Oblivion Legacy....A slow burn to the not quite end of the world

Rating: Null/10 (12 April 2013)

The first real blockbuster of Summer 2013 is here, and it's written and directed by Joseph Kosinski, of "Tron Legacy" fame. That belated sequel divided audiences, and received a lot of criticism for being too "slow" and "ponderous", too dark and too dramatic. Well I can happily report that Kosinski has ignored those critics and produced a film which is in every way a soul mate to "Tron Legacy". How excited this will make you feel depends on how you felt about "TL". If you liked it you will probably like this, if you didn't then you probably won't.
The storyline is not particularly original – We have a post-apocalyptic wasteland where the 2 remaining technicians live in sterile comfort as they run the machines that run the rest. We have the "established past" of an Alien invasion repulsed that of course will be found to be a lie, we have the curiosity of the drone that leads him to rebel and make common cause with the rag tag underground who seek to retain their humanity, questions of identity and truth, sacrifice and the greater good etc. it's very much in the style of the cold cerebral sci-fi movies of the 1960s and 70s ("Logans Run" "THX1138" "Planet of the Apes" "Rollerball" and "Silent Running" spring immediately to mind, as does "The Matrix" and 2010's "Moon") complete with all white utility wear, crisp but soulless plastic luxury pads, functional machines, long slow takes, etc. It is however very well done, and is not derivative or boring (at least for those with a little attention span left) though you will probably see all the "twists" and turns coming a long way off.
The cast, as is the norm for the genre, is limited, but well filled. Tom Cruise, no stranger to modern troubling sci-fi, does well as the troubled hero Jack, and still looks young enough to pass for a man obviously meant to be in his thirties at most. The film's journey is all his, and he covers the territory like the pro he is. Morgan Freeman appears as the "wise old black guide" character, but his underground leader is really more of an extended cameo so don't expect too much of him. Ditto for his two generals, played by well-known Nikolaj Koster- Waldau and Zoe Bell, who are obviously very important in the scheme of things but have hardly any dialogue and just stand around looking interested (I suspect some of their scenes were cut) Melissa Leo makes a good "system controller" who is only seen afar on a computer screen, and is obviously not what she seems, her friendly southern tones twisted for menace very subtly. That leaves the two female leads. As Yulia, the mysterious crashed Astronaut who triggers Jack's crisis of faith, Olga Kurylenko does well, but her natural limitations still hold and she is never a burning personality, but in the scheme of the film her cold, distant character works effectively. Much better is rising British actress Andrea Risborough, who essays Jack's co-technician and lover Victoria. Unlike Olga, she is required to do more, and she does it perfectly. Her love for Jack, her strong impulse to avoid going back to the "old world", her tormented jealousy when Yulia appears on the scene, are all beautifully portrayed. The answer to her character's strange conundrum is answered in a near end scene which makes Victoria all the more worthy of pathos.
There is some action, mainly involving the little Ornithopter style vehicle that Jack flies, and the killer ball drones he normally maintains, and they too are very reminiscent of the exciting light-jet duel at the end of "Tron Legacy" (as too are the ship designs, un- coincidentally) and a few gun battles in dark underground caverns. It is not a "wham-bam" rip roaring explosion fest, nor is it the most intellectual film ever made, but it lies in a very comfortable slot in between, and hopefully will be a success and cement Kosinki's reputation. I for one am still waiting on his promised remake of one of my all-time favourite's "The Black Hole", because if there is one director around who could do it justice then it is him!