Should I Check This Out - Oblivion

Made curious by the trailer that seemed to give almost everything away, I recently watched the Tom Cruise 2013 sci-fi action film Oblivion with said trailer now a distant memory. Tried as I might, I knew certain actors would be appearing later on as Morgan Freeman chomps on a cigar before booming the line, 'They lied to you, Jack'. Nonetheless, with Tron: Legacy director Joseph Kosinski at the helm, I was at least guaranteed a visually impressive film but could he make up for his past mistakes and tell a story that doesn't trail off halfway through?

Set in a future where Earth was attacked by aliens which were defeated by using nukes but rendering our planet almost uninhabitable, humanity finds themselves aboard a huge ship that orbits the atmosphere. Powering the ship are gigantic machines in the sea which are maintained by Jack (Tom Cruise) and partner, Victoria (Andrea Riseborough). While repairing a drone, Jack one day discovers something he did not expect.

While this was advertised as an action film, Oblivion is surprisingly character driven and Kosinski is wise to use the visual effects as means of supporting the story, instead of dominating it. Cruise pretty much plays himself with his usual idealistic charisma that we've seen many times before but he delivers a fine performance working alongside Riseborough, who is also impressive and the two share some nice chemistry. Supporting cast members, however, feel rather shortchanged but Morgan Freeman plays along well and I enjoyed his scenes with Cruise. Game of Thrones fans will notice Jaime Lannister aka Nikolaj Coster-Waldau who plays the archetypal cynic to our hero, complete with an accent that is hard to pin but, again, he works well within his limited screentime. Unfortunately, Olga Kurylenko doesn't fair so well in a role that spends a great deal delivering exposition and backstory without making it as interesting as Freeman, but then again who can?

Making up for his past mistakes, Kosinski does a solid job in his direction, however I do feel at a running-time of two hours, the films almost starts to crumble under its own simplicity that plays it safe for the most-part. The action itself may lack the wow factor from Tron: Legacy but it is still engaging to watch as the plot unfolds. But when the antagonists start to appear, they lack any sense of physical menace which almost undercuts the film.

That said, this is way better than Len Wiseman's Total Recall and a distinct improvement over Kosinski's last effort. Elevated by Cruise's solid performance, Oblivion manages to keep things moving but it isn't long before its weaknesses in the thin script start to appear over the unnecessarily long running-time. However, with enough twists and turns, and two very strong leads, Oblivion is certainly enjoyable to watch and visually fantastic.