The reputation of a film can impact your view of it before you even see it. Sometimes that can be a negative - a film you may actually have enjoyed you go into picking up all the bad traits you've heard or been told - or it can have the complete opposite effect, where you expect it to be something and it actually goes far and above the negatives you were expecting. An extreme example would be Superman Returns, which everyone told me was complete rubbish, and I watched months later and really enjoyed. Oblivion had middling reviews and few people had good things to say about it, so I wasn't expecting much, and it far exceeded my expectations to actually be one of my favourite films of 2013. Re-watching it a year later with more neutral expectations and it still holds up well.
A good sci-fi film needs to have a few main ingredients - vision, ideas and execution. A great sci-fi film needs to have characters, focus and heart - just like any other great film. Oblivion is by no means perfect, and has a number of miscues and weak points, but it most certainly has vision, ideas to burn and is stunningly executed, and in Cruise and Riseborough two characters who are strong, empathetic and real. A little more focus and it could have been a truly great slice of sci-fi.
Only Joseph Kosinski's second feature film after Tron: Legacy, and based on his own graphic novel series, it shares many of Tron's strengths and weaknesses. He's a man with grand ideas and great vision, and the quality of his visual work on both films is in no small part due to his previous professional work in graphics and architecture. The design of buildings, equipment, vehicles are sleek but also not too futuristic to appear unrealistic, and the landscape is unbelievably lush, DoP Claudio Miranda really cutting through environments that are obviously earthly but all otherworldly. The setting really embodies the old cliche of becoming another character, and together with the two leads form an interesting love triangle, The Cruiser obsessed with the scorched earth he wants to be his home again, taken with the possibilities and potential, a man who wants to go back to go forward, and Riseborough's Victoria wanting to go forward by going back, back to humanities new home amongst the stars, the safe, the known.
And this is where Oblivion really thrives, a three hander between three completely disparate characters. Cruise is relatable, sympathetic, idealistic and optimistic, and he roams the wilds seeing everything with his own eyes. He doesn't need anything to be explained to him, both literally and figuratively. Cruise has his critics but he is undeniably a great actor and what could've been a generic role for any generic actor is lifted by his ability to be a mega-watt movie star and yet appear relatable on screen. Riseborough more than matches him, though Victoria couldn't be more different - stoic, unmoving, efficient but not unfeeling, sharp but not unkind. There is a paranoid streak that runs through her actions, a fierce loyalty to her companion and the mission, yet with a severe distrust of the unknown, and she is ultimately selfish.
But enough of the compliments, for now, because the film is more than just these two, unfortunately. Olga Kuyrilenko appears in ghostly memories to The Cruiser and feels like a personification of earths past. When she finally arrives in the most obvious twist her reality has far less personality than Cruise's true love, Planet Earth. Which is a shame as she's more than proven herself a fine actress and she ultimately feels miscast and its a weak role that requires little more than reflecting on time gone by and being taken along for the ride. That being said she does have an ethereal quality, and at times is sympathetic but also a little annoying and two dimensional.
She brings with her a number of really minor players who really add nothing to the story and could've provided a little more impetus and meaning to the narrative, Morgan Freeman the only one of note who basically plays Grand Master Exposition, though his history in 30 seconds lessons ensure the rest of the film never gets bogged down in unnecessary conversations, a means to an end. The overall storyline is solid, with a number of killer twists that even if you do see coming (I didn't) at least keep the film interesting, though there are a few questions that seem to go unanswered until after you've forgotten them. The ending is expansive and eye opening, and while a resolution also leaves more questions. To say any more would be serious spoiler alert territory, but it's well worth the surprise.
Something must be said for the weapons as well. Nothing rankles more in a film or video game when the weapons are weak. The entire purpose of a gun, laser, tank, rocket, whatever is to be visceral and powerful, whether thats a single shot in a drama or an onslaught in a war, and sci-fi's can be the biggest culprits with PEW-PEW laser pistols that have no real heft, and in Oblivion the guns are futuristic but powerful, they feel real and tactile with smoke billowing from barrels after shots. It makes the action sequences - of which there aren't many - have real impact. They're also deftly handled, if a little generic.
It has an ace soundtrack by a modern and lauded electronic outfit, it's grounded in understandable science and refuses to rely on jargon. All in all Oblivion is an intelligent and interesting piece of science fiction, which relies more on big ideas, stunning visuals and interesting character plays rather than whiz-bang smash-n-grab action sequences, which may seem a little boring to some, but give it time, let it breathe and underneath there is a quality film.
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Featuring: Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Andrea Riseborough, Olga Kurylenko
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