Technologically impressive but lacking in punch and emotion

Rating: Null/10 (21 October 2013)

I suppose credit is due to a big blockbuster sci-fi that it tries to have interesting ideas and not just effects – the best sci-fi's generally being those with the most interesting and engaging concepts rather than the biggest CGI budget. Oblivion has this in some regards because the setup is engaging (if familiar) and some later developments in the plot add complexity to the mix – but again perhaps not that much. There is potential here but it doesn't really come out or make an impact as it should.
The film boasts twists and turns but in the end you've probably seen them all before and they will not surprise too many people with where it goes. What surprised me was how little I actually cared – I was carried along by the familiar noise but I was never really emotionally into it and I felt I really should have been given the plotting. Instead what I was left with was a decent story that is very expensively and impressively delivered. The film looks great throughout, whether it is the base station floating in space or the shots back on earth of a desolate wasteland. The blend between the effect and the real is pretty much seamless and it makes the film more engaging as a result as it is easy to suspend disbelief and join. It is a shame then that so little really gets meat on the bone, whether it is plot or characters.
The performances sort of match this because everyone looks great but in terms of what they have to do it isn't so much there for them. I'm no great fan of Cruise but he does have that certain something that holds the attention. He is almost too clean cut and "movie star" though, because he is never not Tom Cruise here and he cannot bring out much emotion in himself or from the viewer. Riseborough and Kurylenko both do solid work but generally what I remembered of them was how stunning they were – not how moved I was by their characters. Freeman and Coaster- Waldau and also good in terms of presence but less effective in terms of what they deliver, while Leo has little to do.
Oblivion is technologically impressive no doubt , it looks good form start to finish no matter where it is. It doesn't have as much of a heart or brain as it thinks it does though and ultimately the story feels very familiar, which is even more of a problem when some of those films you'll think of are more moving and satisfying than this one.