Oblivion

If there is a soul, it is made from the love we share.

There are many ways to describe Oblivion, but the softly spoken afterword by Tom Cruise's character really makes you feel the human heartbeat of this sci-fi epic.

As always, the trailer is full of explosions and set pieces. Oblivion the movie is an entirely different beast that values a human story and characters that are driven by common purpose. While the cast is tiny, I found much to enjoy from Cruise, Riseborough, Freeman and that Nordic guy from Headhunters who is showing up more frequently in Hollywood blockbusters. Aside from unusually limited screen-time, Morgan and other supporting cast are effective and memorable.

The threads of the plot are well-woven and I won't give anything away, so what I will tell you is to prepare for a powerful journey into the unknown where nothing is what it seems. Explosive set pieces take a backseat for sci-fi philosophy with twists to spare.

Oblivion ticks all the boxes for correct use of literary devices and establishes enough original cannon to stick in your mind long after the credits start rolling. It is a distinct success among the largely abysmal offerings of 2013 so far, don't miss it.

I never gave this a chance when it was released. It received mediocre reviews and it just kinda fell off my radar.

I have to agree with others and say it's definitely underrated. Great plot (minus a few plot holes), amazing acting, cgi looks awesome (it's just as good as modern movies or better even though this is a decade old).

I've noticed a lot lately that if I go back to the mid 2010's or earlier I find a lot of good movies. It just shows you how far Hollywood has fallen off. Weirdly CGI seems to peak around that time and then studios just got lazy or something and cheaper out with bad graphics and bad writing.

I have now watched this movie 3 times, and each time have liked it more than I did the first time, and even then I still enjoyed it a lot. I look at the litany of trash on the screen that DOES make a profit and am dismayed that this one was so unsuccessful. First, it's a GORGEOUS movie, and it definitely has a beating heart. I found the acting quite good, the story involving, and was quite moved more than once. And the technical staff was amazing! I suspect that it will do well on home video and cable and that one day we'll look back on it and wonder why in the world it did so poorly in its initial run. I applaud director Kosinsky and his fine team of actors and the legion of other professionals involved in bringing this to the screen. I REALLY enjoyed this movie!

31Jan14: Months later and I've watched it at least once more from my Blu-ray plus find it almost impossible to NOT watch it when I stumble across it on HBO, and I continue to find it absorbing and I STILL can't watch the end of it without crying! I find it embarrassing to write this, but I think I love this movie.

The trivia tells us that this is based on a comic book that director joseph kosinski wrote in 2005 but was never published. The story takes place in 2077, just after the "memory wipe" that jack (cruise) describes for us. And the invasion by space travelers, which destroyed most of the cities and made living on the surface mostly impossible. Some great special effets. The control panels, the copter, even the wrecked surface of the planet. Jack is tasked with protecting the structures that support the floating living quarters for the remaining population. I LOVE the mini moto that jack rides around on... kind of like a george jetson briefcase that folds and unfolds. Google it. Some beautiful scenery of iceland, and various film locs in the united states. When another human from the past crash lands, we're not sure what her mission is, or who's side she is on. Some really good suspense, while we wait for answers. Especially when morgan freeman is involved. Really good sci-fi stuff!

An engrossing film, with a well-developed post-apocalyptic premise, along with an unpredictable plot, visually stunning cinematography, paired with thrilling action sequences and great performances, although the plot got a bit convoluted at times and there were some plot holes.