Review of Oblivion (2013) by Jonathan B — 14 May 2015

A furture Earth has been abandoned by humans who have taken up residence in a giant orbiting pyramid called "The Tet" as a staging post to a migration to Titan. The planet, ravaged by a war against aliens, is now having it's oceans sucked up into giant fusion reactors in order to generate power for the colonists.

Tom Cruise has been left behind with his girlfriend, Andrea Riseborough, in a flash apartment so that they can look after the machines that guard the powerplants and protect them from the marauding scavengers who keep nicking bits of equipment and generally blowing things up.

However, poor old Tom is being troubled by dreams of a mysterious woman and the Empire State Building and gradually, things begin to unravel as the truth about what is really going on become revealed.

I'm probably being a bit flippant in this review but I have to say, I really enjoyed this movie. It has a very stylish look and the backgrounds and settings look stunning. There are some great post-apocalypse shots of New York and the technology has a crisp, interestingly organic look.

Cruise is reliable as the lead but I was really taken by the two female leads Andre Riseborough and Olga Kurylenko., both of whom play complex and interesting roles which are unusual in this kind of movie.

Truth be told, there are not a great many surprises plot-wise but the skilful direction by Joseph Kosinski keeps everything looking fresh and intriguing. The critics, generally, were not kind to Oblivion which I think is a shame as, for me, I felt it has a great deal to offer and is a very entertaining couple of hours.