A Science Fiction Remix That Borrows From The Best

Rating: 7/10 (13 August 2013)

I don't like Tom Cruise. Therefore I didn't think I'd enjoy this film. Annoyingly, despite all the plot holes (that can be filled with a little imagination and some suspended disbelief in my opinion), an overly cheesy intro and borrowed aspects of at least a dozen other sci-fi movies, I really, really liked it.
Some reviewers on IMDb seem to think that taking the best ideas from other science fictions is a bad thing, but I found these 'tributes' quite fun to look out for. Think of Oblivion as a Sci-fi remix. The alien TET with it's soft-spoken voice and ominous red light was very obviously reminiscent of HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey, or even Glados from the Portal video games. The drone design strongly reminded me of Portal's Wheatley also (along with their transformation from good guys to bad guys).
Inspiration certainly came from Matrix in the form of human 'pods' and a Zion-like colony of rebel humans trying to survive underground trying to use the machines against themselves. There was a scene not unlike Independence Day when Tom Cruise cruises into the giant space inside the 'mothership' above Earth through massive doors under the pretense that he won't be setting off a bomb from the inside. And let's not forget the clone twist already perfected by Star Wars and Moon. Have fun trying to find the many, many other slices of plot and design extracted from all the best sci-fi movies ever made.
With a musical score that makes you think 'I'm going to buy this album when this movie is finished' and CG effects that remain utterly convincing throughout, I think it's certainly worth a watch even to just discuss any plot holes or stolen ideas. Because I certainly enjoyed it regardless.