Four stars. Rating: PG-13, for action violence, sensuality and fleeting profanity
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 4.19.13
Director/co-scripter Joseph Kosinski’s Oblivion hearkens back to 1970s sci-fi thrillers that involved lone heroes
struggling against horrific situations that weren’t quite what they seemed, at
first blush.
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| Having discovered that somebody — or something — has set up a homing beacon that is blasting a signal into space, Jack (Tom Cruise) carefully picks his way through the remnants of the Empire State Building, seeking the source of this unexpected pocket of technology. |
Kosinski and his fellow writers —
Karl Gajdusek and Michael Arndt — definitely caught that vibe. Their film
carries strong thematic echoes of Planet of the Apes (the original 1968
version) and The Omega Man, with an added dollop of the psychological tension
and heightened paranoia present in The Matrix.
Factor in some rip-snortin’
action sequences — which are freakin’ awesome on a giant IMAX screen — and the
result is 126 minutes of clever, well-paced, post-apocalyptic suspense.
Which is not to say that Oblivion is destined to become a classic. Kosinski has a tendency toward
overwrought bombast even when unnecessary: such as, for example, a love scene
that rises to a frankly silly soundtrack crescendo from composers Anthony
Gonzalez, Joseph Trapanese and M.8.3. I’m reminded of Giorgio Moroder’s
similarly gaudy scores for 1980s rock-video movies such as Flashdance, Scarface and Top Gun: a suitable musical environment for those popcorn
flicks, but not quite the right tone for an otherwise thoughtful sci-fi drama.
Kosinski comes by this
style-over-substance tendency honestly, having helmed 2010’s laughably bloated TRON: Legacy. Fortunately, he’s working with a much better premise and
narrative here, which can withstand his occasional visual and aural assaults.
The year is 2077, decades after
an invading alien armada blew up Earth’s moon as the ultimate first-strike
assault; the resulting environmental havoc destroyed civilizations around the
globe. But mankind rose to the challenge and beat back the so-called
Scavengers, although the cure may have been worse than the disease; thanks to
the widespread use of nuclear weapons, most of what remained of Earth became
uninhabitable.
Humanity’s remnants constructed a
massive orbiting space station dubbed the Tet, from which the survivors hope to
mount a massive exodus to Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. In pursuit of that grand
scheme, Earth’s remaining resources — particularly water — are being extracted
by huge, computer-driven factories, and sent to the Tet.
Two-person “monitoring teams” are
stationed near each factory, ostensibly to handle any necessary repairs.
Unfortunately, pockets of the Scavengers — Scavs — still remain on Earth, and
are doing their best to sabotage these operations. In order to help safeguard
the repair crews, globe-shaped weaponized “drones” scour the devastated
landscape, seeking and eliminating any remaining alien resistance.
Jack Harper (Tom Cruise), also
known as Tech 49, is one of the resourceful repairmen. (Think of him as a human
WALL-E.) He flies a highly maneuverable “bubbleship” to respond to situations detected
by his communications officer and lover, Victoria (Andrea Riseborough), with
whom he shares a tower “home base” protectively built thousands of feet above
the planet’s surface. Jack and Victoria maintain constant contact with their
commanding officer, Sally (Melissa Leo), who monitors their efforts from the
Tet.
OK, yes, that’s a lot of
back-story to absorb in the first five minutes. The thin strand of
technological credibility also gets stretched way beyond the usual point of
endurance, much the way we had to swallow the concept of the huge,
forest-filled domes that humanity sent into stable orbit after paving over the
entire Earth, in 1972’s Silent Running. As was the case then, we simply have
to accept these jaw-dropping details and move on.
Once past that introductory hump,
the plot’s remaining details more or less hold together.
Jack’s daily responsibilities
have grown more harrowing, because the Scavs have become more adept at damaging
the protective drones, forcing him to repair them. But that exposes him to
land-based dangers, even when granted the protective cover of another drone.
Repairs are becoming more frequent, and spare parts are growing scarce; it
would appear that the Scavs’ guerilla tactics are succeeding.
