Film Review: Oblivion

Oblivion—the sci-fi story of Jack Harper (Tom Cruise), a drone repairman who works alongside his partner and lover Victoria (Andrea Riseborough) to protect earth’s remaining resources after an alien war—is a little tough to describe. Too much plot description, and I’m afraid I’ll ruin the many many twists and turns that drive this otherwise stagnate film forward, and too little might lead you to think this is the action-packed War of the Worlds 4 the trailers advertised. Instead, the story is more about Jack’s journey to uncover a conspiracy and discover the life and love he lost when everyone’s memories were wiped clean five years ago.

The movie is also difficult to categorize as good or bad—interesting or predictable. Half of the plot surprises had my mouth agape and half I had whispered to my friend 30 minutes before they happened on-screen. Some of the romantic plotline had tears welling and some moments felt as contrived as the meet-cute in a bad romantic comedy. To its credit, Oblivion’s setting is a post-apocalyptic world in which Tom Cruise is here to save the day, and while what feels like a hundred movies fit that logline, originality was not absent. And with a well-chosen cast that includes Morgan Freeman, the film was fine to sit through, even fun here and there.

The film was visually stunning, with computer-generated scenery varying from deserts to deserted mountain ranges. The pieces of a good movie seem present, so it’s hard to put a finger on exactly what wasn’t right here, but perhaps that’s the problem: Oblivion doesn’t quite fit a category. For a sci-fi action flick, there isn’t all that much action, and the love story is Jack’s driving force. The movie also moves slowly, opening with a very long narration and moving on to what must’ve been at least an hour of day-to-day life. Maybe it didn’t feel like enough was at risk. Civilization was already destroyed. Jack and Victoria were some of the last few people on earth. In the other conspiracy-driven movies like I, Robot, the world is about to lose everything. In Oblivion, Jack’s world already has.

The positives of this film are in its shock-value and intimacy. The plot will keep the audience guessing and the well-developed characters will keep them invested. Don’t stand in line for this one, but on a boring afternoon at a discounted matinee, you won’t necessarily want your money back.