I don’t read other folk’s review but this now comes into my domain because if its Channel 4 debut. It wasn’t convincing and I would suggest films titles that go wrong could have a detrimental effect on the star’s career. Remember Matt Dillon in Crash? Exactly. So, even though Oblivion isn’t a great film, Tom Cruise’s career was able to absolve the blip. It’s the same as me picking up a parking ticket, which doesn’t mean I’m not a good driver. Cruise has proved he’s big box office yet this sci-fi outing is not his best film by far.
It seems that Oblivion was the film Cruise had to make to fulfil his sci-fi goals, and yet it seems hasty that he put his A-lister weight on a thin and unsatisfying venture. Earth is deserted and the residents have all but decamped to Saturn. The planet’s only use is the water is possess and Cruise is the repair engineer taking on the job of keeping giant drones in the air to protect the enormous water suckers.
So in a predictable turnaround, he joins forces with the handful of humans left defencing earth defeats the superior enemy. Did I mention the love interest? There is one but the actress is hardly a pure fit for Cruise whose boyish superhero charm has him more occupied with human salvation than first dates.
There were some rare moments of silliness wrapped up in a second rate action sci-fi. The formula for box office madness is evaporated as quickly as the water and this will ever be a film where the budget and explosions take centre stage. It was a stylish endeavour in terms of production and it sat neat whilst all else treaded space age water.
It’s just OK. Slightly boring but Cruise does bring a certain margin of watchability and ultimately there was too much of what he does best onto a project that was too short of film scaffolding. The fans will still love this but after War of The Worlds, Edge of Tomorrow and Minority Code, Oblivion will fall just into that.
Les Rowley's world 