A Fantastic and Note-worthy Experience of Good SF

Rating: 8/10 (11 April 2013)

In the world of science fiction, there have been many stories that have been adapted to the point where we've just grown tired of the same old stuff, but sometimes, someone comes along and re-creates that story with great vision and excellence. Oblivion is one of these movies, offering different and unique plot points, fantastic acting, phenomenal visuals and directing that is pitch-perfect. Following an alien invasion, 60 years have passed, and Earth is now a wasteland. Jack Harper (Tom Cruise), a member of team 49, goes around repairing drones, which canvas the planet and eliminate the aliens still there. But when Jack is captured by a human resistance leader on Earth (Morgan Freeman), he is told that everything he knows is a lie, and that something is very, very wrong. He sides with these mysterious rebels, and begins to fight for not just love, but for his home.
Joseph Kosinski, the director and co-writer, as well as writer of the graphic novel the film is based on, creates a truly fantastically frightening world with Oblivion. His direction in many scenes is so smooth and crisp that you forget, this is only is second film. The acting is superb, with Tom Cruise being at the height of his game after doing the well-made thriller Jack Reacher, based off of Lee Child's novel. I can understand why people were upset with Morgan Freeman's short screen time, but at least he was in it. I still came to love his character because he was an important one; he made Jack see reality. Olga Kurylenko was great in her role as the mysterious woman who knows Jack from his past. The visual effects, once again, were stunning, with the post-apocalyptic Earth being truly remarkable and extremely detailed. But the aliens were a true treat in the film, being very unique and different. Now, while I see many people trying to find ways of lowering the rating for the film, like movie connections, I can say, the connections are incredibly vague and little. Those who claim this is too close to "The Matrix", it's not. Humans were enslaved, and used as batteries by machines. In Oblivion, we are nearly extinct, and aliens have come and gone. Jack Harper is a curious individual, while Neo was content with "his" reality. Malcolm Beech was a leader, but had limits, while Morpheus had zero. I could keep going, but that just takes away from the review. The music by M83 was just spectacular; a must-listen and own for anyone who appreciates musical soundtracks and scores.
Overall, Oblivion is a great addition to a constantly growing sci-fi universe that has had great additions in the past five years alone, and more to come. This is not a film for everyone, being a straight-up science fiction film, but for anyone who loves action, sci-fi or good filmmaking. Now, I do see a few award-worthy things about Oblivion, including Tom Cruise's acting, M83's musical score and the visual effects, but mainly this is just one to be seen and acknowledged for its greatness for expanding the genre, and adding a fresh and creative vision to the mix, but not a contender for Best Picture, sadly, falling just short of that, but still a better film of the year.
9/10 Stars***