Great look and acting but plot holes galore

Rating: 7/10 (21 April 2013)

Whilst beautifully shot and acted Oblivion suffers from some gaping plot holes which may leave the viewer cold. If even some of these could have been plugged with clever lines of dialogue, and often this is all they need, then the whole film would have been a more impressive and engaging experience. To discuss these more fully we need to consider the big reveal the film offers: The fact the Tet, a vast monolith floating above Earth in order to manage the last evacuation of the planet, is actually an alien hell bent on sucking the planet dry of energy.
Having floated into our solar system approximately seventy years prior to events in the film the Tet is encountered by a human ship which is exploring the possibility of colonising Titan. It sucks the ship in and then clones the two woken crew members – sent back as armies to destroy humanity so it can absorb Earth's energy.
Immediately a few problems come to mind. Is Earth really the most energy rich planet in the solar system and why has it failed to wipe out mankind by sending down hundreds of drones, clearly seen within the Tet in the final sequences? The excuse that stealth technology has kept the survivors on Earth secure simply failing to hold water for the period they have been in hiding, especially since there is no discussion as to where they are getting their food from.
The film revolves around Jack (Cruise) coming to terms with the fact that something is broken in the world. He has no real love with Victoria (a really great performance from Riseborough) and has memories of Earth, and another woman, from well before the war. Jack and Victoria have both had their memories prior to the previous five years removed, something they fail to question to any great degree, or the film fails to explain away well – wouldn't one be concerned about this?
As he completes his last tour an ancient Earth ship makes planet fall and Jack disobeys orders to investigate. This is the remains of the ship that the Tet originally pulled Victoria and himself from – the pair ejecting the rest of the crew - and contains Jack's wife. Rescuing her from the drones, who destroy all the other cryogenic pods, Jack starts to remember what happened, assisted towards the very end of the film, by the flight recorder which reminds him what happened.
Another plot thread in the film concerns the fact that love transcends all. Jack (a clone) and his wife find some tender moments when she overcomes the fact he isn't quite the same person she originally knew. Jack realising his own state when encountering another clone of himself who is doing the same job he does in a restricted zone.
Whilst this plot is played out nicely in the main you wonder how many Jack's are left on Earth? Even though the clone who survives the film events returns to his "wife" it does beg the question of whether she can accept that a whole bunch more may be arriving from across Earth to return to a normal relationship – something the film decides to ignore, rather than address.
In the final sequences Jack and Beech (Freeman) take a vast bomb onto the Tet to blow it to kingdom come. For some reason the Tet does not see the bomb, simply not explained again, and it raises the question of how this vast intelligence has survived so long when it appears to be so stupid.
With all these criticisms I go back to the salient points raised, the film looks lovely and is well acted. The only characters I felt were underdeveloped, and could have used more explanation, were Beech and especially Sykes, and understanding the scavenegers (surviving humans) better would have improved the feel of the film.
Oblivion has a lot going for it, just don't think too deeply about what is happening.