Sure, just a big-budget Moon, but also a beautifully shot blockbuster.

Rating: 7/10 (15 August 2013)

I skipped Tron: Legacy, Joseph Kosinski's only other film, as it looked like sensory overload to the extreme. Fortunately, Oblivion is just the right amount. The most striking thing about the film is its beautiful cinematography for such a big blockbuster. Its assortment of muted greys and beiges never get tiring. It presents such a shockingly huge and convincing scale that it's difficult to not spend the whole film marvelling at the scope, especially for a film with such few characters. The sound design and score are built to match too. It's a slow and moody film that often takes itself a little too seriously, but that perfectly suits Tom Cruise. While underdeveloped side characters and cliché conflicts left me cold, the heart of the film is Cruise's protagonist. His dreams and drive keep the film compelling even though he puts his 'everyman' cap on regardless of the context, he makes it work. I don't think Oblivion should be singled out for its lack of originality since in contemporary sci-fi, isn't everything borrowed from the classic archetypes? Oblivion can often be confusing when its mysteries don't make sense and when they're revealed, it does feel like just a big budget Moon but otherwise its execution is perfectly fine for what it is. A pleasant surprise.
7/10