Tom Cruise and sci-fi mix really well. Check out TC’s resume and you will probably agree. I went into Oblivion pretty much on faith that Cruise picks neat sci fi movies to be in. The idea is cool, it looked neat, so why not go for it.
Around 2077 aliens come a knocking and give humanity quite the beating. Our moon in destroyed which puts the Earth’s environment into chaos; earthquakes and tsunamis ravage the land. Then they land for a more hands invasion. Humanity manages to fight back, using what seems to be every nuke we have to win. But the Earth is devastated, it’s inhospitable for man, so those that make it through alive settle on Titan, one of the moons that circle Saturn. Jack and Victoria are stationed on Earth, taking care of the drones that protect the huge machines that sit in the ocean to generate power for humanity on Titan. In time, the Earth will heal and man will be able to come home.
Jack and Victoria have been stationed on Earth for a number of years in contact with Mission control, who help monitor and protect the assets on Earth. They are a few days away from being retired from their shift. Jack (Tom Cruise) is a technician, he can fix the drones that zoom about, so he gets to leave the platform in a cool flying craft that he and Victoria live in and operate out of (Victoria never leaves). When a human craft from decades ago crashes nearby, everything Jack and Victoria know is thrown into question.
Oblivion is a well made movie. Super high production; the future tech looks cool and real, there’s been a lot of thought and care put into this dystopian world. Acting is solid, music is great, the whole package. It’s a cool story too! It’s just that it’s been done before. This is just a more expensive Moon which came out a few years ago (my review). That’s the biggest downfall for me. I’ve seen this movie before, just with less action. While it’s not the exact same movie as there are a number of significant differences, but it’s easy to predict where Oblivion is going even if you haven’t seen Moon (and you should). It follows sci-fi tropes practically paint-by- number.
It’s actually a better movie if you haven’t seen Moon. I say rent it since it really is a good movie, I was just let down since it didn’t do anything new.