Oblivion

What? Another Tom Cruise film, so soon. Well, since Jack Reacher wasn't so bad, I thought I'd trust the same recommender and try Oblivion too.

If I was being cynical then I'd say that writer Joseph Kosinski watched a whole load of sci-fi films, picked out his favourite themes and stuck them together into one story. For example, surely the drones in Oblivion are a tribute to ED209 from Robocop. But that would be unfair. Kosinski may have been inspired by some classics, but he has chosen well and incorporated many elements into a more or less coherent story.

There are a few problems that need some heavy suspension of disbelief. The two main characters live on Tower 49 and seem untroubled by the fact that they can talk to a space-station but not to any of the other crews on other towers... do they really believe that they are alone? And they are conveniently surrounded by an impassable radiation zone... but have a bubble-craft that can fly into space!

Anyway, the main characters are played brilliantly by Cruise and the wonderful Andrea Riseborough. For me the real power of the film is how those two react differently to their situation. Jack is haunted by dreams that he wants to understand, but Vika just wants to get the job over with and get out of there (she says).

Obviously there is something odd going on; otherwise there wouldn't be much of a film to watch. Things pan out quite gently with a few mild surprises. There isn't a mass of action, but there are plenty of interesting events to take in.