Oblivion (I) (2013)

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

Director:

Joseph Kosinski

Writers:

Michael DeBruyn (screenplay), Joseph Kosinski (graphic novel original story),

Stars:

Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview:
Tom Cruise	...	Jack
Morgan Freeman	...	Beech
Olga Kurylenko	...	Julia
Andrea Riseborough	...	Victoria
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau	...	Sykes
Melissa Leo	...	Sally
Zoe Bell	...	Kara
Abigail Lowe	...	Julia's Child
Isabelle Lowe	...	Julia's Child
David Madison	...	Grow Hall Survivor

Storyline

One of the few remaining drone repairmen assigned to Earth, its surface devastated after decades of war with the alien Scavs, discovers a crashed spacecraft with contents that bring into question everything he believed about the war, and may even put the fate of mankind in his hands.

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Plot Keywords:

drone | alien | futuristic | aircraft | soldier | 

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Taglines:

Earth is a memory worth fighting for.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Mystery | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence, brief strong language, and some sensuality/nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 April 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Horizons

Filming Locations:

Mammoth Lakes, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$120,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$37,054,485 (USA) (19 April 2013)

Gross:

$66,493,965 (USA) (29 April 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Chernin Entertainment, Ironhead Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Olivia Wilde, Noomi Rapace, Kate Mara, Olga Kurylenko, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Brit Marling auditioned for the role of Julia. Jessica Chastain was cast, but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts, so finally the role went to Kurylenko.

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Goofs

When Julia unrolls the famous Andrew Wyeth painting "Christina's World" that was a gift to her from Jack. The painting is actually a tempera on panel painting - rolling it wouldn't be possible as the painting is literally on a flat, rigid board and not on canvas as shown in the scene.

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Quotes

[from trailer]
Jack Harper: 60 years ago, Earth was attacked. We won the war, but they destroyed half the planet. Everyone's been evacuated. Nothing human remains. We're here for drone repair. We're the "mop-up crew".

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Crazy Credits

The Tet can be seen in the opening Universal logo.

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #21.131 (2013)
Jay mentions that Tom Cruise from the film will be on tomorrow

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Soundtracks

"A Whiter Shade of Pale"
Written by Keith Reid, Gary Brooker, Matthew Fisher
Performed by Procol Harum
Courtesy of Muscadet Productions, Inc. & Onward Productions Ltd.

User Reviews

Visually excellent though slightly too long

This movie is - without a doubt - one of the most visually spectacular that I have ever seen, standing shoulder-to-shoulder in that department with the likes of Watchmen, Prometheus, Sunshine and Kosinski's preceding effort - TRON: Legacy. Also (like TRON) the soundtrack is excellent and very well used throughout, enhancing the action and adding depth to some - at times - distinctly average acting performances.

Tom Cruise plays Tom Cruise but that's not a bad thing in this case, in fact his natural charisma carries the movie through some of its slower sections. Morgan Freeman plays Morgan Freeman though he's really not on screen for long enough to influence the movie one way or another. Olga Kurylenko's statuesque profile is unfortunately not matched by her acting ability and I often found it difficult to believe in her character's actions and emotions. Andrea Riseborough turns in maybe the best performance, convincing as the sad and confused Victoria, unwilling - or perhaps unable - to confront the disturbing truth.

At over 2 hours I think that it's too long by about 20 minutes. A shorter cut would tighten up the story and eliminate some of the slower sections which I think hurt the movie's overall rhythm and flow.

Overall, I would definitely recommend going to see this movie in the cinema, on the biggest screen that you can find. It just won't be the same on TV. The visual appeal alone is reason enough, but combined with a clever (if not entirely original) script, a thumping soundtrack and some exciting action, you should be entertained.