Oblivion

Both "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" and "Tron Legacy" were reboots of science fiction films from the 70's and 80's. Now filmmakers from both movies collaborate to pay tribute to that era of sci-fi filmmaking, specifically that of the 70's. Director Joseph Kosinski adapts his own graphic novel with the help of Oscar winning screenwriter Michael Arndt, producer David Fincher and Tom Cruise. The result was a well-made movie that I enjoyed seeing in IMAX but unfortunately, it did not appeal to me as much as other films in the genre. Having said that, other people will really enjoy "Oblivion" because of its story.

I like the alteration to the Universal opening logo. How could you not? The best characteristic of this movie is that it kept me guessing and had a lot of surprising moments. I knew going in that Cruise's opening exposition was not the truth and that throughout the movie, Jack and the audience were going to discover the reality of the world situation. Once I found out that Jack and Victoria underwent a security wipe, I knew that they were unknowingly working for the bad guys. The movie did fool me on the high-radiation zones for a while so that is a credit to the film. Even though the filmmakers allow us to eventually doubt that there is no radiation out there, we never could have imagined the surprise that we get. Those special effects when we first meet Tech 52 by the way were very well done. I also like the twist concerning the drone in the tower that "needs" shield work. My favorite plot twist in "Oblivion" though is when Beech gets his wish to see the look on "Sally's" face. I was not in favor of the nudity in the film. We get some stunning shots as Jack and Victoria swim but they do not add to the story. I am grateful for the final resolving plot point with Tech 52 and Julia.

Disney won a tough battle for the film rights to the original graphic novel but when they realized that a PG film was not possible without completely changing the story, they relented to Universal. I believe that Kosinski and Arndt are the filmmakers that made "Oblivion" what it is. The story came first and every other quality of the film supported it. Just as with "Tron Legacy", Kosinski chose an electronic band to create the soundtrack and it was well done also. Tom Cruise is well suited for this genre and he did a great job as did Morgan Freeman. Come to think of it, when does Freeman ever give a bad performance? Another great casting choice was Oscar winner Melissa Leo. I thought that the use of IMAX was very good. I do think that 3D would have also been a good idea in the case of this kind of film. However, I respect a filmmaker who chooses to not use the latest trends such as Christopher Nolan. 3D can sometimes be a huge distraction. If this film is supposed to reference the sci-fi films of the 70's then 3D would have been a distraction from that goal.

This show has a lot of references to "2001: A Space Odyssey" as well. What I was most grateful for was that I couldn't predict the plot twists in "Oblivion". The filmmakers behind this show are talented and that is apparent. The special effects were impressive as well. I didn't find anything massively wrong with this movie but the film's story doesn't entertain me as much as other science fiction movies do.

3.5 Stars