MOVIE REVIEW - Oblivion

Tom Cruise is back this week with the new graphic novel come to life, the sci-fi budget buster, Oblivion.

First off,  if you are not seriously into Sci-Fi movies, then just keep on going.   This is deep sci-fi in every single frame. This has no shortage of gigantic special effects that the director was obviously in love with.  They dominate this movie from start to finish.  This is big, loud, and has some moments that are somewhat interesting.

It's another "end of the world" movie, which is a prevailing and favorite theme of Hollywood right now.   It is the year 2077, and it's been 60 years since Earth was attacked by an alien life form.  The attack was to destroy the moon, and let nature do the rest.  Tsunami's, earthquakes, floods and drought ensued.  Also during the war with the aliens, humans decided not to go without a fight, and launches all of it's nuclear weapons, and Earth is now not inhabitable.  The survivors now live on a space structure called "The Tet." 

Jack (Cruise) and his lover and partner Victoria (Andrea Riseborough) live on an outpost on earth and are the "mop up" crew.   They are there to maintain the machines on earth that help maintain The Tet in the sky.  As they near the end of their mission on earth, Jack who is a curious sort, makes actual contact with humans still on earth, and seems to learn a different version of what The Tet is and who is actually in charge of them, and of earth.  That's as far as I'll go, in case you go.

This is actually the mixture of many other sci-fi movies, especially from the 1970's.  Now that is a pretty interesting idea, but the problem is outside of the amazing special effects, the story borrowing really cuts down on its own originality, of which there is none.  Seems this was an idea to make technically up to date sci-fi flick with a big star.   Luckily, this is not overly long and does not wear out it's welcome, when you sense that it easily could have.

Cruise has reinvented himself yet again as a science fiction star.   He has seemed to finally get over all of his overacting, and now just looks like everyone else in the movies.  His presence here, be it plain, is the only reason this movie exists.  Riseborough is a wonderfully, and perfectly flawed beauty that fills up the screen with Cruise and gives this a nice, fresh look.  She really is the only one doing some acting in this movie, showing great versatility from straight to sexy, and this flick is better when she is in it.  Morgan Freeman has a small, but central role that gives this some credence as well.

But as you add all of this up, it comes woefully close to being a blatant rip off of many other and better movies.  And for me, I always give high marks to stories I have not seem before, and each story line that runs through this, has been done, and done to death.    Terrific special effects and a very loud soundtrack can not save this. Or any movie.

Oblivion.  Soon to be lost to same.