Oblivion

***
Release Date: April 10th 2013

A veteran assigned to extract Earth's remaining resources begins to question what he knows about his mission and himself.

Director: Joseph Kosinski (Tron: Legacy)

Starring: Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

The Sci-Fi genre is gradually increasing in popularity. This year sees an admirable amount; 6 of the top 10 highest grossing films this year are from the science fiction category. Unfortunately, Oblivion falls short, taking an estimated $286m from a $120m budget.

Cruise is Jack Harper, one of the last drone repairmen left on Earth. The planet is ruined by war with an alien race. Jack and his partner Victoria (Riseborough) only have two weeks left before they are free from duty. Jack discovers a crashed spacecraft, and what he finds turns his life upside down, and opens up questions about his existence.

It's great to see a sci-fi film with a completely new idea. Oblivion feels fresh and innovative, with CGI that's beautiful to look upon. Harper and his companion live high above the clouds, in a home that's away from any danger. The only harm that comes upon them is when Harper is out on a mission. Enjoy the landscapes as they come, because the plot takes a while to kick off. It is slow coming off the ground, and only picks up pace when Julia (Kurylenko) enters.

Oblivion is worth the watch if you can make it through to this far. I like many others, feel that Hollywood relies on CGI far too much these days. More human qualities are needed, characters need development. As soon as they start to, it's too late, and the film comes to an end.

This film may be aesthetically pleasing, but other films this year (Elysium, Ender's Game, Thor: Dark World) are likely to prove more popular due to strong story lines.

Little else can be mentioned after Julia's entrance, as it would include spoilers, but the one thing that can be mentioned is the humans that Harper comes across still on Earth. Led by Morgan Freeman, they force new questions and answers about the truth on Harper and rely on him not to rat them out to Mission Control. It's great to see a legend such as Freeman, but he gets very little screen time, and not much chance to find out reasons why, and how they are still on Earth.

Overview: Amazing to look at. Falls short on its story all the way through.