A medley of sci-fi themes ruin a promising plot

Rating: 7/10 (2 May 2013)

It has been sixty years since the alien invaders destroyed our moon causing Earth's devastation through fierce natural forces. Jack Harper (Tom Cruise) is left with a barren wasteland of a planet where he is tasked with the repair of drones and elimination of scavengers who had supposedly attacked Earth. While his routine, insipid life with work/bed partner Victoria (Andrea Riseborough) is partly directed by Sally from the mission control aboard space station TET, Jack finds his roots upon the Earth that once was. He frequently escapes into a verdant valley where an old cottage has his collectibles and his peace, while his fragmented memory draws images of a woman upon the Empire State building. It is not until the sudden appearance of that woman who claims to be his wife and their subsequent capture by the scavengers who turn out to be the remaining human population, that he discovers that nothing is as it seems upon the planet. This fragmented memory and the wiping out of Earth's civilization into oblivion has another reality that director Joseph Kosinski ('Tron:Legacy') presents with stunning visuals and pulsating action but neglects the development of an original twist. Rather, he concocts several sci-fi movie themes into a dreary, predictable second half. 'Oblivion' had immense potential to be that epic sci-fi movie and along with its visual appeal, it justifies a matinée show viewing at the very least.
High up in the stratosphere, Jack and Victoria live an alienated life that follows protocols dictated by Sally at the Mission control aboard the Steve Jobs designed TET space station. Victoria is motivated to join the other humans aboard TET on a voyage to Saturn's moon, Titan, to start a new life but Jack's indifference to it reflects his attachment to Earth and his hope of finding out the truth. While he was made to believe that after the Earth was attacked, humans won the war but lost the planet, he cannot seem to understand why the humans had to leave their home if they won the war.... Julia (Olga Kurylenko) survives the apocalypse in a space capsule, unconscious with life fluids, only to crash land back to Earth sixty years later. She is rescued from the blazes by Jack who recognizes her as the woman in his dreams. Just as he is informed that he was once married to her, they are captured by Malcolm Beech (Morgan Freeman), the leader of the surviving human rebellion. He tries to convince Jack about the reality of the war and his existence but it takes Jack a daring mission into the radiation zone to discover the truth. Up until this point, Oblivion has a captivating sci-fi plot that offers no obvious clues about what really happened. Thereafter, Kosinski orchestrates a medley of themes from 'The Matrix', '2001: A space odyssey', 'Planet of the Apes', 'Prometheus', 'Blade Runner' and of course, 'Independence Day' into an uninspiring second half.
Tom Cruise has backed many promising films that lacked a solid plot throughout and they have suffered their critical and monetary fates. Oblivion would have been his best sci-fi role since 'Minority Report' had there been a more coherent, novel plot to follow through. Performing most of his own stunts as always, Cruise has worked hard being Jack Harper and he does add whatever credibility the character can offer. Once again, he has noticeably stopped aging but that is merely a frivolous observation. Andrea Riseborough looks like a serious school teacher throughout; certainly not someone you want to see naked in the pool. Miss Olga Kurylenko adds more emotion than she did as a Bond girl but does little to add credibility to the character. Morgan Freeman looks quite badass in the Morpheus type goggles, dark cape and cigar in hand. His character needed more screen presence with perhaps an insightful past and action towards the future. His deeds are confined to the cave with little impact to the plot's conclusion.
Claudio Miranda's (Life of Pi) cinematography depicts spectacular landscapes, skies and action sequences while the visual effects team delivers awe-inspiring elements that make this film a must-watch on the big screen. With a more than able cast and crew, Kosinski had potential to take Oblivion to greater heights but the lack of an original follow through and some heavily inspired sci-fi themes make the second half a predictable fantasy adventure. An audacious plot could've made better heroes of Earth's survivors and Tom Cruise's sci-fi outing would not have passed into Oblivion.

7.002 on a scale of 1-10.