Reviewed by Victor Rebikoff.
Director: Joseph Kosinski, Universal Pictures, M 126 Minutes.
After making his directorial debut with his huge hit ‘Tron: Legacy’, Joseph Kosinski’s second feature is a visually stunning sci-fi fantasy beginning with a narration from the ‘Mission Impossible’ star Tom Cruise as Commander Jack Harper on a space station.
Harper explains that the post-apocalyptic state of the Earth follows an alien invasion some 60 years earlier, stating that the humans may have won the war but lost the planet.
It is now left to Jack as well as his red-haired assistant and lover Victoria (Andrea Riseborough – ‘The Death of Stalin’) living in a floating facility high above the clouds to act as Earth’s guardians.
This allows Jack to routinely go out to repair and service the deadly drones (looking like giant flying golf balls fitted with lethal lasers) designed to protect Earth’s remaining resources for the surviving inhabitants living on Titan, one of Saturn’s moons.
During one of his risky repair jobs, Jack takes time to think of a mysterious woman he met in a street before the war began whose name he is unable to recall, having had his memory erased.
But his life changes dramatically with the sudden crash-landing of a spacecraft containing a woman called Julia (Olga Kurylenko – ‘Quantum of Solace’), whom Jack has seen in his past dreams.
When Jack and Julia are later captured by a group of resistance fighters, he gets to meet their leader Malcolm Beech (Morgan Freeman – ‘Invictus’) and is told of the deception perpetrated by Sally (Melissa Leo – ‘Prisoners’) his superior on Titan.
Jack then takes matters into his own hands, joining forces with Malcolm and his supporters in unravelling the real truth, as well as finding out about his relationship with Julia.
Apart from a couple of perplexing scenes in the concluding stages, Kosinski has crafted a cinematic spectacular that is reminiscent of the sci-fi cult classic, ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’.
Besides the enjoyment and entertainment value gained, ‘Oblivion’ is a visually breathtaking viewing experience with Cruise carrying-out most of the action scenes and once again providing the most enjoyable performance, complemented by Freeman and Riseborough in their supporting roles.
Vic’s Verdict: 4 Stars
Oblivion is to be televised on 9 GO at 7.30PM on Saturday, 28 August.
