'Oblivion'
is a good looking, high budget sci-fi that is nonetheless a dull
rehash of countless tropes.
I
like the pace. It took its time to set the scene and didn't rely on
continuous action. Tom Cruise obviously has a lot of name
recognition, but other than that I think he brought very little to
the movie. I don't have strong feelings either way for Cruise; he's
usually quite good at choosing roles that he works in, but he's a bit
bland in this. He's in plenty of great films, but I don't love them
for him, if you know what I mean. The characters are all pretty
boring, actually, but they're all meant to be either brain washed
clones or bunker-bound survivors, so it's understandable.
It
feels like it was doing its best to be a proper sci-fi, in a very
corporate Hollywood kind of a way. It was perfectly watchable, and I
appreciate that someone was trying, but the movie doesn't have enough
of a sense of self. It would have benefited from being someone's
vision, rather than seemingly the product of a boardroom.
It
was obvious that there was going to be some kind of a big twist. It
almost felt like a throwback at times - not in style, but in plot at
least. If you've seen a few of these sorts of films you'll see the
twist coming, and it makes the resolution as much of a bleak bummer
as any classic sci-fi. Good pacing, beautifully shot, and well
produced. It's far from original, but it's definitely watchable.
Oblivion: 47.7