By Jesus Figueroa
The action filled, yet at times overly complex, science fiction feature “Oblivion” takes audiences on a long journey that seems to intensify, but not reach a satisfactory climax.
The two hour and six minute long film plunges into detail on certain aspects of the story, but leaves some important details unexplained.
“Oblivion” follows Jack Harper, played by Cruise, as he serves as a security repairmen stationed on an evacuated Earth. Accompanied by his teammate Victoria, played by Andrea Riseborough, they perform their duties very effectively.
The acting from Riseborough was hit-or-miss. Her character Victoria has a feel of caution, yet attraction towards Jack, but it doesn’t feel authentic.
Jack’s mission is part of a massive operation to extract vital resources after decades of war with a terrifying alien threat who scavenge what is left of planet Earth. Victoria is there to track Jack’s progress and relay information.
The team are two weeks from rejoining the remaining survivors on a lunar colony far from the war-torn world Jack once called home.
While on patrol, Jack rescues a beautiful stranger from a downed spacecraft named Julia, played by Olga Kurylenko, who while drawn to him through a strange connection that transcends logic, triggers a chain of events that makes Jack question all he thought he knew.
The fate of humanity rest on the heroism of Jack who believed Earth was soon to be lost forever.
Complexity strikes when Jack discovers a civilization of humans, who he thought were aliens, living on Earth. Jack had been fighting against other humans.
To make things more complex, he ventures out of his small world to discover even more bizarre news.
Cruise proves once again that he has a good physique by being shirtless on a number of scenes throughout the film. His acting is equally as intense as the movie and gives a believable performance alongside his co-stars.
The chemistry between Jack and Julia seems to pop out of the screen as they interact well together due to the charismatic performance of Kurylenko.
The film continues after the expected end of the conflict to reveal a confusing end to the story.
It is a good film when it comes down to the science fiction action genre, but for the length of the movie many scenes seem to drag on much further than they needed to.
“Oblivion” is out in theaters now and is rated PG-13.