A visually stunning treat

Rating: 9/10 (13 April 2013)

Having watched the first 20 minutes or so of the film I found myself longing for more just-visual-no-action sequences. Come to think of it, I had the same longing while watching Avatar, Moon, Prometheus, Minority Report and countless other visually rich films. Yes, there was that storm scene within those first 20 minutes, which wasn't necessary (although credible for setting the scene: same old, same old, getting to work in the morning and there's traffic jam on the expressway), but the rest was just enjoyable. Tom Cruise was excellent. Although I'm not a fan I have to admit that he is great in some films. Andrea Riseborough was simply ethereal: I found myself staring, trying to establish whether she was real or digital. And then the drones appear and start shooting and chasing and it all falls to pieces in a blur of explosions and fireworks. Don't get me wrong, I do love me some action, but the shooting and fighting in Matrix is quite enough to last for decades. So I have to respectfully disagree with reviewers who found the beginning too slow and the overall film too long. I would love to have two versions of the film: one in which there could be even more action and another where one could simply immerse oneself onto the barren wasteland of the future and have enough time to really devour all the details. In fact, I wish there were two versions of all of the above-mentioned films. You cannot see details in action and the outcome is predictable anyway, but if you have really seen the details already in the no-action version, then you will be able to recognise and notice those details during the action as well. I think the film was excellent. Yes, there were many parallels with many other films - Island, Total Recall, Impostor and Moon, to mention but a few -, but I think that at this point it is unavoidable. How many original approaches can we possibly have? Aliens - humanoid or not-so-humanoid. Ships - rocket-shaped, round, rectangular, triangular. Alternate timeline - good or not-so-good. Etc. For example, I was a bit let down when the other tech fixing the drone turned out to be another Jack. But then I asked myself, what would have been better? A Jack from a parallel universe? His son caught in a time warp? Perhaps cloning has become as archetypically disturbing to a modern human being, as darkness and spiders? When Ripley found her predeceding siblings in Alien, it was truly disturbing. As it was for Sam in Moon. As for Jack - he had no memories from before, but he considered himself to be an individual - it was excruciating. So, all in all, it was a very enjoyable and even thought-provoking film - not a complete disaster like Prometheus. I only wish the ending would have been different: Julia and her (and Jack's?) child - how'd that happen? And Julia happily accepting another Jack - who, if I'm not mistaken, had no memories of having impregnated Julia? From a practical point of view it would definitely be prudent to have a pile of Jacks in store - just in case. But from an emotional perspective this seems a rather fatal lapse from plausible story-telling. To conclude: if you are a SF fan you cannot afford to miss Oblivion. As for me - I'll definitely watch it again.