Oblivion - Promising Beginning But Fizzles by SHINYGOODGUY

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

Oblivion - Promising Beginning But Fizzles

POSTED BY: SHINYGOODGUY
UPDATED: Friday, April 26, 2013 18:13
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VIEWED: 4147
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Monday, April 22, 2013 9:20 AM

Tom Cruise is usually bank when it comes to Blockbuster Movies, and by the weekend Box Office numbers it appears that is still the case.

I tried to stay away from any reviews until I saw the film first, and I still haven't read any, but my initial reaction was good 1st Act with promising sci-fi undertones, ultimately though it lacked punch at the end.

There were some thrilling heroics and action sequences, but the sci-fi portion sputtered to an anti-climatic ending. Somehow the reveal/plot twist at the end didn't manage to wow me. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't predictable, the idea was a good one, but the execution was somewhat blasé.
Everything in this film was shot beautifully, the FX was on point and the dialogue and story moved at a good pace. Most of the reveals unfolded methodically and naturally as the film progressed, but I couldn't help but feel that more could've been done with the script.

It was entertaining, Cruise displayed his usual charm and even managed to get a few intentional laughs - he's good for that. The action sequences were well done, but when it came to an emotional connection with the female lead, well there was little chemistry. In that regard Cruise failed to make us care about the pairing. This could have easily been a 4 Star movie, but I give it a 3 for the action, concept, the FX and overall pace, plus Morgan Freeman (who could read a cereal box and make it sound interesting).

Special Mention should go to Melissa Leo (effectively creepy and ominous as Sally) and Andrea Riseborough as Victoria. IMHO both she and Olga Kurylenko (Julia) should have switched roles. You'll see why when you see the film.

"Are we an effective team?"

SGG

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Monday, April 22, 2013 10:32 AM

BOOKONBOARDSYSTEMCOM

I enjoyed it. Not perfect but one of the better Sci-Fi movies I have seen in some time.
The story didn't stop to spell out everything that was happening, which I appreciate.
If you go into it thinking your going to an action movie, you will be disappointed.
It's an interesting story set in the future with some action. This sort of reminded me of Gattaca which is one of my favorite Sci-fi movies and has little to no action at all, but is an interesting story.

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Monday, April 22, 2013 11:10 AM

POUNDPUPPY29

Yeah but she is our witch cocks gun points it at him so cut her the hell down

I saw it I liked it I thought it was interesting but my friend didn't like the clone part it lost her there

My Favorite SciFi/Fantasy T.V. Shows, Movies & Franchises & My Fav Ships & My Fav Characters, My Sports Teams & My Favorite Sitcom

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Monday, April 22, 2013 12:47 PM

ECGORDON

There's no place I can be since I found Serenity.

Saw it. Didn't like it. Reviewed it - http://templetongate.net/oblivion.htm

It had the perfect title at least, because that's where I want the memory of it to go.

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Monday, April 22, 2013 2:55 PM

TWO

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

Oblivion gave off the stink of plot contrivance in the very first minute when Tom Cruise said his memory had been erased so he can work. "I'm dreaming, but it feels like a memory." In my group we all knew that would be the major plot twist at end. We're suppose to wait patiently, eating popcorn, to find out what 50 year old Cruise can't remember about the alien invasion that happened 60 years before.

Memory wipe? Of a tragedy that happened 10 years before he was born? Is that really necessary? It turns out it was not worth the two hour wait. Give me back my money, Cruise.

The Joss Whedon script for "Serenity," where Wash lives, is
Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/two

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Monday, April 22, 2013 7:06 PM

JONGSSTRAW

"Promising Beginning But Fizzles"

Good description of his career and his three marriages.

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Tuesday, April 23, 2013 6:17 AM

TWO

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

Cruise had a better recent movie -- Jack Reacher. Jack Reacher discovering why 5 people were killed was better than Jack Harper discovering why his memories of alien invasion were erased. And why is Cruise Jack in two movies in a row? Is there so few ideas in Hollywood that everything is made of recycled waste?

The Joss Whedon script for "Serenity," where Wash lives, is
Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/two

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Tuesday, April 23, 2013 7:20 AM

ECGORDON

There's no place I can be since I found Serenity.

Here are some select quotes from reviews taken from RottenTomatoes.com:

"A slow-moving behemoth of a film that has been art-directed into a coma."

"This is the sci-fi movie equivalent of a pretty damn good cover band."

"Cruise has more chemistry with drones than with his two love interests."

