Oblivion (2013)

Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Country: USA

Review: Joseph Kosinski makes his second experience on sci-fi with “Oblivion”, after his 2010 debut “Tron: Legacy”. Tom Cruise has a fair performance as Jack, a guardian of the remaining resources of a desolated Earth threatened by Scavs, an army of alien creatures. His principal mission is to fix damaged drones, intelligent machines created to protect what remains of the Earth. Under the strict orders of chief Sally, Jack has been assigned to work with Victoria as an effective team member, after they went through a mandatory memory wipe. The problem is that he still has some vague memories of the past, especially of Julia, a woman he will find preserved inside a survival capsule after her spacecraft has been destroyed 60 years before. Visibly, Kosinski was more concerned with the spectacle of the action rather than intrigue us with any sort of mystery. As you can guess from the title, this film tries to create tension with some aspects of the mind, but don’t expect anything as Inception or Matrix since we are before something much more obvious and quite less appealing. Some beautiful images aren’t sufficient to get us distracted from its basic story, familiar approach, and expected conclusion. “Oblivion” is strictly visual, presenting a love triangle that is hardly interesting, and lacking real thrilling moments. Definitely, it won't be part of my sci-fi references list.