Cruise Control

Rating: 10/10 (10 May 2013)

In some respects, Tom Cruise may be ten pounds of crazy in a five pound bag, but can he ever deliver on screen. I always check the spoiler box just to be on the safe side, although almost all the "spoilers" I discuss are either well known or pretty obvious. For this movie, let me echo the other reviewers who say "Don't read any spoilers!" There are a bunch of twists that I never saw coming, and one of them might be somewhat predictable but is eminently satisfying, anyway. The film deals with a two-person team (Cruise and Andrea Riseborough) assigned to operate drones that are mopping up the remnants of an alien invasion as well as guarding various machines. Things are not what they seem, which you know if you've watched any trailers, and the movie would otherwise be a live action version of "Wall-e." It's how things aren't what they seem that's interesting. The Earth has been devastated, buried by lava flows and sand. These are curiously scenery-conserving catastrophes. We see the Capitol and Washington Monument partly buried, but no hint of any other ruins. The Pentagon is cratered but there are no other ruins nearby. The desolation was filmed in Iceland and the film made effective use of Iceland's scenery. Ten out of ten? Probably not an immortal masterpiece, but I came away thinking I got my ticket's worth.