This
review will keep spoilers to a minimum, though there isn’t much point in
keeping silent.
External
information:
Rotten
Tomatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/oblivion_2013/
Genres:
Science fiction, Post-disaster, Romance.
Concept:
Characters:
Jack:
The main protagonist, a drone repairman. He is inquisitive and enjoys flying
around earth. His need to know answers basically drives the entire movie.
Generally, he can be considered a good guy.
Victoria:
She is Jack’s support/ lover. Her job is to monitor him while he is out one the
job. In the pair she serves as the voice of reason; quoting regulations and
trying to keep the status quo. I thought she was slightly sinister, but it
turned out to be nothing.
Julia:
The mysterious women Jack remembers on the roof of the Empire State building,
despite his memory wipe prior to his employment. Her arrival throws Jack’s
world into confusion and towards the truth.
Beech:
Leader of the Scavs. Established antagonist at the beginning of the film.
Like
the conception section, the characters in this movie don’t do anything special.
I am not saying that they detract from it. I like Jack, and Victoria had some
good moments. While the romantic angle was a rushed I didn’t dislike all that
much. Julia’s appearance brought an interesting love triangle. Morgan Freedman
is always a good addition to any cast. Beech made a nice turn around.
Story/Plot:
We
know Jack’s starting conditions. The drones guard huge hydro machines that are
converting the earth’s oceans into energy for the new human settlement on
Titan, one of the moons of Saturn. The year is 2075. In 2017 there was a huge
war between the humans and an invading alien force known as the scavengers.
Humanity won the war, but the surface of the earth was destroyed in the
process. Humans built the Tet, a giant space station, to oversee the final
migration to Titan. Victory and Jack are the last humans remaining on earth.
Jack has strange memories of a woman he recognizes, but doesn’t remember. Her
appearance before Jack, combined with his truth-seeking nature, help him
discover the truth of this world.
This
story has been told before. People who watch a lot of these movies can see
where it’s going without too much hassle. Again, it doesn’t detract from the
film, but it doesn’t add anything either. The makers of this movie knew what it
was: a futuristic action movie. They didn’t try to do anything more, which is
shame; however, there is no wasted opportunity either. Unlike In Time,
which did have a compelling concept and went nowhere with it. The strength of
this movie doesn’t lie here, in the characters or in its concept.
Special Effects/ Cinematography:
Oblivion’s
strength lies here. This movie did not impress me until it was done. Everything
in this movie is aesthetically pleasing. Jack and Victoria’s residence looks
awesome. White, clean, sleek and resting on a pole thousands of feet up in the
sky. Jack’s airship and weapons are pleasing to look at. The action sequences
are really impressive. There is a scene where drones are chasing Jack and Julia
through a very narrow ravine. Our hero pulls some crazy maneuvering and takes
the entire force of pursing drones out. Some cool weapons are shown from the
air ship.
The
landscape where they shot the movie impressed me the most. CG was present, but
it was totally unobtrusive. It was clear that some sets were built and
designed. The color dichotomy between Jack and scavst help it along even more.
This isn’t some Avatar CG bull-crap. People had to go scout those locations and
decide which shot was the best. If nothing else go see this movie once, just
for landscape. You don’t even have to go to movie theater to see it. I suggest
seeing Oblivion at least once.
Score
5/10
I
am scoring this movie much higher than I usually would. Nice looks don’t impress
me very much, but it was clear a lot of time when into landscape location. They
could have just used a bunch of CG, but they didn’t. In fact, it looked like
they avoided it.
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