Oblivion (2013)
TOMATOMETER
Critics Consensus: Visually striking but thinly scripted, Oblivion benefits greatly from its strong production values and an excellent performance from Tom Cruise.
Critics Consensus: Visually striking but thinly scripted, Oblivion benefits greatly from its strong production values and an excellent performance from Tom Cruise.
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Movie Info
Tom Cruise stars in Oblivion, an original and groundbreaking cinematic event from the visionary director of TRON: Legacy and producers of Rise of the Planet of the Apes. On a spectacular future Earth that has evolved beyond recognition, one man's confrontation with the past will lead him on a journey of redemption and discovery as he battles to save mankind. 2077: Jack Harper (Cruise) serves as a security repairmen stationed on an evacuated Earth. Part of a massive operation to extract vital … More- Rating:
- PG-13 (for sci-fi action violence, brief strong language, and some sensuality/nudity)
- Genre:
- Action & Adventure , Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Directed By:
- Joseph Kosinski
- Written By:
- Joseph Kosinski , Karl Gajdusek , Michael DeBruyn
- In Theaters:
- Apr 19, 2013 Wide
- On DVD:
- Aug 6, 2013
- US Box Office:
- $89.0M
Cast
-
Tom Cruise
as Jack Harper -
Olga Kurylenko
as Julia Rusakova -
Morgan Freeman
as Beech -
Andrea Riseborough
as Victoria "Vika" Olse... -
Nikolaj Coster-Walda...
as Sykes -
Melissa Leo
as Sally
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RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Oblivion, Mud, and More
– Rotten Tomatoes
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Critic Reviews for Oblivion
All Critics (227) | Top Critics (44) | Fresh (122) | Rotten (105) | DVD (3)
Although it looks spectacular and boasts some pungent ideas, the surprise-to-running-time ratio is out of whack.
It takes more than an hour for Oblivion to become whatever it is the filmmakers think it's supposed to be.
In space, Jack hopes, someone may hear you dream. But in a movie theater, no one will see you yawn.
Feels ever more grounded and stuck ...
Was Cruise trying to beat out fellow Scientologist John Travolta for the honor of starring in the dumbest sci-fi epic ever?
If nothing else, "Oblivion" will go down in film history as the movie where Tom Cruise pilots a white, sperm-shaped craft into a giant space uterus.
Oblivion delivers a blast of midsummer heat to the middle of April. And, unlike many a potential blockbuster, it's full of ambition. Just try not to think about it too much.
"Oblivion" has the kind of magpie fecundity you'd hope to find bursting from the pages of une bande dessinée freshly re-inked into English. But as a movie, it's like a terabyte farm of all the films Kosinski has ever steeped in.
In a film whose first frame is a memory, it uses its familiarity to us to its advantage. It's like making a sandwich the way your mom used to make them, achieving sense memory of past pleasures.
A film whose beauty and emotional aspirations ultimately overpower the story problems it runs into along the way.
What makes it watchable is Kosinski's (and cinematographer Claudio Miranda's) gift for breathtaking pictorial images -- plus, of course, Cruise's undiluted star power.
Joseph Kosinski's only previous credit was the visually rich but intellectually bankrupt Tron Legacy; and while this film is a bit more satisfying, it is driven only by its gorgeous visuals.
As a piece of narrative, though, it's portentous, sluggish and fatally ungripping.
Kosinski's totality of vision may not look or feel entirely original but is striking and memorable all the same.
Are we really seeing a movie called "Oblivion" at all? Or is it merely a collection of concepts pulled from the likes of "Blade Runner," "Planet of the Apes," "Total Recall" and even the director's own "Tron: Legacy?"
Joseph Kosinski's Oblivion is far from original and instead acts as yet another genre rip-off that looks shiny and expensive, but is hollow and lifeless where it counts
Oblivion is a deliberate and beautifully crafted picture that embraces genre trappings without sacrificing the emotional heft of pure drama.
...beautifully designed but derivative science fiction that suffers more than it benefits from Tom Cruise's turbo-charged energy.
Amazing computer-generated imagery and a few nifty action beats, but suffers from a lack of human connection.
This visually beautiful film falters with a meandering plot.
Paying lip service to sci-fi tropes, this hapless futuristic romp pilfers liberally without adding any depth.
In the third act, motives and loyalties get twisted around so frequently that it becomes difficult to keep track of what anyone is fighting for in the first place.
That it can't match the classics it takes as inspiration shouldn't be used to condemn it too harshly.
Audience Reviews for Oblivion
Overall it was halfway decent. I honestly saw most of the plot twists coming, but the visuals and tech made up for it. I would recommend seeing it as a matinee or catching it in the 2nd run theaters
MoreSuper Reviewer
3 3/4's--Pretty good, and that's saying a lot for me...because I swore off Tom Cruise movies a long time ago. However, this one I stuck with. VERY confusing, but good at the same time. I most definitely needed someone with me (in this case my husband) to occasionally explain things to me. Overall, this was very entertaining. The CGI is amazing, and the plot kept me interested to the end...and it was a really nice ending, too.
MoreSuper Reviewer
I think they had a good idea here but then when they actually got down to writing down the story it all just went wrong. It just didn't flow and there was "umph" to this film.
MoreSuper Reviewer
Likable but ultimately forgettable. It's something we've seen before but with better graphics. How come so many world landmarks are all next to each other? How come the Empire State building is the only one left standing? Why didn't he keep the Dog? None of these questions matter, it's just easy viewing. I like the way they tied it all up at the end though, as average as it is, it's probably one of the best film endings of the year so far in my opinion. How cool would it be to live in a sky house!
MoreSuper Reviewer
Oblivion Quotes
- Jack Harper:
- This is bullshit. We won the war. Now we have to leave
- Sally:
- Tower 49, this is Mission Control, how ya'll doing this lovely morning?
- Victoria "Vika" Olsen:
- Another day in paradise Sally!
- Jack Harper:
- How can a man die better?
- Sally:
- You don't have to die, Jack. She doesn't have to die.
- Jack Harper:
- Everybody dies, Sally. The thing is, to die well.
- Jack Harper:
- What Horatius said was, "How can a man die better than facing fearful odds, for the ashes of his fathers and the temples of his gods."
- Jack Harper:
- Yes Sally we are an effective team.
- Jack Harper:
- I am Jack Harper. And I am home.
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