2013: A Cruise Recall

Rating: 6/10 (20 April 2013)

No sooner pass the one-hour mark, does Joseph Kosinski's "Oblivion" turns from an intriguing sci-fi premise into a "guess the other sci-fi movie winks" game. It was a bit of a letdown, having so much potential and then letting the screenplay take the easy way out, by catering to the audience. A superior screenwriter would have explored some of the interesting idea to its extent. Here we are treated to a slick, slam- bang futuristic actionier that treads on familiar territory but looks and sounds fantastic.
If you got something, go for broke. This is only Kosinski's second feature film after the equally visually spectacular "TRON: Legacy", and he goes for broke with the visual effects and design of the movie. There is an awesome sense of scale and sights of breathtaking spectacle throughout the movie, and I'm not just talking about the action sequences - most of the film's establishing shots will make some hairs stand in awe. And unlike today's CGI-laden films from MTV directors, with choppy editing and all; Kosinski wants his audience to appreciate and savor the effects, so we get them in long, wide shots with a patient duration.
If there ever was a director as visually creative and epic in his use of effects, Kosinski may be the go-to guy for such a movie, seeing that James Cameron or George Lucas may be busy with other projects. Hell, it's clear Kosinski cares about how his movie looks, and basically you get more than the price of the IMAX admission. Yes, the IMAX version is the way to go for this one. I simply cannot imagine seeing this movie again on a smaller screen. The visually stunning world Kosinski has created is worth more than the price of the IMAX edition alone.
Alas, if only the script were as daring as its visual scale. It's based on Kosinski's own graphic novel, and I've counted major influences from "Total Recall", Tarkovsky's "Solaris" and Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey", among a few others. Yes, the ending is simplified Hollywood pap, but the visual journey to there has been nothing short of amazing. Hell, at least Kosinski has the gall to put in references to Kubrick and Tarkovsky, so it's all good. And Tom Cruise as the engineer Jack Harper, reminds me of those good-looking, manly heroes from the golden years of science fiction - handsome, intelligent, and ready to act when necessary, with Olga Kurylenko supplying enough weight for her obligatory love interest role. Even Morgan Freeman shows up to prove he ain't just wise, he can kick ass too.
It appears the trailers have revealed far too much of the visuals. I simply do not understand the marketing for films today. Do they want to market the movie, or show you most of it just so you can pay 11 bucks to see the ending? I wisely avoided watching the trailer (although I heard them) and it allowed me to imagine what kind of visuals that may come up on the screen. Needless to say, I was not disappointed with what I saw.