Oblivion

Oblivion

Rated PG-13 and Released in Grand Rapids 4/19/13

Reviewed 4/20/13 at Celebration North Theatre

with Gary, Denny, Brandon & Leigh

3 out of 5 Js in QUIET Rating System

What to expect in a movie is a big part of my movie watching experience. The genre for Oblivion says action, but I feel it's better described as a drama with a love story thrown in and some action spilling out in the latter part of the movie. Progressively confusing, it doesn't hurt to pay attention early on or you may leave trying to piece it together like we were. Brandon was probably the most disappointed with this much anticipated film. We all liked it, but it didn't quite live up to the big movie Hollywood hype. The special effects and scenery were amazing. I suggest seeing it at an IMax to really appreciate it to the "max".

Tom Cruise plays Jack Harper who is the last man on Earth in the post-apocalyptic world 2077. Jack is working clean up crew with his partner, stoic conformist Victoria (Andrea Riseborough). They are dwelling in the moonless wasteland Earth, as Jack mundanely goes on missions repairing drones. Victoria stays at their Jetson-like skyline home while communicating with Sally (Melissa Leo) at the command center hovering in space above Earth. "You are a good team," Sally oddly requires Victoria to repeat over and over almost trying to convince her.

The plot begins to ramp up and you are glued to the screen waiting for some pivoting reveal which is about to happen. Kind of. Each dutifully performing their jobs, Jack and Victoria spot a vessel on their radar that crash lands on Earth. His visions that seem to be from a prior life are about to come full circle as Jack picks up a lone woman survivor named Julia played by cutie Olga Kurylenko.

The flick is a somewhat futuristic Planet of the Apes and a series of events leads them to run into a band of rogue humans commanded by Beech (Morgan Freeman). Beech steers the skeptical Jack to seek out the reality in the forbidden zone. He starts to piece together the answers after facing off with a clone-like Jack. With his reality shattered, Jack teams up with the rebels and together they take on the drones and the forces behind them save mankind. Leaving the theatre we felt it would not have really cleared up any confusion, but adding more action or fight scenes would have undoubtedly added excitement to Oblivion...and that is what is seriously needed.

QUIET Rating system: 3 Js

Quality: JJJj

Understood story:  JJj

Interest: JJJ

Entertainment:  JJJ

Time:  JJj