Victoria, noting the weary
despair in Jack’s eyes, counsels patience: Their Earth-bound tour of duty is
almost over, and in two weeks they can return to the Tet and join the colonists
heading for Titan.
But Jack’s exhaustion isn’t due
solely to a growing concern for personal safety; he also suffers from recurring
dreams and flashbacks to a vibrant New York City that he couldn’t possibly have
experienced.
“Is it possible to miss a place
you’ve never been?” he wonders aloud, with Cruise adding poetic bewilderment to
the question. “To mourn a time you’ve never known?”
Perhaps even stranger, his dreams
always show the same smiling, cheerful woman standing beside him, on the
observation deck of the Empire State Building.
Victoria isn’t interested; she
has her eye on the prize, and doesn’t want any protocol or psyche deviations to
screw up their impending return to the Tet.
The entire scenario is grim, to
say the least, and visual effects supervisors Eric Barba and Bjorn Mayer don’t
spare our sensibilities. Whereas the original Planet of the Apes had to be
satisfied with the final, single-image reveal of a half-buried Statue of
Liberty, this film becomes almost casual with its depiction of a ruined North
American landscape, as Jack makes his daily rounds: cratered cities, identified
by the remnants of familiar locales or iconic monuments; rusted ships listing
in the sands of dried-up oceans; and everything surrounded by computer-gridded
“radiation zones” that he must take care to avoid.
You’ll also likely notice vague
inconsistencies: things that seem out of place, occasional comments between
Jack and Victoria that don’t ring quite true. There’s a greater mystery at
hand, and Kosinski builds a mildly unsettling tension much the way we grew to
wonder about the actual reason behind astronaut Sam Rockwell’s solitary,
three-year mission in 2009’s under-appreciated Moon.
Actually, Moon would be a good
double-bill companion; just as its story elements wove together quite
ingeniously, Kosinski and his co-scripters tantalize us while carefully
building up to not just one, but several provocative surprises (one of which,
sadly, is revealed in this film’s shows-too-damn-much preview).
At which point, you’ll definitely
want to watch this film again, because things that initially seem “off” make
perfect sense in hindsight. I admire scripts that are assembled so
meticulously, and that grant plausible payoffs to subtle clues left along the
way.
Cruise is reasonably persuasive
as the story’s haunted protagonist, a spit-and-polish soldier whose hardened
training has begun to unravel. Cruise loves his tortured gazes almost as much
as he embraces any excuse to prove that he’s still got what it takes, in terms
of physical endurance, on the far side of 50. And this storyline gives him
plenty of opportunities for running, jumping and getting smacked around.
We also can’t help smiling when
Jack’s bubbleship hardware is shown to include a futuristic motorcycle, for
land-based reconnaissance; Cruise also loves his choppers.
Riseborough’s Victoria is an
intriguing presence. Her appearance is peculiarly formal for somebody
permanently stationed indoors, by herself for half of each day; we assume that
the runway model appearance is a ritual intended to stabilize her sense of
self, but even so ... the high heels seem an odd choice. And there’s a strong
sense of something going on behind her thoughtful, often worried gaze: an
intriguing, quiet complexity that Riseborough also brought to her supporting
roles in Never Let Me Go and Made in Dagenham.
Olga Kurylenko, who burst on
scene as Bond girl Camille, in 2008’s Quantum of Solace, is properly
enigmatic as the woman in Jack’s dreams. Melissa Leo, in turn, adds a subtle
but distinct undertone of menace to Commander Sally’s superficially cheery
radio exchanges. Somehow, her morale-building mantra, delivered daily to
Victoria — “Are you and Jack an effective team?” — begins to sound sinister.
Other actors are worth
discussing, but I can’t; their mere mention would involve too many spoilers.
Which leads to my strong recommendation
that you see this film quickly, if it’s on your radar, before all the plot’s
secrets are spoiled by the usual gaggle of media idiots. Kosinski & Co.
have orchestrated an opulent and genuinely exciting sci-fi thriller, which also
deserves credit for its cunning and reasonably intelligent narrative.
And yes, it’s worth shelling out
the extra $$$ to see it on an IMAX screen.
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