Joseph Kosinski’s follow-up to his successful debut film TRON: Legacy may be more substance over substance than style (just barely), but it’s still an overly-ambitious mess that’s only interesting for the first 40 minutes before everything falls apart.
Set in 2077, a voiceover from Tom Cruise during its prologue tells us that the earth is ruins following a devastating war and the world’s remaining natural resources are being farmed to equip remaining humans with the means of survival up in the stars in an alternate universe. Cruise plays Jack Harper, a maintenance man of sorts tasked with repairing monitoring drones and protecting them from earthbound marauders who apparently started the war back on earth and destroyed it. He and colleague Victoria (Andrea Riseborough), who monitors his every move during his dangerous missions, are close to completing their time here before they get sent back into space. But Jack is reluctant to leave as he still feels a strange affinity towards Earth—he has flashbacks of a mysterious girl (Olga Kurylenko) every now and then, and even builds himself a nice little cottage in a distant land filled with artworks, books and records which he salvaged from his various operations.
Oblivion boasts a compelling premise but tries too darn hard to be clever, throwing in numerous plot twists (and holes) and red-herrings, including one involving a ragtag bunch of insurgents (led by Morgan Freeman) who offer Jack the devastating “truth” behind the planet’s condition. There are at least five plot twists in this one (none of which are particularly memorable), so hang on for the bumpy ride.
While the set design is impressive and the performances generally commendable—especially Brit newcomer Andrea Riseborough, who adds heat and dimension into an otherwise underwritten role, while Cruise still manages to cut a dashing figure as a leading action man—all that grandiose spectacle which has been carefully and painstakingly crafted simply isn’t enough to sustain the film’s unnecessarily drawn-out second half. It’s a great-looking film, it’s the script that needs further maintenance.
