"Oblivion" - Review

“Oblivion“– Review

“Oblivion” takes place in the not so distant future where the earth is largely devoid of any life. Its landscape is a meld of the Grand Canyon and the Mohave – Sierra Deserts cleverly and imaginatively dotted with iconic man made structures (bridges, stadiums, memorials) and vistas from our past to provide subtle context to the story’s place and time.

The central plot revolves Jack Harper (Cruise) a combination pilot – drone repairmen temporarily stationed on Earth as part of a massive operation to extract vital resources to take to the Saturn moon Titan where humans have relocated after decades of war from an invading terrifying threat known as the Scavs. Jack's mission along with Victoria his cohabitating team member navigator is coming close to completion.

After another routine patrol Jack’s existence and mission changes when he investigates a crashed ship where he discovers it contains a beautiful stranger that he rescues from the lurking Scavs. It is the woman’s arrival to earth that triggers a chain of events that compels Jack to question everything he knows to be true about his mission on earth and his eventual potential fate on Titan.

“Oblivion” literally pays homage to every single great science fiction film there has been for the past 40 years (trust me you will see them all) with the first hour of the film from an acting and story telling point of view being very sharp and easy to follow with ariel flying scenes captivating and technically crisp.

HOWEVER, similar to the nose dive flying maneuvers Jack performs off his lofty platform home in a hybrid helicopter – jet fighter, so does Oblivion ‘s plot by getting overly, overly complicated with an ending that may have you saying “huh?

Basically as the story starts to reveal more and more about who was who and what was what I started to care less and less about who was who and what was what.

Still, “Oblivion” (in IMAX) for the most part held my attention and nourished my always insatiable appetite for inventive smart science fiction films.

3 – Stars