Here he checks out Oblivion, a post-apocalyptic sci-fi shoot out starring Tom Cruise and Olga Kurylenko.
Directed by Joseph Kosinski
Starring Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko
Tom Cruise seems to be landing himself some good gigs lately, especially in Oblivion, a sci-fi movie that sees him on a mission to save earth’s resources whilst reaping some cool perks of the job, including a swanky pad that hovers above the clouds and a droid-zapping company spaceship. If that isn’t enough, he’s doted on by Brit-stunner, Andrea Riseborough playing Victoria, who’s tasked with a bit of housekeeping as well as acting as Jack’s mission controller. She also has a penchant for nuddy swimming in their fancy pool in the skies - lucky Jack.
Just from that scenario alone, you can deduce that you’re in for an imaginative mind boggling 126 minutes during this superb sci-fi epic. The visual aspect is stunning and full of expansive shots of a world ravaged by war with an alien race that left only sparse remnants of its former beauty. Cruise plays Jack Harper who zips about in his space copter maintaining the droids - machines that service and protect huge ocean-sucking stations designed to sap resources from earth and send them to Titan. Why Titan? Well, that’s where the surviving humans have fled to set up a colony and secure the survival of the species.
Despite Jack’s risky day job avoiding ‘scavs’, or alien scavengers, he’s haunted by flashbacks from his memory-erased past and curious about his work on the ravaged planet. This is all exacerbated when the subject of his flashbacks - Olga Kurylenko, playing Julia - crashes to earth in a time capsule. This really throws a spanner in the works, especially when ‘her indoors’, Victoria, gets wind of it. Continuing on the Stepford-esque theme, and like a henpecked husband sneaking out to the bookies, Jack develops a habit for diverting his droid-fixing missions to visit a secret lakeside retreat in the countryside - sojourns that are sure to land him in trouble with the authorities on Titan.
Well done if you’ve kept up with all that lot, and although it all seems rather daft, director Joseph Kosinski, makes a superb job of drawing the audience into a world of polished alien fantasy, second guessing, and plot twists. With the time-shifting story, there’s a temptation to slip into the mode of watching the pictures and let any understanding wash over you - but with excellent scripting and direction, there’s just enough information and clarity to keep you hanging on.
The visual effects action is spectacular and imaginative, a must for the biggest screen you can find. It’s sure to please lovers of Star Wars, especially with the droid shootout in the canyons. The acting by Cruise is solid as ever, and the supporting cast is truly that - supporting. Cruise dominates throughout, but Olga Kurylenko shines outside of her bond role and Morgan Freeman does look dapper in his Mad Max get up.
Oblivion takes sci-fi into a slick realm of psychological intrigue and delivers enough explosive technological mayhem to please ardent fans of action movies.
Review by @jsmithwriter