Review: OBLIVION

It’s been a while…

Tom-Cruise-Oblivion-wallpapers-2

I first wrote about Oblivion back in December of 2012. I was excited about the premise, and I made five predictions on why it would be awesome. So, was I right?

Prediction 1: Tom Cruise does good sci-fi.
Yes, he does.

Prediction 2: It’s ‘WALL-E with guns’.
It is, and it isn’t. But as I said before: that’s no bad thing. This film borrows from many great sci-fi flicks actually, and the end result is better for it.

Prediction 3: It’s directed by Joseph Kosinski, so it’s bound to be good.
Kosinski’s last film was Tron: Legacy (which I loved) and there are echoes of that futuristic world scattered throughout. Again, this is no bad thing. The elder Kevin Flynn would live well in this universe, and he would approve of the decisions ultimately made there. Kosinski has a great eye and everything from the light used in the flying craft (see image above) to the base stations where our protagonist lives, has the touch of a talented sci-fi director. Good work sir.

Prediction 4: This future is imagined properly.
The year is 2070, the Earth is a barren wasteland, and yet the small areas we see are fully-fleshed out. To go into more detail would give away key plot parts of the film. Let’s just say that you believe that the Earth could end up this way; the vision of the Moon in this future is incredibly realised.

Prediction 5. I am a geek, so I’m definitely going to like it.
Right and wrong. I didn’t like this film because I’m a geek. I didn’t like this film because I’m a massive Tom Cruise fan (there, I said it). I liked this film because, as much as I was annoyed about the Morgan Freeman reveal shown in some (most/all) of the trailers, it still had so much left to show me. It just kept going, and going, and going, and going…

In closing, I really enjoyed Oblivion. Tom Cruise is great as Jack Harper and Andrea Riseborough is great (if not, better) as his tech-partner Victoria. Olga Kurylenko is OK, and the rest just serve to keep the plot moving forward.

For the nay-sayers out there you’ll be pleased to know there isn’t much TOM CRUISE RUNNING and there isn’t much TOM CRUISE BEING TOM CRUISE either. Oblivion is a well shot, well-directed, and well-thought through piece of sci-fi and definitely worth seeing big and loud.

The end.

 

Also in cinemas: TRANCE [terrible film, don’t bother].

 

 

OBLIVION

WALL-E with guns, innit –

I’m actually well up for this.

  1. Tom Cruise does good sci-fi*
  2. As much as ‘WALL-E, with guns’ is a joke on my part, it’s actually quite a good premise
  3. It’s directed by Joseph Kosinski, the last sci-fi flick he pulled together was the (criminally underrated) Tron: Legacy
  4. Sci-fi films that imagine future worldsproperly always get a vote of confidence from me (and for some reason, I get that vibe from this)
  5. I AM A GEEK AND I LIKE THIS STUFF

I mean come on, even the poster is pretty ace –

Well, it’s better looking than Star Trek anyway.

What do you think? Up for Oblivion?

 

 

 

*Not only sci-fi, but also a whole bunch of other genres too. Yes. That’s right. I am a [closet] Tom Cruise fan. I think he’s ace. I couldn’t give a monkey’s about his apparent oddball personal life, he makes great films and should be celebrated as one of the best actors of our time. Go on, I dare you to argue with me.