Time. What a wonder of reality. Because no matter what lay before or behind its path, it holds the power to bolster, erode, redeem, or punish as it sees fit. People. Places. History. Culture. Ideas. Stories. It doesn’t matter. All manner of existence must humble itself before its will, praying desperately to either forever hold its favor or at the very least, to one day find it. And amongst the myriad of entities that writhe within its ceaseless tide, it’s our precious narratives, in all their varied forms, that come into question more than anything else. So for one such tale of an abysmal future ravaged by ill favor, shall we now find it redeemed by time and finally worthy of praise? Or shall time still find it wanting and leave it where it lie, so it may fade into oblivion? Let’s get into it.
Oblivion (2013) is a post-apocalyptic action-adventure film that was adapted by Karl Gajduskusek and Michael deBruyn from director Joseph Konsinki’s unpublished graphic novel of the same name. In this thrilling homage to 1970’s sci-fi, we find maintenance tech, Jack Harper (Tom Cruise) as one of the last two people living on an Earth desolated by an alien war in the year 2077. Hot on the verge of completing his mission, he stumbles upon a mysterious woman who survived a terrible spaceship crash. But when he does, he suddenly finds his reality turned upside down as he begins to question his purpose and discover the truth about the war.
A high sci-fi spectacular starring Tom Cruise?! SIGN-ME-UP! Those were my first thoughts when seeing the trailer for Oblivion oh-so long ago in my youthful college days. Sadly, for whatever reason, I was never able to see the film until I was 34. But it turns out viewing this movie in 2024, rather than 2013 was actually a blessing in disguise. Because given the current domination of catch-all Superhero flicks, seeing Oblivion in the modern day felt like a breath of fresh air. Right from the jump, I fell in love with the unique dystopian atmosphere, the lore, the characters, and the mystery of this world. Add to it that all four aspects persist throughout the film as they’re further bolstered by well placed, heart pounding action and tantalizing drips of intrigue every step of the way. Moreover, I cannot express how wonderful it feels to experience a stand alone film that takes its time setting up and moving through a well designed narrative, structurally speaking. I’d almost forgotten what that felt like given that so many modern films are often overstuffed and heavily burdened with fan service and universe connecting plot points from companion films. Suffice it to say, I adored the look and feel of Oblivion from start to finish as it exemplifies a high level of craft in cinematography, pacing, and tonal awareness. But even with all the triumphs I wish to highlight and all the favor I wish to bestow upon it, I cannot skirt the fact that it’s a far from perfect feature; one in fact that shortchanges many key and would-be key players in the latter half of its narrative. In addition, although it comes out the gate swinging, it does unfortunately lose some steam in the third act both on the action and narrative front.
(WARNING - SPOILERS - Skip to the final paragraph to avoid. But, if you’ve seen the trailer, you should be okay. However, if you HAVEN’T seen the trailer, I would advise avoiding it ENTIRELY, as it will improve aspects of your viewing experience.)
Outside of Jack (Tom Cruise), you have several other notable entities/ characters the story asks you to consider. First, we have the two warring factions, Tet and the Scavengers. Tet is the space station Jack and his compatriots work for, whose mission is to convert the ocean water into fusion energy for use on their new future home on Titan (moon of Saturn). The Scavengers are the leftover alien forces that seek to foil Tet’s mission after losing the war. Looking to characters, we have Julia (Olga Kurylenko) as the mysterious crash survivor, Victoria (Andrea Riseborough) as Jack’s communication partner and housemate, Sally (Melisa Teo) as the Mission Director of Tet , Malcolm Beech (Morgan Freeman) as leader of the Scavengers, and Sergeant Sykes (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) as the military commander of the Scavengers.
Now, amongst this myriad of players, it’s sad to say that outside of Victoria, no one else really gets the treatment they deserve. And it’s not that the rest aren’t given a hook, some additional allure, or any relevance to the story, but that they don’t serve any additional purpose outside of being plot devices that Jack acts against. For example, the Scavengers are set up to be this mysterious, almost mythic alien horde that will stop at nothing to get their revenge. And when they're finally put on front street and their full deal is revealed, it definitely makes for an interesting turn in Jack’s story. BUT! It’s a turn that leads to nothing major for the Scavengers outside of how they interact with Jack and how the audience is supposed to view them going forward.
Following that, the Scavengers don’t do much else for the rest of the movie. To be fair,they still have moments of note, but they are the briefest flashes in the pan that don’t hit home because we as an audience aren’t given enough time with them in the latter half of the film. The same can also be said for all other supporting characters, even Victoria who easily gets the most chance to shine, only to inevitably fall to the same fate. And given that the film only has so much time to wrap up its main arch, I can understand why this happened. But even so, under servicing all these big players results in an ending that feels far more like a flimsy jab than a power packed punch, undoing much of the good faith earned in the first two acts.
With that in mind, there are a couple of final notes that bear mentioning. First, although the underservicing of the cast does take some of the wind out of the movie’s sails, the actual beats of the third act steal nearly the rest of it. Up until this point, the directors have firmly proven that they can deliver on suspenseful, stylized action, yet curiously choose a meandering build up to a one-and-done, final showdown between Jack and the antagonist(s) that be, which works conceptually, but is delivered in a bland fashion. The reality is that the side characters get a shoot out, while Jack gets an infiltration mission, but one that’s impeded by no real obstacles. And because Jack is the only character we have any real stake in, it results in a two-part split finale where neither situation has enough ingredients to make them feel suspenseful. It’d be like watching Sam and Frodo walk into Mount Doom, unchallenged, while all of their friends battle it out in Isengard, except in this version, we don’t know or care about anyone outside of Sam and Frodo.
Secondly, we have the tantalizing mystery I gushed over earlier, which I’m happy to say the film does deliver on mostly. It throws a plethora of twists and revelations throughout its entire run time, keeping one thoroughly engaged, until it finally concludes. However, post midpoint, the revelations start to feel a tad hollow (mostly because of the previously stated reasons). But add to it that when looking back on the movie as a whole, the story feels as though it’s asking the audience for some generous leaps in logic. But even if one were willing to, aspects of the narrative, particularly some of the antagonist(s) choices, don’t quite make sense, at least for me. Others may feel different. Regardless, there’s still the bones of a masterpiece in there. I can fully see it. However, as it stands, what starts out as this grand allure, quickly fizzles when held under closer examination.
(Spoilers Over)
Oblivion from a technical craft and tonal standpoint is nothing short of spectacular, especially for its time. And when considering the narrative alongside that monumental technical prowess, I can certainly feel what the film is reaching for. There’s some real wonder to be had, especially when many of the film’s bigger moments pop off. But through narratively short changing characters and offering a popcorn-pop rather than a comet-crush explosion for an ending, it leaves much to be desired in its finale. Additionally, several aspects of the story make less sense when considering it in its entirety, which may chip away some of its initial allure when looking back. But when taking all of that in, where does that leave us? We’re left with two-thirds of a film that has aged like fine wine, especially when compared to a lot of the poppy modern cinema of the 2020’s. However, with an ending that’s as much “meh” as the beginning is great, I fear that, despite my love for so much that’s there, Time will have no problem letting Oblivion fade into dark obscurity with all the other should’a-could’a-would’as of the past.
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