Film review - Oblivion - Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise in a Still from Oblivion

It's taken almost as a given that any film shot in the Science Fiction, Action or Fantasy genres should make extensive use of CGI special effects not only for effect but as a substitution for the absence of an interesting or functional plot, shallow storyline or none-existence of effective character development. With Joseph Kosinski's film Oblivion the use of CGI is not excessive and remains well within the context and sci fi environment setting of the story. The film has a tight central cast of only six characters with Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough in central roles with supporting acting roles being Melissa Leo and Nikolaj Coster-Walder. Kosinski co-wrote, produced and directed this film which was funded/distributed by Universal Pictures.and shot in various locations in Iceland and the United States.

In voiceover narrative, the story is set in the year 2077 and Tech 49 Jack Harper (Tom Cruise) is one of the last drone repair technicians stationed on Earth. The planet was nearly destroyed sixty years ago, during a war against a race of alien invaders known as Scavengers ("Scavs"). The Scavs destroyed the moon, causing massive earthquakes and tsunamis on the earth's surface, before launching their own invasion. Only through the use of nuclear weapons were the Scavs defeated, which left most of the planet irradiated and uninhabitable. The few surviving humans temporarily migrated to a large space station called the "Tet", a massive tetrahedral space station that orbits the Earth, powered using energy harvested on Earth by giant ocean-borne power stations that generate fusion power from seawater. From the "Tet "most of the survivors have  migrated to Titan, one of Saturn's moons abandoning the Earth. From Tower 49, a base standing above the remains of the northeastern United states, Jack and his work partner and lover Victoria "Vika" Olsen (Andrea Riseborough) operate as a team to maintain the autonomous heavily armed drones that defend the power stations from the remaining elements of the defeated Scav army. They receive their daily work orders via electronic communications from Sally (Melissa Leo), their mission commander, who is stationed on the Tet. 

But all is not what its seems and Jack will be confronted by a completely different reality when he actually meets the 'Scavs' and their leader (Morgan Freeman) and realises the greatest threat is the 'Tet' itself.

Oblivion performed modestly in the US box office taking on $89M in sales against a $120M cost but enjoyed much stronger ticket sales overseas bringing the film's total income to $286M. It is a visually impacting film with a specially written music score by French electronic music band M83 to complement the expansive dimensions of the film. Kosinski is best known for his other film work 'Tron: Legacy' for Disney and visual effects for the 'Halo 3' game.

Jack (Tom Cruise) watches as a repaired drone takes off - Oblivion