Sci-fi fans beware, the plot of Tom Cruise’s newest film “Oblivion” is more ridiculous than “Episode VII” of “Star Wars.” Cruise plays Jack, who is one of the last humans remaining on Earth. Aliens called Scavs invaded Earth, and although humans won the war against the Scavs, they lost the planet in the process. Most of the people, besides Jack and his partner Julia, played by Olga Kurylenko, have left the planet to go to the space station known as Titan, where they are waiting to start a new colony on one of Jupiter’s moons.
Julia and Jack are what he calls the “mop-up crew.” He repairs drones that kill the remaining Scavs left that are attempting to destroy giant mechanisms that are sucking all of the water out of the planet. Julia is his eye in the sky that warns and directs him. The two had their memories wiped due to mandatory protocol so that they know about the war, but nothing about their previous lives. Julia is complacent, but Jack is constantly wondering about the person he was before.
The couple is waiting to be taken to Titan to join the remaining survivors who are waiting to be transported to Jupiter, while repairing the last of the drones. Their daily routine is interrupted when Jack sees a ship fall out of the sky and he saves a survivor, and all of the questions Jack has had are answered.
Needless to say, while the film is complicated and original, it is one of the most far-out films I have ever seen. The film’s plot twists were incredibly cheesy and made Oblivion seem like a bad joke.
One of the only redeeming qualities the film possesses is its truly stunning imagery. The scenery was incredibly imaginative, and seeing national landmarks and buildings in shambles really helped emphasize the main story the film told more then any of the characters did.
While both Cruise and Kurylenko preformed admirably, their character’s lack of characterization really hurt the overall film. Writers spent far too long having Jack and Julia lounge around the house that it made the ending of the film seem incredibly rushed.
The film’s biggest disappointment, besides a subpar plot, was Morgan Freeman. His performance as human rebel leader Beech was excellent as always. His character was one of the most interesting in the entire film, and yet he received far too little screen time.
Overall, “Oblivion” falls into the sci-fi trap of having stunning scenery and visual effects with a poor plot and under-developed characters.