"It's not what the movie is about, it's how it is about"

Rating: 8/10 (14 April 2013)

After seeing many negative reviews for Oblivion I have decided to do this movie some justice by posting a less judgemental take on this contemporary work of fiction. Joseph Kosinski's second film outing is a modern homage to the great sci-fi films that have come before. He has taken themes predominant in science fiction and filtered them through his own unique lens. Does this make it a sin? Isn't everything a derivative of something that has come before, or has the keyboard toting armchair review elitism of our current age prevented us from enjoying movies with an open mind?
This film is one that pays much attention to visual detail and has struck an efficient balance of atmosphere coupled with an arresting soundtack that has been tastesfully layered throughout the movie...even till the end credits.
The casting of Andrea Riseborough as Vistoria is an inspired choice. She epitomizes the lead character's struggle with their mission. Her performance is poised, measured and immersive. Olga Kurylenko as Julia provides a suitable contrast to the lead protagonist's ideological wrestle with his assigned task. Finally, Tom Cruise gets much flack due to his larger than life public persona and his many dances with controversial issues, but that should not take away his credibility as an actor.
In terms of production value, fans of cinematography, effects and art direction will no doubt get a kick out of watching this carefully considered piece of film design. Check out the making of here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DzqdzBZRM9k
Thoroughly enjoyed this film, yes the reviews are mixed, but that's the beauty of movies, everybody gets a chance to make up their own minds. In this case, like the late and great Roger Ebert might have put it more aptly "it's not what the movie is about, it's how it is about".