Stylish and influenced by far too many other movies.

Rating: 6/10 (17 April 2013)

The year is 2077 and Earth has been invaded by an alien force. The only way to destroy them is with nuclear weapons. Now Earth lies barren while the remains of humanity heads for Titan. A few repair men are left behind to maintain the drones that protect the floating factories mining the last of Earth's resources from the ocean. The last of the invaders known as "Scavs" are intent on destroying these structures.
Tom Cruise is Jack Harper, technician 49 along with partner Victoria (Andrea Riseborough) are responsible for maintaining the drones and ensuring that the sea water mining stations are defended against the "Scavs". Victoria remains on their tower providing back up and communications for Jack while he patrols the scarred remains of Earth.
During one of his patrols Jack discovers a signal coming from a tower, beaming into space. Shortly after a mysterious object crashes and Jack races to investigate. Jack's discovery that the object in question turns out to be a "lifeboat" carrying human passengers challenges everything he has been taught to believe.
I wasn't sure what to expect going in to Oblivion. I was fairly unimpressed with Tron Legacy, director and writer Joseph Kosinski's last movie. Style over substance was what worried me. Tron Legacy was visually stunning but ultimately soul-less.
You can see from the first frame that Kosinski hasn't lost any sense of style. Everything looks stunning. Jack and Victoria's home/ work place is a crisp minimalistic stone and glass tower, a stark contrast with the scorched Earth below. The bleak landscape of Iceland stands in for the ruins of New York, home to the remaining "Scavs". Mind you, this should be expected from Kosinski as he based this on his original graphic novel so he should know exactly what he wants on screen.
Cruise and Riseborough are great - they seem to be the perfect couple but something is bubbling underneath. I can't go in to any more details without giving away the many plot twists in the movie.
Some of the other characters don't get as much development and suffer from this, again I can't say too much without spoiling the film.
Similarly to Tron Legacy, this film does feel slightly soul-less. The strength of the actors' performances certainly helps to combat this but there is a feeling of emptiness at the end of the movie. I still enjoyed it and would be quite happy to see it again but I wouldn't rush to buy it at full price - I'll wait till it's in an offer somewhere!
The other main niggle is the film copies many other of its sci-fi predecessors. There are many scenes which merely nod at previous movies but there are some that are lifted wholesale from other films. Again, I can't tell you what they are as this would spoil the film but suffice to say that a lot of the film is not original.
Sorry if this review sounds negative but I think this film is good but could have been so much better!