Oblivion (2013)

Content by Tony Macklin. Originally published on April 23, 2013 @ tonymacklin.net.

Scientologists, forget wives.

Get Tom Cruise some actresses. Please.

Cruise's forte, as an actor, is his solid credibility. But in Oblivion he has more chemistry with drones than with his two love interests.

They are played by Andrea Risenborough (Victoria) and Olga Kurylenko (Julia). Both are vapid nonentities who lack personality.

Summer has come early, and it seems Oblivion has raided Summer Stock extras to play leads. Risenborough is embarrassing - her idea of acting is to put her finger by her cheek. She is able to speak dialogue limited to "copy that." But it's ludicrous when she barks orders to Cruise's character Jack Harper.

Kurylenko is more attractive but no more talented. Most of the time, one has difficulty telling whether Kurylenko is awake or asleep.

Melissa Leo is wasted. Limited to appearing on a computer screen, she affects a Southern accent for no reason at all. I guess the director thinks that's acting. There isn't the slightest hint that Leo actually has the ability to win an Oscar, which she did in 2011 for The Fighter.

Oblivion is the clunky story of a repairman for drones in 2077 in a wasteland of a world decimated by aliens and human war.

Jack has to keep drones in shape to control the Scavs who are a mysterious threat.

Because the acting - other than the always capable Cruise and Morgan Freeman - and the wayward script are weak, the soundtrack has to stay hyper to try to fill in the blanks.

The screenplay by director Joseph Kosinski, Karl Gajdusek, and Michael Arndt thinks confusion without suspense is entertainment. To assure the mediocrity of the script, they end with a sappy conclusion.

Director Kosinski keeps the action helter-skelter and topsy-turvy. After you've seen a drone whiz by for the 100th time, you may fidget.

Kosinski's one strength is scope. There are effective expanses in Oblivion.

Tom Cruise loves IMAX and IMAX loves Tom Cruise. Oblivion obviously was made with foreign distribution in mind. The foreign market probably won't mind that there isn't a meaningful line of dialogue in the entire film. Noise and movement dominate.

One stark irony is the film's exploitation of Andrew Wyeth's painting Christina's World. Jack and Julia importantly have the painting. If only the actresses had the humanity of Christina.

The raucous absurdity of Oblivion is the antithesis of Wyeth's quiet contemplation.

Oblivion is neither quiet nor contemplative.