Oblivion

2013 / Director Joseph Kosinski.

Oblivion is a high-concept, big budget one man show. Earth has been rendered uninhabitable following a great war, which destroyed the moon. All remaining humans have have relocated to Titan (moon of Jupiter) while one man and his partner remain behind to maintain the drones, which keep a protective eye on the abandoned planet. It soon becomes obvious that they're not alone and that there is an unknown threat on the surface below.... Oblivion is cliched and derivative and obviously influenced by some of the classic 1970s sci-fi movies. All throughout the film I kept thinking of The Omega Man and Planet of the Apes and I even imagined that Tom Cruise was Charlton Heston. There certainly is a shitload of homage being paid here... but that's ok. I liked the movie a lot. Its design is ambitious and classic and while I can't help but think it will quickly become outdated in years to come, I was comfortable spending 2 hours in this world. Tom Cruise is great. He understands the concepts and conventions and runs with them. Morgan Freeman also stars but his presence on screen doesn't add anything special. He pretty much phones this one in and his character would have been better served by a different actor, of a different calibre. The story does become convoluted and confusing in it's final act but not enough to throw you completely. I didn't love Oblivion but I didn't hate it either. I had a good time watching it and I submitted to it's overall simplicity. Curiously Oblivion cost $120M to make whereas Duncan Jones' impressive 2009 film MOON cost a measly $5M and proves to be far superior. 

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