RBR: Oblivion

If you look at the evolution of the public's perception of the space program, you see how those first few missions had audiences utterly captivating. We were seeing something we had never seen before and that we never thought we would ever see. Over time, those missions became so routine and familiar that we stopped caring. That is basically how I felt as I watched Oblivion, the recent sci-fi thriller starring Tom Cruise. Cruise plays Jack Harper, one of the few remaining people left on Earth after an attack left the planet inhabitable. He's tasked with fixing the drone machines that scour the planet to eliminate any remaining alien threats. Jack's memory of the attack and his life before it have been wiped clean, yet he keeps having flashes to what he believes is moments from his past life. Things get more complicated when a woman (Olga Kurylenko) he sees in those dreams crashes onto Earth. There's also a secret group of humans, led by Morgan Freeman (between this, Olympus Has Fallen, and Now You See Me, I'm beginning to see this guy in my sleep) who try to assist Jack in understanding the truth about what is going on. I won't give away any of the film's big twists here, but I would imagine that by the description I have already given you, you can draw comparisons to this movie and several other more famous sci-fi films. From a story perspective, this film offers you absolutely nothing new. The movie initially hooks you in because it has a tremendous look. Director Joseph Kosinski (TRON: Legacy) has a great knack at creating worlds that have an impressive visual aesthetic. It's fun watching Cruise fly around in unique looking spaceships across a barren Earth that still looks somewhat inviting even if no one can live on it. But once the thrill of the film's look is gone, you are left with an empty story that plods along to its inevitable conclusion. With a decent TV, Oblivion still has some value on home video for its visual effects, but if you're looking for a decent story, you're better off renting one of the dozen classic sci-fi films that tell these tropes much more effectively. Rating: ***