The Film
A lot of people hate Tom Cruise with a passion. For some, his couch-jumping antics (which happened eight years ago, by the way) pale in comparison to his Scientology beliefs. Guess what though? The guy sure knows how to make entertaining movies.
Scoff if you want, but Cruise did pretty well with 2012's Jack Reacher. Now, his lone movie for 2013 is the sci-fi spectable Oblivion.
The film takes place in 2077, about 60 years after aliens known as The Scavengers (that's "Scavs" to you) obliterated the moon and triggered an interplanetary war. Although Earth won the battle, they lost the planet. Everyone that was left supposedly picked up and moved to Titan, one of the moons of Saturn. To survive, the colony uses power that's being harvested from what's left of the water on Earth.
Jack Harper (Cruise), better known to some as Tech 49, spends his days keeping a watch on the robotic drones that are protecting the Earth. As the assignment starts to wind down, Jack witnesses a spacecraft crashing into the Earth. From there, he rescues a woman (Olga Kurylenko) -- the same one who's been haunting his dreams on a nightly basis.
It's hard to go into too much detail without giving away the entire film. However, writer Joseph Kosinski also serves as director and producer for Oblivion, so you're pretty much getting what he intended.
Is that a good thing? Well, at two full hours, Oblivion is a bit on the long side. It's especially long when you consider there are multiple famous faces whose characters are never fully fleshed out. Instead, the film spends a lot of time introducing Jack and his surroundings. Once you are familiar with that, Oblivion really picks up and is downright entertaining.
Want a more in-depth peek at the film? Check out Joe Lozito's out-of-this-world theatrical review for Oblivion.
The Picture
They don't make bad looking Tom Cruise movies, do they? He probably doesn't allow it. Well, you may want to think about sending him a thank you note for that, because Oblivion has a stunning 2.40:1 presentation. It has a very cold, sci-fi-esque palette that's as sharp as a tack. Cruise's pours, his stubble, and his cold stare all come through beautifully. The black levels are spot-on and there's even a burst of lush colors to be found in Jack's Earth-based sanctuary. It's a gorgeous image overall.
The Sound
Oblivion doesn't just offer a pretty picture. It's got a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track to match. Dialogue is crisp and clear throughout, but the highlight is the many sound effects that get your system (and room) rumbling. When Jack is flying around in the Bubbleship, you can almost feel gusts of wind -- although that could just be a little something coming off your speakers. It's very powerful. However, that just scratches the surface of what's presented here. The drone blasts, explosions and a barage bullets; the track is filled with a slew of sound effects and great directionality. Also worth noting is the strong M83 score. In fact, it's so good, you can opt to watch the film with the isolated track in Dolby TrueHD 5.1.
The Extras
Final Thoughts
Oblivion is an interesting movie, even though it's a bit on the long side. At 124 minutes, there are definitely some parts that drag. However, the action, the eye-popping visuals and the stellar soundtrack make this one worth picking up.
Product Details
Where to Buy:
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Video | |
| Audio | |
| Movie | |
| Extras |
