theNomad’s review published on Letterboxd:
"That is one pissed off weapon" - Morpheus erm I mean Malcolm Beech (Morgan Freeman)
Being a bit of a sci-fi nerd I always get a tad worried at the prospect of big budget glossy science fiction movies. Usually after the thrill of the stylish visuals wears off they tend to be vacuous. Thankfully for a change 'Oblivion' features a central story that matches its fantastic production design and visuals.
Basic concept is Earth was pretty much wiped out years earlier, when mankind tried to defend itself against an alien race known as scavengers. The human race that survived fled to Titan, a colony on one of Saturn's moons. Cut to present and Jack (Tom Cruise) and Victoria (Andrea Riseborough) are left alone on Earth as caretakers to service shoot on sight drones that defend huge hydro electric generators (basically Earths now become a huge battery) from any remaining scavs. Only with only 2 more weeks to serve before setting off to Titan, Jack starts to have dreams of a former life and starts to question himself and his duty.
After relatively lukewarm word of mouth, I was pleasantly shocked at how much I loved it. Story was thought provoking, and for a change the romantic angle hooked me in (must have caught me in a gooey mood, I usually hate the soppy bits).
Acting was spot on, Cruise always seems to get unfair bad press (usually due to his private life more than his ability) but he cuts a great everyman lead here. I've always said Morgan Freeman would have made a great Morpheus, and with Oblivion he proves it. The two chicks Andrea Riseborough & Olga Kurylenko were both sensational (wish I had the problem of which to choose from).
Visually everything looked eye watering, from the barren wasteland with little glimpses of fallen New York monuments. Through to the immaculate living quarters and craft design. Highlight for me though was M83's truly epic, lush sounding score (I've loved the dude for years, I only hope he doesn't fully give up on his own LP's for movie work). All in all its hands down the single best science fiction movie I've seen since Moon.
[Personal Reasons For Remembering]
I loved Drone 166 I'm a huge Halo fan and it reminded me so much of antagonistic monitor 343 Guilty Spark. So many idiots are actually calling 'Oblivion' scientology propaganda, if thats the case I hope they fund more movies of this quality. Because for a rare change I'll probably remember everything.