"A boldly rendered film with faulty nuts, bolts and wiring is still, at its core, a movie that doesn't work. Witness Oblivion."

"Which brings us to "Oblivion's" biggest drawback; its lack of originality. The movie borrows from so many sources that you can spend the entire 125 minutes playing 'Name That Movie'."

"Oblivion would have been better titled Thelma & Louise because, like the characters in that 1991 drama, it drives itself over a cliff."

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Tuesday, April 23, 2013 8:08 AM

SHINYGOODGUY

Yeah, I agree, I hated that part. It left nothing to the imagination, which is what sci-fi is about, it suggests. It's like an impressionist painting, it gives you subtle clues and gentle nudges, it doesn't slap you with a hammer. Good sci-fi leaves bread crumbs, not the bread truck. Enough already, you know what I'm saying.

A lot was given away also by the mass marketing in the trailers. We knew that somehow he was going to meet up with Morgan Freeman's character, but that's minor compared to the overall storyline.

I read a review yesterday and it said that the film was co-written, produced and directed by Joseph Kosinski and based on his unpublished graphic novel of the same name edited by Radical Comics. He of Tron Legacy fame, yes that guy. Like Tron: L, it had great visuals and FX but little in the way of story, especially the swiss cheese screenplay. The premise, like I said, was promising but poorly constructed and poorly told.

The Melissa Leo character Sally was one of the best things going for the film, now she was ominous and foreboding. Whenever Victoria would talk with her it felt much like a scene from the Twilight Zone. She was effectively creepy, pity she had little screen time. Now that's sci-fi at it's best - you show one thing but there's something behind it and I felt it was a clue of some sort. "Are we an effective team" sooo good!

And your right about the anti-climatic ending. Oh, I take back what I said about it not being predictable. I just remembered the scene at the Empire State tower - I saw that reveal coming a mile away. Actually, got that from the trailer - "who are you?" - it was obvious then. Mr. Kosinski should stick to directing the visuals and FX and leave the writing to professionals. I also wasn't surprised by the ending I saw it coming several scenes prior when he stoically declared it. I much prefer Minority Report over this.

SGG

Quote:
Originally posted by two:
Oblivion gave off the stink of plot contrivance in the very first minute when Tom Cruise said his memory had been erased so he can work. "I'm dreaming, but it feels like a memory." In my group we all knew that would be the major plot twist at end. We're suppose to wait patiently, eating popcorn, to find out what 50 year old Cruise can't remember about the alien invasion that happened 60 years before.

Memory wipe? Of a tragedy that happened 10 years before he was born? Is that really necessary? It turns out it was not worth the two hour wait. Give me back my money, Cruise.

The Joss Whedon script for "Serenity," where Wash lives, is
Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/two

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Tuesday, April 23, 2013 8:30 AM

SHINYGOODGUY

Damn, some of these quotes are downright mean. For me the problem wasn't so much the pacing, I thought it moved well, better than Tron Legacy anyway. The problem was it couldn't make up it's mind - Am I an action or thinking man's sci-fi film.

Like Prometheus before it, it looked good, but little in the way of story. In the hands of better writers, who knows. The overall premise or concept was good, but the delivery and execution was lacking. By the way, I liked the chemistry between Jack and Victoria better than with Julia, of course, that's not saying much.

One thing though, I didn't know, going in, that it was Kosinski who wrote this mess. Now I know, anything written by him, stay away. He's the M. Night Shyamalan of the sci-fi set.

SGG

Quote:
Originally posted by ecgordon:
Here are some select quotes from reviews taken from RottenTomatoes.com:

"A slow-moving behemoth of a film that has been art-directed into a coma."

"This is the sci-fi movie equivalent of a pretty damn good cover band."

"Cruise has more chemistry with drones than with his two love interests."

"A boldly rendered film with faulty nuts, bolts and wiring is still, at its core, a movie that doesn't work. Witness Oblivion."

"Which brings us to "Oblivion's" biggest drawback; its lack of originality. The movie borrows from so many sources that you can spend the entire 125 minutes playing 'Name That Movie'."

"Oblivion would have been better titled Thelma & Louise because, like the characters in that 1991 drama, it drives itself over a cliff."

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Tuesday, April 23, 2013 9:13 AM

SHINYGOODGUY

SPOLIER ALERT - SPOILER ALERT - SPOILER ALERT - SPOILER ALERT

FOR THOSE WHO PLAN ON SEEING THE MOVIE - SPOILER ALERT!!!!!

