****
The first thing to say about ‘Oblivion’
is that it is completely unoriginal, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it.
Jack is one of the last drone repairmen on dystopian Earth, which was destroyed
seventy-odd years ago by invading alien forces. The remaining humans are on board
the Tet, a huge space ship readying to leave for Titan, and at the end of two
weeks, Jack and his teammate and lover, Victoria, will join them. However, Jack
is haunted by dreams that he cannot fathom because his, and every other human,
had their memory wiped after the invasion, and begins to doubt both himself and
the missions he is sent on. Yeah, you can already see the links to other sci-fi
films…
Despite this, however, I did find
the film enjoyable. The first half is based entirely on the relationship with
Jack (Tom Cruise) and Victoria (Andrea Riseborough) as they live alone on a
secure base in the clouds awaiting missions from Sally (Melissa Leo), their
advisor from Tet. Cruise is perfectly fine as the man haunted by dreams that he
cannot understand, and his on-screen relationship with Riseborough is wholly
believable. Riseborough is truly the star of this film, with her face
portraying every emotion beautifully making her arguably the most personable
character of the film. The second half is where the film begins to fall into
the well-worn footsteps of previous sci-fi films, but I remained engaged
throughout, and this was because I’d had time to get to know both Cruise and
Riseborough’s characters before the main bulk of the action started. Visually,
the film is spectacular, with large expanses of sky overshadowing the
desolation of the Earth beneath it. The soundtrack is excellent too.
Apart from the soundtrack being
too loud (I had to put my fingers in my ears at one point), this is a
well-made, well-acted, and visually excellent film. Some have dismissed ‘Oblivion’
for using too many tropes and plot-points from other films, but that didn’t
bother me a great deal as this film is essentially a character piece and all
the actors are on fine form.
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