OBLIVION is a visual sci-fi marvel with a sweeping score and some of the best post-apocalyptic landscapes ever seen in a sci-fi movie.  It ends up being a solid sci-fi movie that the script allows to have the story breath and develop before everything kicks into high gear.

 

Jack Harper (Tom Cruise) is a drone tech on Earth in 2077 (sixty years after the moon was destroyed by an alien invasion).  Humanity won the war, but humanity had to evacuate to the moon Titan around Saturn due to all the radiation of using nukes and the moon’s destruction causing tidal waves and earthquakes to cause havoc on the cities of Earth.  Jack and his partner Victoria are part of the mop up crew with two weeks of their tour left before they go up to the space station and catch a ride to Titan.  Jack repairs drones and wanders the landscape of Earth with the threat of the scavengers (the leftover alien threat) in the background.   He is curious and doesn’t want to leave Earth, and his life is changed when an Earth spaceship crashes and he rescues a survivor named Julia (Olga Kurylenko) that looks like the woman he sees in his dreams.   Soon jack and Julia are sent on a course to discover the truth behind the war and Earth’s fate when they meet a mysterious human named Malcolm Beech and his band of human survivors.

 

OBLIVION is a better film than Joseph Kosinski’s directorial debut, TRON LEGACY.  It improves on the visual direction he displayed in the TRON sequel.  OBLIVION is ruled by sound and visuals, but Tom Cruise gives a good performance as the weary Jack in a story that holds together enough to deliver a satisfying experience.   The landscapes of Iceland lend to the visual landscapes seen in the movie and some may even recognize some of the same landscapes from PROMETHEUS.  Go see OBLIVION in the theaters for the visual masterpiece it is and stick around for the solid storytelling that wraps up with a climax that comes off just right without being too big or overextended.  Kosinski is a director to watch and I can’t wait to see what visual landscapes he creates for his next film as a director.

 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Audio commentary with Director/Story Writer Joseph Kosinski and actor Tom Cruise

 

Four deleted scenes are included which were cut for pacing reasons even though I wish part of the Medkit scene could have been left in the final film.

 

Five making-of featurettes which feature behind-the-scenes footage from pre-production to post-production and interspersed with interviews with cast and crew:

DESTINY- how the film came to be made and how it was filmed including using Iceland as a location, filming background footage for forward projection footage played back on the tower sets, and shooting as much in-camera as possible

VOYAGE- a behind-the-scenes at the Bubble Ship

COMBAT- a look at the action and stunts of the film including the gimble used to rotate the Bubble Ship cockpit.

ILLUSION- a look at the CGI special effects which was created by two digital effects companies

HARMONY- a look at the recording of the wonderful music score by M83

 

M83 Isolated music score track which can be played with the movie.

 

BEST BUY bonus disc:

DRONE GENERATION (5:08)- a look at the Drone props used in the production

TIME AND SPACE: INSIDE THE ODYSSEY (7:08)- a behind-the-scenes look at the production design of the Odyssey and how they created zero gravity with wire rigs

BEAUTIFUL DESOLATION (10:49)- filming in Iceland and locations in Louisiana to match the look of Iceland

THE BIKE OF THE FUTURE (4:04)-a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the Bubble Bike which was given as a present to Tom Cruise on his birthday and how Tom’s skills as a rider made the motorcycle scenes flow easier

SHELTER BELOW THE SURFACE (9:48)- a look at the production design of the underground lair of the scavs and their weapons

 

Also included is the ultraviolet digital copy of the film and the movie in standard definition on DVD.

 

FINAL ANALYSIS:  OBLIVION is a visually fantastic film with a wonderful score.  The extras paint a great behind-the-scenes look at the making of OBLIVION and the Best Buy disc includes more great making-of featurettes.

 

This review is (c)4-19-2013 and 8-8-2013 David Blackwell and cannot be repeated without permission.  Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com

 

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