Oblivion - Movie Review


After an extraterrestrial war, Jack(Tom Cruise) and Vika(Andrea Riseborough) are the last two humans on an evacuated Earth. They work as a team to repair hydro rigs that are used to harvest energy which will be used for the journey to Titan. Despite the ruins, Jack still feels connected to the Earth and starts questioning everything when he rescues the woman he has dreams about. 


The director of this film, Joseph Kosinski, is well known for making films with great CGI visuals. He directed Tron: Legacy and the upcoming Top Gun: Maverick. This entire movie is dependant on CGI and it is pulled off well. You know the director has done a good job when you forget that the scenery is not real. It also shows just how clear the director's vision was because most of the shooting done in front of a green screen. 


The Tet: Mission Control

The scavengers, which is what they call the extraterrestrial life, are the catalysts of the movie and play a major part in carrying the movie forward in the first act. They are the ones who damage the hydro rigs which puts them in direct conflict with the protagonists. After they capture Jack they become free riders in the movie. They no longer face imminent danger and sort of just wait for something to happen.


Jack and Vika are subtlely at odds with one another. Jack grows plants, reads books, and even has some sort of nature reserve that he goes to. Whereas Vika is holding on to the hope of leaving Earth soon and has full confidence in Mission Control. But this is all we have from Vika's perspective as a result, some of her actions are not justifiable because her motives are not entirely clear. We only get to see Jack's character arc which is a predictable one: maverick turns against the authorities. 


The pacing of the film is quite balanced. Every act has a definite, identifiable beat that ultimately leads to the climax of that act. It's set up as a minor event then a major one which is the climax. The last 20 minutes drag out a little. Overall, it's a great sci-fi/thriller on a lazy day. 



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