Oblivion

Back when I regularly started doing film reviews, one of the first films I covered on site was Tron Legacy , the long-awaited sequel to the 1980s cult classic which turned Tron into a franchise and a household name once more. While I maintain the film is a solidly entertaining film, and one of the best looking and sounding films I’ve reviewed, the sequel isn’t left the boardroom quite yet, unless you count the top notch TV series Tron Uprising. So when director Joseph Kosinski announced a side project by the name of Oblivion, like many others, I took notice. Though at first disappointed that it had nothing to do with the famed video game by the same name, but instead a science fiction film based on a comic by Kosinski, that is one of three films this year featuring Earth after humanity has sought greener pastures elsewhere, with this movie in particular focused on a pair of observers who stayed behind uncovering a conspiracy. Though no doubt less intriguing than Elysium, and no doubt better than M. Night Shaymalan/Jaden Smith’s last stand After Earth, the film had some intriguing trailers, a solid cast, and I liked Tron Legacy enough to give the film a matinee.

So has Kosinski given us another sci-fi world worth exploring, or is this post-Earth adventure a cinematic apocalypse? Join me as I live into the brave new world of Oblivion.

The year is 2077, over sixty years after a war with aliens known as the Scavs left humanity victorious, yet with a ruined planet increasingly unable to host humanity’s home. So we fled to the stars, most settling on Titan, with a few left behind on Earth to recover relics and supplies. One such paring is Jack Harper, whom along with his partner Victoria, are in the last two-week stretch of their uneventful tour of duty, during most of which, Jack has spent taking in the sights and pleasures of literally having a world to himself, ruined or not. That all begins to change following a crashed spaceship full of previously unknown humans, and shortly after, caverns full of humans still living on Earth, and with them, begins to unravel a conspiracy that will shake the Earth – or what’s left of it – to its very foundations.

The film very much is in the same vein as the post-apocalyptic science fiction films of the pre-Star Wars era, like Logan’s Run or A Boy and His Dog, the film shares a lot of plot elements with these films, which, if you are remotely familiar with any of them, is unfortunate, because you’ll see a great deal of the story coming from miles away, especially given the film practically telegraphs some of them in a monologue at the start of the movie. The film also takes almost an hour before the plot gets moving, which isn’t as bad as that could have been since it takes the time to develop the leads and soak in the world. While very derivative, to the point of having pieces from almost every major sci-fi film since 2001 A Space Odyssey, it remains entertaining through both the introspective first act, and the middle section where the story begins to pick up, along with the intrigue, it falls on its face following a few plot twists in the finale, which will leave most genre-faithful with their jaws agape at the preposterousness of it all.

The acting and characters are something of a paradox, given both the talented cast and somewhat interesting characters are both held back by the script and could have used some more development. Tom Cruise, in just his third science fiction role, is his ever dependable self as our curious protagonist Jack Harper, though he’s not nearly as memorable here as he was in Minority Report or War of the Worlds. Andrea Riseborough, in her turn as Victoria, provides the most personal performance of the film, though she fades into the background with the second act and finale. As for much of the supporting cast, ranging from Olga Kurylenko as a mysterious woman who changes everything, and Morgan Freeman and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, as members of the still Earth-born humanity, all give valiant performances while working with very little – one wonders if they’d been given more, just what this cast could have done. All around, admirable, yet nothing memorable.

If there is one area that the film totally knocks the ball out of the park on, it’s the visuals and cinematography, and it’s so far the best looking film of 2013. Those that watched Tron Legacy no doubt remember the jaw-dropping cyberpunk visuals of the Grid, and director Kosinski has taken the same gusto in crafting a post-apocalyptic wasteland that is both gritty and beautiful at the same time. This can be seen from the lush post-human landscapes, the crumpling sometimes barely-recognizable ruins of civilization, to the sleek, modern look of the tech and crafts used by the humans. It really is a feat for the eyes from start to finish – if such effort had been applied to the story or characters, this could have been a must-see.

As it stands, for all of its sumptuous visuals, the rest of the film is for the most part lacking. Had the film been more character-driven, or some more work given to the script, this could have been so much more than what it is. As it stands, this is a film you come to, much like the protagonist, to admire and revel in the world, and for some, that may be enough. I however, was left wanting more. If you’re looking for some sci-fi or adventure to whet your appetite before blockbuster season kicks off, Oblivion will tide you over – if you want, you may chance a matinee, but otherwise, wait for it on DVD, where it will make your jaw drop in HD – at least when the story isn’t making your jaw drop for entirely different reasons.

via WordPress http://www.korsgaardscommentary.com/2013/04/oblivion.html