Tron: Legacy. The sequel to the 1980's cult classic, Tron: Legacy was a stylish looking film that seemed to have some of the greatest special effects ever. However, when people saw the film, most were disappointed. The visual style of the film was stunning, but the film dropped the ball with its narrative and featured a bland story and a cast of uninteresting characters. The film was a hit, but Disney chose not to direct his next film, Oblivion. That film came out in April of this year and was neither a hit or a film, just making its budget back. I finally saw the film with its Blu-Ray release today, and I have my thoughts ready to share.
Oblivion is the story of Jack Harper (Tom Cruise), a drone maintenance officer in a post-apocalyptic future. The world has been destroyed by an alien army called the Scavs and all humans have left the planet. Jack and his assistant/girlfriend Victoria (Andrea Risenborough) stay on the Earth to make sure that the drones stay in good shape and hunt the Scavs. However, things change when a ship crashes on Earth and a drone attempts to assassinate Jack and the survivors of the crash. Soon, Jack realizes that the truth has evaded him and that nothing is actually what it seems.
Oblivion is a bad movie. There is no doubt in my mind about that. The world that the film sets up makes little sense and there's nothing really there that makes you care when a characters is about to be blown to bits. There are lots of plot threads, a lot of times that you'll be asking yourself "Huh? That doesn't make any sense!", and the supporting characters and villains are about as under-developed as you can get. The reasons behind what the villain has done are muddled, confusing and the conclusion raises more questions than it answers. In addition, the performances are typically weak featuring a Razzie-worthy turn by Andrea Risenborough. She's incredibly awful and gives an over-acted performance at every turn. Tom Cruise and Olga Kurylenko are both fine, but the star turn is unsurprisingly given by Morgan Freeman. He gives some much-needed comic wit to a confusing and overly serious film in a role that I don't wish to say too much about.
The bar for mind-bending science fiction has been set by two very different films: 2001: A Space Odyssey and Inception. While 2001 gives you not a single answer, Inception spells out everything very carefully so that you can understand the awesome thrill ride you're about to take. Oblivion tries to take the Inception route of explaining everything, but at the same time it wants to be ambiguous and make the audience thing. Look, I have no problem with thinking; I would actually like to think more at the movies. But Oblivion suffers from too much weirdness, too many script problems and a lot of underdeveloped plot threads and characters.
I could stop the review right there. There's not a ton more that you need to know about Oblivion. But, despite my overall dislike of this film, I felt that there were a lot of good things about it. First off, the film is very entertaining overall. If you don't care about narrative flaws, then you will love this movie. It can be pretty captivating at times. I really liked the first hour. It felt interesting. It was intriguing. Most of all, it was beautifully rendered. This is the best looking movie that I've probably seen this year, with the exception of Pacific Rim. It's got great CGI and great practical sets, a rarity in big summer blockbusters.
In addition, the musical score was fantastic by M83. The score feels very natural and fits right into the movie. The music brings gravity to the sets with a nice futuristic sound. All of these different elements carry the film through its sort of slow first half, but honestly, that was the half that I liked. It just was a lot more interesting than the mysteriously odd second half.
But in the end, if you're looking for narrative cohesion, you won't find it in Oblivion. It's a disposable summer blockbuster that I'm glad was made, simply because it is original, and it is daring and it takes risks. It isn't great, and it isn't anything worth buying on Blu-Ray, but it's still an original, interesting film at times that just goes down too many wrong paths. Oblivion could have been a great time at the movies but it ended up being a merely forgettable one.
THE FINAL GRADE: C+ (6/10)
Oblivion is the story of Jack Harper (Tom Cruise), a drone maintenance officer in a post-apocalyptic future. The world has been destroyed by an alien army called the Scavs and all humans have left the planet. Jack and his assistant/girlfriend Victoria (Andrea Risenborough) stay on the Earth to make sure that the drones stay in good shape and hunt the Scavs. However, things change when a ship crashes on Earth and a drone attempts to assassinate Jack and the survivors of the crash. Soon, Jack realizes that the truth has evaded him and that nothing is actually what it seems.
Oblivion is a bad movie. There is no doubt in my mind about that. The world that the film sets up makes little sense and there's nothing really there that makes you care when a characters is about to be blown to bits. There are lots of plot threads, a lot of times that you'll be asking yourself "Huh? That doesn't make any sense!", and the supporting characters and villains are about as under-developed as you can get. The reasons behind what the villain has done are muddled, confusing and the conclusion raises more questions than it answers. In addition, the performances are typically weak featuring a Razzie-worthy turn by Andrea Risenborough. She's incredibly awful and gives an over-acted performance at every turn. Tom Cruise and Olga Kurylenko are both fine, but the star turn is unsurprisingly given by Morgan Freeman. He gives some much-needed comic wit to a confusing and overly serious film in a role that I don't wish to say too much about.
The bar for mind-bending science fiction has been set by two very different films: 2001: A Space Odyssey and Inception. While 2001 gives you not a single answer, Inception spells out everything very carefully so that you can understand the awesome thrill ride you're about to take. Oblivion tries to take the Inception route of explaining everything, but at the same time it wants to be ambiguous and make the audience thing. Look, I have no problem with thinking; I would actually like to think more at the movies. But Oblivion suffers from too much weirdness, too many script problems and a lot of underdeveloped plot threads and characters.
I could stop the review right there. There's not a ton more that you need to know about Oblivion. But, despite my overall dislike of this film, I felt that there were a lot of good things about it. First off, the film is very entertaining overall. If you don't care about narrative flaws, then you will love this movie. It can be pretty captivating at times. I really liked the first hour. It felt interesting. It was intriguing. Most of all, it was beautifully rendered. This is the best looking movie that I've probably seen this year, with the exception of Pacific Rim. It's got great CGI and great practical sets, a rarity in big summer blockbusters.
In addition, the musical score was fantastic by M83. The score feels very natural and fits right into the movie. The music brings gravity to the sets with a nice futuristic sound. All of these different elements carry the film through its sort of slow first half, but honestly, that was the half that I liked. It just was a lot more interesting than the mysteriously odd second half.
But in the end, if you're looking for narrative cohesion, you won't find it in Oblivion. It's a disposable summer blockbuster that I'm glad was made, simply because it is original, and it is daring and it takes risks. It isn't great, and it isn't anything worth buying on Blu-Ray, but it's still an original, interesting film at times that just goes down too many wrong paths. Oblivion could have been a great time at the movies but it ended up being a merely forgettable one.
THE FINAL GRADE: C+ (6/10)
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