Solid sci-fi where things aren't what they seem

Rating: 8/10 (1 October 2015)

As this film opens narrator/protagonist Jack Harper explains the situation to us; the film is set some time after a war during which the Earth was attacked by aliens dubbed 'Scavs'; these Scavs destroyed the moon which led to cataclysmic events on Earth and although the Scavs were defeated humanity was forced to relocate to Titan. In order to provide energy for those on Titan the Earth's oceans are used a fuel for giant fusion reactors. Jack is a technician who works, with colleague Victoria, to maintain the drones that protect the reactors from the few remaining Scavs. In order to protect the Earth's secrets they have both had their memories wiped before their five year mission.
Despite this memory wipe Jack dreams of a woman who he has apparently not met before and has an interest in pre-war items he finds. Everything changes for Jack when a pre-war spacecraft returns to Earth; the drones eliminate all but one of the survivors the woman of Jack's dreams. He soon learns that nothing was quite what he believed; friends become enemies and enemies become friends as he must decide how to save humanity and the woman he loves.
I didn't know much about this film before watching it; just the blurb on the DVD box and the fact that it starred Tom Cruise this is probably the best way to go into the film as there is an enjoyable sense of mystery as we wonder what Jack's dreams mean and start to question the 'facts' he has told us. There are hints that things aren't quite what they seem but nothing definite until the 'big revelation' half way through the film and even then not everything has been revealed. This gradual revealing of the truth kept me gripped. Tom Cruise does a fine job as Jack and he is ably supported be Andrea Riseborough as Victoria and Olga Kurylenko as the woman in his dreams. Morgan Freeman also puts in a solid performance but his part is much smaller than his second billing would lead one to expect. The special effects are great; I especially liked the aircraft Jack uses and the tower he and Victoria are based in one could almost believe they were real. While this isn't really an action film there are moments of impressive action including a fight between Jack and another technician who looks remarkably familiar. Overall I found this to be a really enjoyable film that fans of sci-fi and Tom Cruise are likely to enjoy.