Among The Gorgeous Exteriors

Rating: 6/10 (10 April 2013)

Oblivion feels like a homage to the old science fiction films where it explores around its world, shows off its landscapes, soar all the ships that used to be made out of cardboard, and let the characters scrutinize until the plot finds the actual conflict. The film features plenty of amazing concepts and spectacular visuals that could be intriguing. There seems to be a theme at the first half but all the questionable twists made the plot convoluted. It's disappointing when it hits to that point. It still can be entertaining and the technical work is indeed a splendor. There's plenty of potential around but there is still something missing in the end.
The film reminiscence a lot of popular sci-fi films. It has the exteriors of Planet of the Apes and a plot that runs and remind you of Alien, Total Recall, and I Am Legend(I don't want to spoil the next film that resembles). The first act is totally gripping by introducing its high concept. When it proceeds to the actual story, there is suppose to be even more mindblowing than it was shown. It throws away some intriguing twists, but the film doesn't bother explaining enough what's the point about it. There's also an interesting pathos of Jack missing the old less-broken world at the beginning, but the story easily ignores it. Many would think it doesn't matter, but that might possibly bring some soul to the picture. It's centrally about finding the protagonist's identity. The romance is ought to be important for his journey but this relationship wasn't develop much, leading as a typical love subplot. The performances are just typical for the actors. Tom Cruise plays his usual hero roles. It's fine for the film's character though. Morgan Freeman once again serving up details of the plot. The only thing what's different is he wears a costume that looks pretty good to him.
Despite of the underwhelming storytelling, we still get to see some rich futuristic details. The film has its own style and creates a marvelous world. Other than the whimsically designed rubble of the destroyed earth, all the weapons, ships, and costumes are quite snazzy to appeal for those who seek for eye catching stuff. If there's one thing Joseph Kosinski has improved then that would be the suspense. Tron: Legacy actually had none of them, this one knows the aesthetics of a sci-fi horror thriller. Those thrills are just limited, though. He's still in his comfort zone by only caring for the pretty visuals and the techno soundtrack.
Oblivion is almost better than it was expected. It would have been as good as it looks like if only it was eager to put more explanation about the intrigue, and soul to the story. It leaves the audience thought provoked. The bright side is it's not one of those generically loud modern sci-fi films. It's one of those basic, yet classic style of science fiction. It's a great thing especially for this era of blockbusters. Everything in the film looks stunning and breathtaking. It's terribly entertaining as well if we don't mind those flaws. Again, the film offered something remarkable but fails to execute because of its pretension. We get it, the visuals and the soundtrack are the best part of the film, but I think it deserves better than those. Honestly, Oblivion can be a classic if it adds something smarter and much meaningful. For now, all the beautiful landscapes that were featured will be the only thing that would spellbind the audience throughout.