“...Are
you and Jack an effective team?”
The future looks even more bleak in the latest Tom Cruise movie, Oblivion, blogspot readers, and it’ll have you questioning the whys of your life and mission.
Based
on an unpublished graphic novel by Tron Legacy director, Joseph
Kosinki, it appears Earth has been devastated by earthquakes,
tsunamis and more after an alien invasion destroyed our moon
according to the narrative monologue by Cruise’s character, Jack
Harper Tech 49, at the beginning of the movie. In a last ditch
effort to save our planet, we unleashed a nuclear destruction which
turns it into a radioactive wasteland. Jump to 60 years later, the
war is over. We won but actually lost since the planet is no longer
inhabited by humans. This opening premise of Oblivion tries to make
you believe that everything presently is okay in paradise, blogspot
readers, yet appearances can be quite deceiving.
Tom
Cruise’s character spends his days fixing the Drones (like 166)
that roam desolate planet on guard for aliens only known as
Scavengers (or affectionately “Scavs”), exploring the desert
wasteland that was once New York City and spends his nights in a
seemingly effective team-run home with his communications partner
and “lover” Victoria (Andrea Riseborough). She on the other hand
is oblivious to Jack’s troubled mind (because of a recurring dream
of a woman at the top of the Empire State Building) yet enjoys skinny
dipping in the pool. Still there’s something about Jack compared to
his counterpart. While he stays in awe with growing signs of plant
life, Victoria’s more of a straight-to-the-point bot who doesn’t
see the beauty of the potted plant when Jack brings it home ...she
claims it could be radioactive and whatnot.
Yes,
life for Jack may seem simple and somewhat mundane but he’s really
the guy who heavily clings onto the past. If he’s not recalling the
final Super Bowl moment ever played before the war, he retreats to
his hidden cabin in the woods (that’s not within range of
Victoria’s watchful tracking system) where he has keeps his
collected memories ...mementos and remnants of the past civilization
such as vinyl albums (look for Pink Floyd’s The Wall along with
others like Duran Duran, Blue Oyster Cult), literary classics (like
Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities), and other things (look for
his Top Gun sunglasses too). Here, he can “escape” life as a
drone technician ...talk to fish while wading in the cool water and
listening to Led Zeppelin’s Ramble On (or Procol Harum’s Whiter
Shade of Pale, Jack’s favorite song). However, any kind of normalcy
within a life like Jack’s has a way being interrupted, blogspot
readers, especially when you meet two characters who can ultimately
change and/or reshape it.
First
comes Julia (Olga Kurylenko) whom Jack saves from Drone termination
after her ship (named Odyssey) crash lands on Earth due to a homing
signal allegedly planted by the “scavs” at the top of the Empire
State Building. Her presence not only disrupts the seemingly “happy”
life Jack and Victoria have built for themselves but also causes Jack
to remember and relive memories from his past ...for example that
Julia is his wife. Next comes Malcolm Beech (Morgan Freeman), leader
of the remaining human survivors living in an underground Matrix-like
colony for the last 60 years aka the “scavs”, who tells Jack the
real purpose of the Drones that he repairs. They were designed to
kill humans. Things suddenly begin to unravel as well as start
clicking for Jack. He begins to remember more about his former life
he once had while discovering the truth about the “company” he
works for and ultimately himself after being advised by Malcolm to
search for it within the radiation zone. Sorry, blogspot readers, no
spoilers here but just know this ...all is not what it truly appears
to be in Jack’s world ...he’s not really what he appears to be
thus leading him to take action and fight against the Tet, the alien
lifeforce that invaded Earth many years ago, with Malcolm and the
other human survivors in the end.
Though
Oblivion is actually an homage to the sci-fi films of the 70s (i.e.
the spaceship Odyssey for Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey),
Joseph Kosinki’s movie in way also borrows a few bits and pieces
from other sci-fi movies like Independence Day (aliens invading Earth
for our natural resources), Matrix and Terminator (machines designed
to destroy the human race), Moon (references to cloning) and the
original Planet of the Apes (the desolate landscape after some sort
of nuclear attack). And despite that, he imaginatively creates a
world where you can beautifully behold the visually stunning
wasteland along with Tom Cruise’s character as he explores it on
his Tron-like cycle. SouthSide at times was in awe at the amount of
thought he and his team of set designers put into the contrasting
destruction the alien invasion and nuclear aftermath for the New York
area in the year 2077 ...aging naval ships laying stuck in sands to
the Brooklyn bridge and underground decay of the famed New York
Public Library (where Jack finds a copy of Plays of Ancient Rome).
It’s not really a paradise you hope not to see 64 years from now,
blogspot readers.
This
reviewer enjoyed the contrasting characters between Tom Cruise’s
Jack and Andrea Riseborough’s Victoria which sometimes had her
sensing of two being cold and distant as well as loving towards each
other ...sometimes at the same time. True, they were an effective
team but not that effective if Julia’s presence could cause a rip
between Jack and Victoria. Some might see that as the characters
having no chemistry between them yet that’s not really the case,
blogspot readers. Jack and Victoria are mainly paired together as
co-workers and nothing more. It is until after Jack realizes that
Julia is his wife that you’ll see Victoria’s jealous streak
showing for her to report they (Jack and her) are not an effective
team. She also liked how Morgan Freeman’s supporting character,
Malcolm Beech, was channeling Lawrence Fishbourne’s Morpheus (of
the Matrix trilogy) speak and wisdom when first meeting Jack during
the latter half of the movie. The smaller role did have commanding
performance even though information he tells Jack might seem a bit
cryptic but as Jack unravels the truth about the Tet and himself, you
understand why Malcolm didn’t shock him with truth all at once.
Even the drones and the ominous “Sally” (think of her as Hal from
2001: A Space Odyssey) who can terrify the mind with her “are you
and Jack an effective team” to “I created you, Jack. I am your
God”. Talk about putting some sci-fi terror into a few words like
that, blogspot readers, especially since it had this reviewer
constantly wondering what would happen if Victoria said no they
weren’t an effective team. Well, she definitely found out towards
the end of the movie.
SouthSide
knows there are complaints that Oblivion doesn’t have much or that
it lacks in the action department than your typically average sci-fi
genre movie, blogspot readers. Well, in honesty, this movie wasn’t
designed to be an action sci-fi flick since the “action” part
wasn’t truly its main focal point. There’s action but it’s
strategically placed in between a well-scripted plot cleverly
building itself as a thought-provoking cinematic feature that’s
deeply rooted in an Alfred Hitchcook-inspired mystery. Some clues are
quite obvious and pop out at you while others are more subtle yet
they do gradually reveal themselves as the movie progresses towards
the conclusion which is neither happy nor sad ...just hopeful. And as
a music critic, she liked how the French electronic/shoegaze band M83
was tapped for this project to provide that futuristic feel and sound
for Oblivion just like Daft Punk did for Tron Legacy, blogspot
readers. The soundtrack features an opening sequence (titled Jack’s
Dream) that gives the audience seemingly look at happier times as
Jack monologues what happened to Earth before feeling the attention
grabbing blast of electronica upon seeing the movie title. Other
notable tracks off the Oblivion soundtrack include Tech 49 when Jack
is exploring the desolate wasteland (beautifully highlights visual
effects of a world that’s no more) and Oblivion (featuring vocalist
Susanne Sundfer) at the ending credits.
Highly
recommended.
Until next time, support your local scene,
SouthSide
