Film Review: OBLIVION ★★½☆☆☆

The bleak future Earth we visit in Oblivion allows director Joseph Kosinski a vast canvas to paint a visually unique and stunning film. There is no denying the feat he delivers via a spectacle of fantastic sci-fi landscapes and select action sequences, but the ambitious plot takes away the opportunity to ultimately enjoy the film on all levels.

In a nutshell, Earth is invaded by aliens, whose first strike obliterates the Moon and leads our planet into a downward spiral of environmental chaos. In order to win the war, we resort to unleashing our nuclear arsenal, which leaves the planet a radioactive wasteland. The remaining human population must evacuate and relocate to Titan, one of Saturn's larger moons.

Cut to 2077, Cruise's Commander Jack Harper is nearing the end of his five-year assignment to patrol the Earth's skies and architectural ruins while repairing the robotic drones that defend the massive resource conversion plants vital to humanity's off world survival. He and his partner Vika (Andrea Riseborough) live a routine life in a swanky hi-rise dwelling in the clouds that would make even the Jetsons envious. But when Jack rescues Julia (Olga Kurylenko), a human survivor from a crashed pre-invasion NASA vessel, the game rules change. The sight of Julia awakens long dormant memories buried in Jack's subconscious which lead him to question both his past and very existence.  

Oblivion's first trailer brilliantly set up an intriguing WALL-E worthy story of living in isolation on a future Earth. The later previews introduced Morgan Freeman's character Beech, the mysterious leader of a survivalist group who brought with him a different spin to the story, which felt like too much meat of the plot was then revealed. But truth be told that isn't nearly the half of it. Where it starts and where it ends is quite the journey when Jack's seemingly mundane life is turned on its ass.

While thankfully there is much more under the hood regarding the story, unfortunately that is also where Oblivion starts to falter. Its over ambitious ideas regarding the truth and identity are more hindered by the execution of their explanations, which bog down the beauty of the film's former simplicity. The second and third acts each bring with them radical shifts in the story, adding more mystery and with it, additional head scratching twists and turns in the plot.

A low key Cruise is tasked to be nearly a one man army on-screen, and much like Tom Hanks' turn in Castaway and Will Smith in I Am Legend, finds himself in nearly every scene in the film. The scant supporting cast is just that. Freeman, Kurylenko, Riseborough and Olgaprovide provide minimal additional characters to the mix, but this is a film firmly set on Cruise control.

There is an unfortunate overall emotional disconnect to all the characters, much in the vein of Blade Runner's similar dark tone. Despite its best efforts to really humanize Jack in this dystopian future (he has a lush secret oasis where he wears a Yankees hat and flannel shirt to bask in the sun while sitting on the grass outside his log cabin), by the nature of the character, Jack is denied the opportunity to reap the all charismatic benefits of being portrayed by Tom Cruise.

Oblivion is guilty of taking literal visual cues from 2001: A Space Odyssey, similar lines of dialogue that equally allude to plot points from Planet of the Apes, imposing robotic technology that mirrors both The Black Hole and RoboCop, and even boldly borrows scenes straight out of Independence Day's playbook. However the good news is that all this doesn't come across as blatant screenplay theft or exist simply because of a drought for original ideas. In Kosinski's capable hands (who previously visually wowed us with 2010's Tron: Legacy), these familiar beats actually morph into a successful homage to the wealth of influential sci-fi that came before him. It's up to you to maintain a generous mental scorecard of where you have seen it all before.

While the film ultimately buckles under the weight of its own story ambitions, it easily makes up lost ground in the visual department. Presentation-wise, hands down Oblivion looks absolutely stunning in IMAX, which is something I rarely admit. To really enjoy all its breathtaking effects and big screen eye candy, go the extra mile to see it on the grander scale. Too often film prints suffer from grain and lack of clarity when blown up for the larger format, and Oblivion has no such issues. Seen through Kosinski's lens, Oblivion is truly a visual triumph and an IMAX masterpiece. For fans of such breathtaking sci-fi spectacle, that makes it well worth the price of admission alone.

Oblivion opens in theaters and IMAX on April 19th.

REVIEW RATING: ★★½☆☆☆
Directed By: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Tom Cruise, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, Morgan Freeman, Melissa Leo
Studio: Universal Pictures
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 124 minutes

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