Exquisite production and great performers wasted on feeble script

Rating: 5/10 (10 November 2015)

This film looks beautiful. The ravaged Earth, full of the detritus of civilisation; the lovingly designed aircraft and drones; and the house that looks like something from the Jetsons brought to architect-inspired life. They are all stunning, and the film lingers over them, rightly proud of their magnificent, on-screen realisation. Cruise, Freeman, Riseborough and Kurylenko all turn in solid performances, but the show is stolen by Leo as Sally ("Are you an effective team?") even though she only appears as a video image, and mostly in grainy black and white. GoT's Costner-Waldau is wasted in a cardboard cut-out role.
Ultimately, however, the film disappoints time and again through its shoddy script and tiredly predictable, pasted-on action sequences. The film is at its best when nothing much is happening, little or nothing is being said and you have time to just gaze at the gorgeous eye-candy.
As with the original cinema release of "Bladerunner", the expository voice-over narration at the start is a mistake and serves only as the first example of the many disappointments to come in the ham-fisted storytelling.