"Earth is a memory worth fighting for."
Sixty years after a fierce war with alien invaders, the remnants of humanity prepare to leave a devastated Earth for Titan, a moon of Jupiter. One of the last remaining men on Earth, Jack Harper (Tom Cruise), soon finds his whole life turned upside-down when the crash of a pre-war spacecraft challenges all he believes.
Oblivion is probably one of the best sci-fi movies I've seen in quite a while. It's not a reboot or remake, and beyond the post-apocalyptic setting and alien invasion back-story, it has considerable originality. The visuals are petty spectacular and the story-line complex. It's the kind of movie that leaves you wanting answers until the end. To have all those 'pros' in one film these days is unusual, so it's nice to see the studios get it right for a change. Why the movie didn't get higher marks at the box office is a mystery to me.
Despite being just over two hours long, the film-makers do an excellent job of keeping up the suspense; the movie doesn't at all drag, since the complex and thought-provoking plot has enough substance to fill that entire block of time. It's really one of those movies that deserves more than one viewing to catch all the subtle details. Character development is limited (with the exception of the main character), but for a good reason. Overall, the plot is a nice mix of sci-fi, action/adventure, drama, and even a little romance.
From a technology standpoint, Oblivion does a nice job of portraying futuristic tech, but without being too flashy (for example, the designers stick to using lots of large touchscreens as opposed to holographic displays). The few spaceships we see are practical-looking and well-designed (with the usual dose of futuristic elements, of course).
This movie also has plenty of subtle bits from other sci-fi franchises, but succeeds in using them without being too obvious.You'll have to catch them yourself to see what I mean.
Definitely give Oblivion a try if you haven't already. It's probably the best of the sci-fi films I've seen so far this summer. Maybe there is hope for modern sci-fi after all...
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