Oblivion

2013 saw director Joseph Kosinski bring us the sci-fi, post apocalyptic film Oblivion.

After an invasion of Earth that us humans barely fought off, the planet is rendered uninhabitable thanks to nuclear warfare. Humans have all moved elsewhere… except for a mop-up crew, left behind to gather what remains of the Earth’s resources. But all is not what it seems when a spacecraft falls out of the sky and soon drone repairman Jack Harper (Tom Cruise) will question everything about himself and the mission.

I was truly blown away by the attention to detail in this film. I loved the scenery, and the attempt to show remnants of Earth such as the underground library and some of the structures still partly intact. Then you have the sci-fi element with all the technology and it made a brilliant contrast that really did give this feel of post apocalyptic isolation. Many of the special effects were on the grand scale, and breathtakingly beautiful. A job well done.

The storyline itself is crazy, twisting and turning to the point where you really don’t know what’s going to happen next at all.

The acting was superb, with Cruise creating a character that you can really connect with and feel for as he learns the truth. The other characters too are also highly relatable, as they struggle to survive in this harsh new world.

Some brilliant moments to watch out for are when Jack is down the sinkhole, where he finds a buried library and, naturally, some Scavengers; the underwater kissing scene… just a bit strange; the scene where the drone spins wildly out of control, before smashing into a wall and dramatically exploding into a colourful cloud of sparks; Jack being chased by the three drones; Jack fighting…. himself?; and finally the battle in the secret base against the drones… complete and utter chaos.

And my favourite quotes from this film are:

• ‘Our job is not to remember. Remember?’ – Victoria (Andrea Riseborough)
• ‘You look like sh*t.’ – Beech (Morgan Freeman)   ‘You should see the other guy.’ – Jack
• ‘Buck up Bob. Don’t get all shaky on me.’ – Jack to his Elvis bobble-head
• ‘If we have souls, they are made of the love we share. Undimmed by time. Unbound by death.’ – Jack

Overall this was an impressive display of visual effects, with a clever, if confusing in places, storyline that really set the tone of a well thought out post-apocalyptic sci-fi adventure.

A 7.5 out of 10.