Competent sci-fi thriller, though plays as a diet bland version of more powerful sci-fi that has gone before, e.g. even Cruise’s prior Minority Report (2002). Like Inception (2010), there’s a twisty action mystery plot, however in Oblivion it is telegraphed a bit too much. Or just like Nolan’s opus, there’s also a potentially philosophical and romantic angle which never quite packs the lyrical or dramatic punch that it could. The graphics are great, especially in IMAX.
Speaking of CGI, this is sadly not the movie of the Elder Scrolls game (though Oblivion or Skyrim could make impressive films, Dovahkiin). And Oblivion’s ending seemed derivative of the controversial climax to the Mass Effect trilogy. Maybe it says something when computer games’ stories can now be more compelling than movies’?
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