Oblivion Review

I am a big fan of Tron:Legacy. I was very excited to see that movie and, although it is not a “great” movie, it’s extremely visually and musically stimulating. I am huge soundtrack nerd, and Tron: Legacy’s soundtrack was awesome. It was done by Daft Punk! I really enjoyed the film, and noticing it was by a first time director, Joseph Kosinski. I made a mental note of his name to be used at a later date.  I was looking forward to Oblivion, not for the big actors in the film, Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman, but for this potential new bad ass director. Can Joseph make a second fun awesome science fiction film? Let us see.

There is a little bit of a “mystery” in this film’s plot, so I do not want to give anything away (and no, telling you there is a mystery is not giving anything away). Go watch the trailer, and you will understand. There are crazy plot twists ahead. I will only tell you what Tom Cruise narrates in the first few minutes. An alien race, the Scavengers, comes down and blows up the moon, screwing up earth big time. Big battle happens, we use nuclear weapons, and earth is more messed up. Humans win, but we all leave earth, for Titan (my little astronomy self got excited). Jack (Tom Cruise) and Victoria ( Andrea Riseborough), are on Earth to repair robot drones. The drones protect water pump things, from the remaining “Scavs”. Soon Jack and Victoria will be done, and they can go live on Titan with the others. YEA!

So here is my problem with this film, Morgan Freeman. No, I love Morgan Freeman, and he is really great in this film, but it’s Morgan Freeman. You go into this film waiting for him to show up. He’s in the trailer, saying “ It’s time you know the truth.” I understand they are trying to grab you, but this totally ruins the first part of the movie. You keep waiting for Morgan Freeman to show up and give you the answers.You know that everything that is said before Morgan Freeman shows up is a lie.  You do not accept your reality, and so when they finally pull the rug out from under you, you were expecting it. So, I think they should have not had Morgan Freeman say that in the trailer, or not show him at all. I know he is a big box office pull, but I think the film would have benefited from someone else being in the role, so you don’t see it coming as much.

This film was very beautiful, and all the special effects look perfect. The transition between computer animation and physical props, you never question. Tom Cruise is a crazy person in real life, but he is still an awesome actor, and very entertaining to watch. The music of this film, by M83, orchestra and synth, fit the setting and felt perfect. I enjoyed it very much, and I listened to it as I wrote this.

This movie has a solid beginning, and an interesting resolution. The middle of the film drags on a little; they take far too long to resolve the mystery. There is 40 minutes in the middle where they start to answer and pull you along until it’s resolved. This made me feel impatient, “get to the point already!” I think this movie was pretty good, but not great. Kind of like Tron: Legacy, but without the Tron nostalgia to keep me interested. I think that Joseph might not be an amazing director, but he does make solid “popcorn films” and I love his taste in composers. All-in-all I enjoyed the film and would watch it again, but the flaws and mixed feelings that the film creates make it not as good as it could be.

The Rating System

Production (Directing, Editing, Music) 4-5

Story (Plot)4-5

Characters (Likability, Acting)4-5

Writing (Dialogue, Cleverness)3-5

Emotions (Was it; Fun, Scary, Sad, Do I care)3-5

Overall score

18-25