Review: Oblivion

Back in 2010, Joseph Kosinski made his directorial debut with Tron: Legacy. Overall it was a movie that has so much style but with little substance, so was his latest effort an improvement over his last work? Read on below.

Synopsis:
Tom Cruise stars in Oblivion, an original and groundbreaking cinematic event from the visionary director of TRON: Legacy and producers of Rise of the Planet of the Apes. On a spectacular future Earth that has evolved beyond recognition, one man's confrontation with the past will lead him on a journey of redemption and discovery as he battles to save mankind. 2077: Jack Harper (Cruise) serves as a security repairmen stationed on an evacuated Earth. Part of a massive operation to extract vital resources after decades of war with a terrifying alien threat who still scavenges what's left of our planet, Jack's mission is almost complete. In a matter of two weeks, he will join the remaining survivors on a lunar colony far from the war-torn world he has long called home. Living in and patrolling the breathtaking skies from thousands of feet above, Jack's soaring existence is brought crashing down after he rescues a beautiful stranger from a downed spacecraft. Drawn to Jack through a connection that transcends logic, her arrival triggers a chain of events that forces him to question everything he thought he knew. With a reality that is shattered as he discovers shocking truths that connect him to Earth of the past, Jack will be pushed to a heroism he didn't know he contained within. The fate of humanity now rests solely in the hands of a man who believed our world was soon to be lost forever. (c)Universal

Story:
If you've read that pretty lengthy synopsis, you now have an idea on what the story will be. Now, as I said earlier Tron: Legacy lacks in story depth and I must say that in Oblivion, Kosinski's talent in storytelling improved a bit, he was able to tell a lot in a short time but what I hated in this movie is that the story tried to bee too complicated on what it is. It keeps digging and digging for more plot points and as the story goes on, those plot points and conflicts got solved at the last minute which made it to feel pretty rushed.

Acting:
Just look at the talent in this movie, Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Andrea Risoborough, Melissa Leo, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Olga Kurylenko. Almost everybody gave a good performance but only a few of them got a good character development. Cruise was awesome as always, Risoborough showed a good performance both being concerned and jealous, Leo was very threatening even though her presence was only seen from a small screen but the one who gave an almost bad performance here is Kurylenko, she was just wooden at some scenes and somehow felt like a baggage for the lead character. Now, moving on to the others, Freeman and Waldau was just badass but what bugs me the most is that there was little to almost no character development which can give the audience a little to no care for the character.

Action/Violence:
The action is basically the same as Tron: Legacy, the only difference here is that it is not dealt in close combat but more of a shoot 'em up. I liked how the drones shoot off their guns and disintegrates its target much like how the 'Programs' in 'Legacy' got 'Derez'. What I also liked in here is the mid-air chase from the drones and Cruise, it was done beautifully.

Visual FX:
Tron: Legacy gave us the goods in terms of an eye-candy and I must say that this one also delivers on that aspect. It was visually stunning and what a future apocalyptic landscape might really look like. The gadget that I loved in this movie is iTable, it looks so cool and very effective and efficient.

Music:
The score in this movie was epic. It kept the scene at pace and it gives them the excitement that it needs. It was just a joy to my ears.

Cinematography:
If I only have one word to describe it's cinematography, it would be "Awesome". 'Nuff said.

Direction:
Joseph Kosinski definitely improved on directorial style as he was able to achieve to tell a good story whilst delivering stunning visuals. My only issue with his directing here is that it has a slow pace at the start and somehow dragging. (and thankfully to M83's score, it kept me awake for the first thirty minutes).

Overall:
Kosinski was able to cook up a good story for 'Oblivion' but like Tron: Legacy it somehow lack in story depth even though the story in this one was told better. But for whatever the story lacks in the action and the FX delivers. I give 'Oblivion' a solid 3.5/5.