Oblivion

Movie Name: Oblivion
Year of Release: 2013

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Stars: Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Melissa Leo, Zoe Bell

Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Adventure

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6

Synopsis:

Director Joseph Kosinski is back, following his big budget debut "Tron Legacy". "Oblivion" is another journey through slick and sophisticated environments, but this time around the story takes place in 2077. Our narrator, Jack, outlines the events of the last decades, describing a battle with an alien species that invaded Earth, leaving the planet almost destroyed. Most inhabitants had to flee the planet, but he and Victoria, are part of a maintenance crew tasked with maintaining some devices operating so there's enough water to maintain the survivors. Earth however is still haunted by scavengers, some of the surviving alien species, that try to sabotage Jack's efforts. In one of Jack's perimeter checks, he rescues a survivor from a spaceship, someone who strikes a resemblance with a woman he sees in his dreams recurrently. This accidental rescue sets in motion a series of events that challenges all that Jack knows and believes in.
"Oblivion" is an original story from Joseph Kosinski and Arvid Nelson. The director successfully builds a landscape that is simultaneously futuristic, bleak and stunning. The film depicts a world that is beautifully constructed, elegant and credible, though as the story progresses, the uneven balance of what is presented versus character and story development, starts to falter. The main issue with "Oblivion" is it's own premise - the director introduces the characters and the storyline so perfectly, that it has difficulty in maintaining that momentum - there are obvious troubles in rhythm within the narrative. Some of the action scenes are definitely video-game inspired, but are nonetheless thrilling and dynamically well staged. The actors are uniformly good, with a particular positive note to Andrea Riseborough, who manages to build her Victoria almost as a corporate drone, who wants to get out of Earth and be on her way to happiness. An uneven, yet entertaining and beautifully rendered film worth seeing.