Over-rated on IMDb

Rating: Null/10 (26 April 2013)

Science fiction is one of my favourite film genres and I usually enjoy a Tom Cruise movie, so I was looking forward to "Oblivion", only to be sadly disappointed. A slow and sluggish first half finally comes alive only to present a series of plot twists that become ever more confusing and unsatisfactory.
Some of the scenery is suitably bleak for an apocalyptic story but the model work is all too evident. Cruise is fine, although his dialogue is pretty leaden. However, in a small cast, the two female support roles - the accomplished British actress Andrea Riseborough and the Ukrainian former Bond girl Olga Kurylenko - are underused and often reduced to whimpering "Jack! Jack!!"
The responsibility for this let-down is all too clear. Joseph Kosinski co-wrote, produced and directed the work which is based on his unpublished graphic novel of the same name. Like his previous directorial effort "Tron: Legacy", "Oblivion" looks good but lacks flesh and blood characters. There was probably a reason why the graphic novel is unpublished.