Midnight Movie Review: Oblivion

What would happen if you took pieces of some of the most beloved Sci-Fi films– 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Matrix, the little Indie gem Moon, Star Wars, Aliens and Independence Day – and blended them all together?

 You’d get what Oblivion was trying to be.

Oblivion is definitely the pieced-together Frankenstein monster of these classics. I felt like I’d already seen 90% of the film somewhere else. Yet I could forgive that and throw it under the label “homage” – because that was no doubt what 30-something-year-old director Joseph Kosinski (of Tron Legacy) intended. He loves Sci-Fi and wanted to show it here. Good for him.

I love Sci-Fi too, so that worked to both of our advantages. If you don’t like science fiction, you’ll definitely want to skip this movie.

You should also know I have no problem with Tom Cruise. I have always liked him as an actor, regardless of his beliefs or couch-jumping antics or the fact that he’s 5’2. He didn’t disappoint me here either. But if you don’t like Tom, you’ll also definitely want to skip this movie.

So we come to the real question: Did I like the movie?  

 Ehhhh….

I must say, it had some pretty big problems:

I'm sorry, minor characters. Who are you, again?

1) Wildly uneven pacing.  

2) Under-developed minor characters that truly could’ve added the needed (missing) heart to the film. Instead we had A LOT of Tom Cruise. And then a little more of him for good measure.

3) Clumsy, over-explanation of what’s going on. We don’t need a front-end narration for what you are then going to show us in the movie. Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out. Give your viewers a little credit.

So all those things were a problem. And it made the film drag at parts. (I know this because the guy further in my row would get out his phone in the dark theater to check whatever FB emergency that couldn’t wait whenever the film got a little slow.  His body is now buried in an unknown location). Yes, it definitely had problems.

But visually… [cue sigh of wonder and choir of angels singing]

You had to love Oblivion visually. There was no escaping the visual appeal. I had the opportunity to see it on IMAX, but didn’t. That was a mistake on my part, I’m sure -- it must be breathtaking. Digital prowess at its best.

So DID I LIKE THE MOVIE?  

The best I can give is: Kinddddda. 

It’s not all I had hoped, but I was definitely not as bad as it could’ve been. Faint praise indeed.