Read your review, you make some interesting points. Can we say Plot Holes?
Yeah, there were plenty of those. Like why was she in stasis while he and Victoria pilot the ship? Why does Tech 52 take over where Jack Tech 49 let off with Julia in the final scene? I thought that his memories were unique to Tech 49. It made more sense if only one clone had Jack's memories and "soul" don't you think? Where did that kid come from? Hello!

It's interesting that you mention 2001: A Space Odyssey, Kosinski used a camera trick that Kubrick implemented for 2001. Instead of going on location for certain shots, he used large screens to create a backdrop for the actors and crew to feed off of and play against. Those scenes in the tower were all shot on a giant set.

Sorry EC, I'm getting extremely tired, had a long night. I'll continue this later.

SGG

Quote:
Originally posted by ecgordon:
Saw it. Didn't like it. Reviewed it - http://templetongate.net/oblivion.htm

It had the perfect title at least, because that's where I want the memory of it to go.

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Tuesday, April 23, 2013 9:20 AM

ECGORDON

There's no place I can be since I found Serenity.

Quote:
Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
Damn, some of these quotes are downright mean.

Sometimes you just have to be blunt and tell it like it is.

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Tuesday, April 23, 2013 9:33 AM

ECGORDON

There's no place I can be since I found Serenity.

I could have included quite a few spoilers if I had wanted to, since it would have made it much easier to explain why I didn't like it.

Spoilers ahead!

The first thing that tipped me off that things were not as they seemed was the tech that was turning sea water into energy for the Titan ships. The attack had come in 2017 and it supposedly devastated the world. That's less than five years away, and we certainly don't have that kind of tech now, so how could we have developed that and build ships to go to Titan if our resources had been so depleted by the war?

I will agree with you that Melissa Leo's part was one of the few good things in the movie, but her repeated catch phrases and unwillingness to give them information was also a big red flag.

In the final scene, were they implying that Julia was pregnant when she was in stasis? Otherwise, when and where did that happen? In my review I stated that her mere presence in the film was a major flaw, since "Mission" should have been able to destroy her ship's module, at the time or shortly after it was ejected, not allow it to hang around for sixty years and give Jack a clue as to what was going on.

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Friday, April 26, 2013 5:55 PM

SHINYGOODGUY

True, sometimes it's best to rip the band-aid off quickly.

SGG

Quote:
Originally posted by ecgordon:
Quote:
Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
Damn, some of these quotes are downright mean.

Sometimes you just have to be blunt and tell it like it is.

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Friday, April 26, 2013 6:13 PM

SHINYGOODGUY

Yeah, the tech in the movie was somewhat advanced for humans, good pick up. Why didn't I think of that?

I was not happy at all with the final scenes, too hoakie and melodramatic. Would have been better, or more effective, for her to be in his mind, a memory. Never fully reveal who she was and let the audience fill in the blanks - much more fun that way.

And I too was scratching my head when the child appeared out of nowhere - apparently 2 years later - and then Jackie boy appears with the look of love. Corn with a capital C. I thought the more interesting pairing was between Jack and Victoria.

Melissa Leo's part was the most interesting in the movie, her repeated "are we an effective team" was both a "pep" talk and, a warning of sorts, of what was to come. I kept thinking, why are they so afraid of Mission?
But that was one of the better parts of the script, the sense that there was more to it than meets the eye. Like I said, it reminded me of an episode of Twilight Zone. But there was little else that inspired me about this movie.

Oh, there was one other thing - I really liked that airship.

SGG

Quote:
Originally posted by ecgordon:
I could have included quite a few spoilers if I had wanted to, since it would have made it much easier to explain why I didn't like it.

Spoilers ahead!

The first thing that tipped me off that things were not as they seemed was the tech that was turning sea water into energy for the Titan ships. The attack had come in 2017 and it supposedly devastated the world. That's less than five years away, and we certainly don't have that kind of tech now, so how could we have developed that and build ships to go to Titan if our resources had been so depleted by the war?

I will agree with you that Melissa Leo's part was one of the few good things in the movie, but her repeated catch phrases and unwillingness to give them information was also a big red flag.

In the final scene, were they implying that Julia was pregnant when she was in stasis? Otherwise, when and where did that happen? In my review I stated that her mere presence in the film was a major flaw, since "Mission" should have been able to destroy her ship's module, at the time or shortly after it was ejected, not allow it to hang around for sixty years and give Jack a clue as to what was going on.

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