What do you think happens years after planet Earth has been devastated by an alien attack? In “Oblivion”, “hired helps” are tasked to clean up the post-apocalyptic ruins, even if it’s 60 years after. And by “clean up”, we mean pulling the last remaining resources and ridding the planet of remaining “Scavs” (derived from the word, “scavengers”) aka “unwanted invaders”.
Jack Harper’s (played by Tom Cruise) job scope as a drone repairman requires him to monitor what remains of Earth and to supervise intelligent drones which help hunt down the “Scavs”. But he’s not alone – he has an “effective team” member named Victoria (played by Andrea Riseborough). Together (and we mean really together), they work under a mysterious yet authoritative Sally (played by Melissa Leo) to “clear out” planet Earth before being called to join the other human survivors on a Jupiter moon.
Both Jack and Victoria remember nothing because their immediate memories were wiped to prevent hostile forces from using it against them. Well, almost all of their memories. Jack would sometimes get repetitive dreams/nightmares and little memory flashbacks of an Empire State Building moment of romance with a beautiful human, Julia (played by Olga Kurylenko).
So imagine his surprise when one day, Jack stumbles across the same beautiful woman in a crashed spacecraft and instinctively rescues her from the drones. Julia’s arrival stirs intense memories that eventually help Jack put the pieces of his pre-apocalypse life together.
For instance, he finally finds out who she really is and why she has been appearing in his dreams.
Revealing his unexplainable bond with Julia to Victoria also stirs what would be (to them, at least) the last love triangle on Earth. Literally. Of course, Victoria doesn’t take it well.
Somewhere along the way (and sometime soon) Jack and Julia also encounter a band of “Scavs”, led by leader Beech (played by Morgan Freeman). What little time Jack spends with Morgan and the “Scavs” forces him to question everything he thought he knew (which is not a lot since most of his memory was wiped) and makes him think that there’s something the authorities (aka Sally) have conveniently left out. Needless to say, Jack then sets out in search of answers, and the plot thickens.
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If not for Tom Cruise, if not for the storyline, “Oblivion” is definitely worth watching for its beautiful sound and vision. Curious about what the Empire State Building, the Golden Gate Bridge, or the Pentagon would look like post-catastrophic-alien-invasion? “Oblivion” has the stunning visuals, made more spectacular on an IMAX screen. There’s also that element of futuristic sci-fi “toys” for the boys who have always dreamed of full touchscreen computer panels (think “Minority Report”) and aircrafts of sorts.
Again, better enhanced on an IMAX screen. So, a word of advice? Go catch “Oblivion” in its full potential in IMAX 3D at TGV Cinemas. You won’t regret it.
For more information on the movie, visit its official website.
