A fairly forgettable end of the world scenario

Rating: 6/10 (11 April 2016)

A 2013 film by Neil Blomkamp featuring a future, post apocalyptic Earth and a defeated humanity.
Planet Earth was attacked by Aliens and a war ensued. In order to win the war, humans had to lose the planet. They waged was with the aliens, launching nuclear warheads thus leaving Earth ravaged with radiation. The Plan B for humanity is the moon of Titan, humans have been shepherded off to survive there. Those who aren't already there are on a massive space ship just outside of Earth's atmosphere waiting to be taken. There is hardly any trace of human beings left on the planet. Two people that are still there are Jack and Victoria (Tom Cruise and Andrea Riseborough). They are maintaining drones and robotic equipment meant to take the last of the resources on Earth in order to allow humanity on Titan to prosper. They do their jobs and don't ask questions - they are an effective team. By night Jack is haunted by visions in his dreams but by day he risks life and limb maintaining equipment and dealing with scavengers, the left over aliens who have no hope of leaving Earth again. One day a human spaceship, the Odyssey, crash lands on earth, beckoned by a signal that the scavengers have set up in an old communications tower. This event changes everything and Jack soon starts thinking that not everything is as it seems and how he's been told.
This was an enjoyable film albeit not that complex and surprising, I was able to guess the outcome and ending before it unfolded on screen. The cast are authentic but not that deep or complex, the most complex part of the make up was Jack's random dreams which sell the way the film is going. I haven't seen Andrea Riseborough in anything else and she was authentic and refreshing, the same applies for Olga Kurylenko (Julia). Morgan Freeman (Beech) plays the same character he usually does, intelligent but smart-mouthed. It's nice to see Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau (Sykes) not covered in dirt and blood (a-la Game of Thrones) but he comes across as bland and forgettable which was a pity.
The film is all very straightforward and there is no disruption to the narrative or anybody who wants to question the situation. Even when uncovering the truth it's all very straight forward, nobody argues and they just accept what is being said. The big twist in the film is obvious and shouldn't surprise anyone. The saving grace for this film is backdrop and scenery, it shows Earth beauty despite some radiation ravaged landscapes. It reminded me a little of the kind of environment you'd expect to find in the game "Fallout 3", the only things missing where the mutants and rad-scorpions. Despite being a big budget Hollywood film this felt almost second class and it isn't a film I'll remember in a few weeks time. The CGI was finely executed and the set was top notch and imaginative but with very little in the way of plot and story the film was never going to leave an everlasting mark on film history. This is one of the more light hearted post apocalypse films I have seen in recent years. A lot of style over substance I'm going to give this 6 out of 10 - not the worst film but definitely not living up to the potential it had.