Movie Review: Oblivion

There is  lot an author can learn from movies and in the spirit of all that reviewing can do for an artist, I thought I'd throw a movie review out there once in a while, especially when one resonates with me.

I didn't expect much out of Oblivion. Both Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman have had some hits and some misses for me. And being from the director of TRON (which I didn't much care for) I almost skipped seeing this altogether on the big screen. In fact, it was only when it was showing at one of my favorite discounted McMenamin's theaters that I finally decided to go.

This movie made me think, made me sad, inspired me. In short, it blew me away. Jack is a tech who takes care of the drones that monitor the extraction of water from Earth. Once their extraction mission is done, mankind is leaving Earth after a long battle with a race called the Scavs due to the extent of damage caused to the planet during the war. The war, the alien race that attacked us, and what left the world in such a state is steeped in mystery. A mystery Jack is encouraged not to question. In fact, his mind was erased prior to his mission as part of the terms of the mission.

The mystery deepens when Jack rescues a woman from a crash site where the very drone's he working on are killing the survivors, human survivors. Something about the woman intrigues Jack. Together the two of them are thrown into a situation where answers are found, loyalties are tested, and mysteries are deepened.

This movie kept me guessing, made me think, and inspired me. And the acting was so good that there wasn't a moment where I was 'pulled out' of the story line. I can't ask more than that from a film. I would recommend this for science fiction fans.