Review of Oblivion (2013) by Oxcart — 20 Apr 2013

Let me preface my remarks with two clarifying statements. Statement 1: I firmly believe that any work, be it film, game, or any other media, should be primarily judged against what it set out to do, and less against other works, primarily those which do not share its objectives.

Statement 2: I was expecting very little from this movie: cool special effects and some Morgan Freeman. With both of those points in mind, I can honestly say that I was extremely impressed with Oblivion.

Let's run it down. The relatively simple concept outlined in the trailer belies the complexity and creativity of the actual film. Drawing upon the best writing traditions of the plot-twist era, like the golden days of The Twilight Zone, this film takes you on a rapidly-turning plot that does its best to keep you off balance.

At the same time, however, it provides clues and subtleties that allow the sharp-eyed and analytical viewer to potentially unravel the plot's mysteries before they're shown. The writers deserve major kudos for their plot work, even if sometimes the dialogue is a little, well, over-dramatic.

(Which, in the heat of the moment, can be forgiven; there are no real "rolling my eyes in disbelief" lines.) Given that I was expected two hours of watching Tom Cruise's Amazing Performing Ego, I was extremely pleased to see that he was actually a part of the cast and a believable addition to the film's world, so director Joseph Kosinski also deserves a significant pat on the back.

While it would be easy to call Andrea Riseborough's performance wooden and/or forced, if you actually pay attention to the film and its plot, you'll discover that hers is one of the most genuine, authentic, and meaningful portrayals in the film; this should be considered a highlight of her career.

And while Olga Kurylenko isn't quite at A+ level, she nevertheless turns in an extremely good performance. Finally, the set and scenery crews deserve a major share of the film's accolades; they managed to create both sterile hyper-tech environments and grimy ruins with equal believability, realism, and creativity.

The set designers, builders, and managers responsible for the bubbleship, tower apartment, and props should consider this film a permanent part of their portfolios; there is not one single element that engenders a feeling of "are you kidding me?" Additionally (don't worry, not a spoiler), the crew who worked on the drones are, in my book, amazing; they managed to create a device that is capable of expressing emotion without actually doing so, and to communicate using a handful of synthesizer notes.

Watch for these if you go see the film. So, with all those glowing praises in mind, on to the negatives. One of the things that stood out most seriously was a failure in audio mixing. The soundtrack (which was very good, by the way) frequently overshadows everything else because it's simply too loud for the scene.

Morgan Freeman, for all his star power and the great performance he was able to give with what he was given, was terribly shortchanged; his character was marginal at best and seemed to have been stapled onto the plot to try to get another major star on screen.

(Even so, he did a great job.) Finally, considering how carefully-constructed the rest of the plot was, the ending seemed almost an afterthought. They aimed for bittersweet, but just ended up with "hmm, vaguely creepy.

" In this respect, they did a Mass Effect; they led up through the whole thing, the audience becoming more and more invested in everything that was going on and actually (probably) caring about what happens to these characters, only to in the last five minutes drop a big wet pile of "Aw, really?" on us.

Even so, I'm not at all sorry I went to see it on opening weekend, and will probably go to see it again before it leaves theaters so I can catch it in 3D, because when this goes small-screen, it's going to lose a lot.

I've been unimpressed with a lot of contemporary sci-fi and most of Tom Cruise's work for a long time. Oblivion is an excellent piece of sci fi, a well-conceived, -executed, and -acted film, well worth your time if you are a fan of sci-fi and plot twists.

This film is a rewarding adventure. I have no problem giving Oblivion an 8 and a subtitle. Oblivion: Plot twists in the apocalypse.