DOES OBLIVION LIVE UP TO IT’S OWN AMBITION?

I had a strange experience watching Oblivion.  At first, I was stunned by how beautiful the film is.  Next I was intrigued as the movie established Jack Harper’s (Tom Cruise) daily routine.  For a time, the movie felt a tad long.  Slowly the story added more and more layers to it’s mythology.  I began to notice what many people have mentioned online.

Oblivion is FULL of big science fiction ideas but is that a good thing?

Minor Spoilers Ahead…

In a way, I agree that the film is almost too ambitious for it’s own good.  By the time Jack encounters himself, I began reflecting on how much I loved the Duncan Jones’ Moon starring Sam Rockwell.  The films share similar ideas and while the execution is different in Oblivion, I felt a stronger connection to Rockwell’s character in Moon.

When that happened, I doubted whether or not Oblivion would resonate once the credits rolled.  That is, until Jack takes a ship into the station orbiting our ruined planet.  As his small craft approached we are treated to a ton of exposition offering answers and peeling back the most intriguing layer the film has to offer.  I didn’t mind the exposition.  I’m happy there are movies like Oblivion that provide answers to balance out the vague and abstract tone of movies like Prometheus.  As a result, I adored Oblivion’s final act.

Yet, as Jack’s ship approached the station I couldn’t help but reflect on how much I loved Independence Day.  The films share similar ideas and while the execution is different in Oblivion, I felt a stronger connection to ID4′s heroes.

See where I’m going with this?  We’ve seen all of the big ideas incorporated into Oblivion’s mythology before.  Just not quite like this. The question is, can Oblivion bring them all together in one coherent story?  Honestly, when I left the theater my answer was no…  But…

As the day progressed I began reflecting on how much I enjoyed watching Jack learn about Earth’s true fate and his role in it’s future.  I started reliving the film’s gorgeous visuals and intense action sequences.  I felt a connection to the characters.  I cared.

Like I said, I had a strange experience watching Oblivion.  There was a time when I envisioned writing a fairly negative review.  However, much like the movie, more layers were revealed as time went on.  In the end, I highly enjoyed Oblivion and I’m really looking forward to the Blu Ray so I can delve deeper into the beautiful world director Joseph Kosinski created.

If you’re a fan of any of the films I mentioned in this review, there’s a good chance you’ll find something to love about Oblivion.  You just have to give it a chance.

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XTRA | 10 Awesome Movies Like Looper

WE’VE ALL WONDERED BEFORE…
THAT’S WHY IT’S FUN TO WATCH ON THE BIG SCREEN.

Prometheus was one of my most anticipated movies of the summer.  Situated right after The Dark Knight Rises and The Avengers and just before The Amazing Spider-Man.  We always wanted to know the story behind the Space Jockey but I don’t think anyone was expecting the filmmakers to ask even BIGGER questions in the process.  Prometheus was AWESOME.

Ridley Scott’s newest film is all about our creation.  Who made us?  I can’t get enough movies about aliens and the possibilities that exist beyond our solar system.  Those movies always left me asking myself the big questions and, to me, that’s a successful movie.

Prometheus begins with a gorgeous sequence presumably on Earth in which we meet an ‘Engineer’.  It’s an amazing sequence that’s equal parts mysterious and fascinating.  From there we are taken on a journey to find these ‘Engineers’ and EVERY SINGLE SCENE adds to that fascination.  The very idea behind the Engineers right down to their design was spectacular.  It was so interesting to learn about them.  I couldn’t get enough.

I honestly had a moment where I thought the characters didn’t stop enough to reflect on what they were experiencing.  It was almost a little too presumptuous to land on a foreign planet and expect them to have dinner ready.  But then again… ‘They were so wrong’.

I was on board, so to speak, with the entire story.  Every new location they explored answered questions and posed new ones.  Each one more interesting than the next.  Going in, I was expecting a lot of the big questions to remain unanswered with Damon Lindelof’s name attached.  But it was a perfect pace of action vs philosophy.  Plus, you have to leave certain answers out there for the audience to discuss when you are dealing with such ambitious themes and ideas.

I think some people might be a little frustrated by the lack of answers to the ‘big’ questions but I appreciated the open ended finale.  There are still so many things we don’t understand about ourselves.  Having said that, we definitely understand a whole lot more about the Space Jockey and the origins of the horrific Xenomorphs.  (Which is awesome by the way)

However, I did have a couple minor complaints.  There were a few moments that were really vague.  For example, Charlize Theron’s character was hard to figure out.  What did she expect to accomplish on the mission?  She seemed to be pretty capable with a flame thrower.  Overall, she came across as remorseless and cold but why?  Certain aspects of her character are answered but the ‘twist’ in the end flipped my theories upside down.  Perhaps another viewing is in order but it’s never good to feel like you missed something.

There were also a few scenes that didn’t seem to fit in the overall story.  It felt like Idris Elba didn’t have much to do so they tossed in some flirtation with Charlize’s character.

“Are you a robot?”

At one point, a character returns as a zombie of sorts and causes chaos for the crew without much explanation.  He just arrives, causes a few explosions and then it’s never mentioned again.

But these are minor complaints to say the least.  The big attraction here are the horrific moments caused by the crew’s understandable curiosity.  There are also plenty of disgusting (and awesome) moments that reminded me how much I love this genre and why Ridley is a legend.

It’s a gorgeous movie full of stunning images.  There’s a phenomenal wide shot early on where a ship appears as a mere spec of light traveling across the vastness of space.  The scope and sheer size of this movie is impressive to say the least and so much fun to watch.

Who knows if we will ever be able to answer the big questions…  Upon further reflection, I’ve decided I like the movie better for leaving certain answers out.  It’s about ASKING the questions in the first place.

One of my favorite scenes involved characters discussing whether or not there is a God at all now that they’ve found their makers.

“They made us.”

“Who made them?”

Another fantastic moment involved a robot questioning why he was created and what motivates us to create.  It’s absolutely fascinating stuff and when you factor in the sense of adventure and danger, you have a perfect summer movie that I can’t wait to see again.

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It’s pretty difficult to look passed the end of a legendary trilogy when The Dark Knight Rises is released next summer.  Likewise, 4 larger than life heroes will assemble after years of hype.  And how can you ignore a hero like Spider-Man returning to the screen?  Today, I attempt to put aside the Bats, Spiders and Avengers to see what else the 2012 summer movie season has to offer.  There are a couple picks that could go either way but I’ve got high hopes nonetheless.

5. The Expendables 2

4. Total Recall

3. G.I Joe: Retaliation

2. Battleship

1. Prometheus