Directed By: Joseph Kosinski

Produced By: Joseph Kosinski, Peter Chernin, Ryan Kavanaugh, Dylan Clark & Barry Levine

Screenplay By: Joseph Kosinski, William Monahan, Karl Gajdusek & Michael Arndt

Based on: Oblivion by Joseph Kosinski & Arvid Nelson

Starring : Tom Cruise, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, Morgan Freeman, Melissa Leo & Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

A solitary drone technician working on a war-ravaged planet Earth becomes humanity’s last hope for survival.  In the distant future, Earth has been decimated by an intergalactic battle against an alien race known as the Scavs. The majority of humankind has been evacuated, leaving just a few solitary drone repairmen remaining on the planet’s surface. Their job is simple – stand guard over the ruins of a once-great empire by patrolling the skies, and ensuring the drones continue to function. Jack Harper (Tom Cruise) is nearing the end of his mission to extract resources essential to the survival of the human race when he witnesses a spacecraft fall from the sky. Upon investigating, Jack discovers the capsule contains a mysterious woman. With mission control watching his every move from high up above the clouds, Jack embarks on a spectacular adventure that will not only challenge everything he’s been taught about mankind’s most defining battle, but perhaps alter the entire course of human history as well.

Ultimately this movie was incredibly well done.  Initially the movie had a slow start, opening up to cinematic scenes of the past where Jack Harper’s (Tom Cruise) narrative makes the movie progress at a slow pace but ultimately built to the larger plot within the story.  Character development progressed very well and the pair, Jack and Victoria (Andrea Riseborough) have great chemistry with one another.  The special effects of the movie were amazing.  There was not a lot of dialogue within the movie as a whole flowed and built up character development, but there was more action that held the movie.  Tom Cruise was amazing in that aspect because he really pushed himself with this movie, he got into the character and his acting was so substantial and could have held this movie all on its own.  Thankfully, it did not need to come to that because of the plot and then the epic plot twist in the movie threw a huge curveball.  It was plot twist after plot twist but they were cohesive and built off one another, which is how multiple plot twist should work in a movie.  It was a very cohesive movie.  First hour is admittedly slow but it really starts to pick up the pace the moment Julia (Olga Kurylenko) entered the picture.

That moment in the film was the highpoint because that was where the viewer has the greatest opportunity to see a completely new change and strength rise up in his character.  There was a lot of passion in the acting despite the stagnant dialogue that held little substance in the movie.  At the end of the night, Oblivion visual work of art highlighted the plot perfectly.  The design of the movie was amazing, and the way the actors acted out the stagnant dialogue, made it great.  Cliché plot line that was re-represented in a well thought out way even though the villain was nothing special.  ★★★ (B+)