Anyone else feel like "Oblivion" (2013) was a kind of wasted film?

SpoilerDiscussion

Im just gonna keep this open ended for anyones thoughts, but esp if someones read the source material itd be cool to hear what you think.

Just watched it, and honestly enjoyed most of it. It was a very serviceable action movie with some really interesting themes. But thats the problem for me, the themes were almost too interesting for the movie, and it feels like a waste that this is the movie that delivered them. Very slick movie, satisfying action, but it felt like the themes of a paint by numbers action movie took priority over the really interesting stuff.

I guess just wondering if anyone had the same thought after watching it.

in moviesby Fancy_Combination436

47%

PensiveParagon

I don't disagree with you, but I still enjoy the movie

EdibleLawyer

Are you still an effective team?

PhillyDillyDee

I dont remember much about it other than the soundtrack being kickass.

heyheni

true

🎵 M83 feat. Susanne Sundfør - Oblivion
https://youtu.be/UjpbQ1OWMPE

PhillyDillyDee

Yup. The end credits song. Still gives me goosebumps.

CleverCarrot999

Seriously this. Amazing score.

AjCheeze

-1

100% going off memory for fun. Hope i have the right film.

Tom cruze and his AI assistant exploring apocalypse earth. Working well as a 'team' cause the AI is monioring him. There are boundaries to where he can go. As it turned out he was a clone and there are hundreds of stations just like his all over earth with a clone tom cruze. Boundries are just there to keep the clones from meeting.

I think he rebels or something when he finds out he is just s clone and part of a meaningless system or some such. Go live life his own way inatead of being a AI slave.

fiendo13

Yes you’re correct, that is the film you’ve just spoiled for anyone who may have been interested in watching it

IMovedYourCheese

There wasn't much to remember. Plot was cookie cutter. You could predict the "twist" after the first 10 minutes of the movie.

[deleted]

It looked and sounded incredibly good. And sometimes that can be enough to make you like it.

butbutcupcup

Ah those drone sounds in the theater we're amazing

repurposedrobot89

I agree. It had the makings of a sci-fi classic and conceptually it was off to a great start. The actual plot though was thinned out into typical Hollywood fare designed for the "common denominator" audience.

SyrioForel

I thought the conclusion to the film was pretty much on point in terms of science fiction storytelling. What I didn’t enjoy was the journey to get there, largely because it was boring and not much actually happened. The movie had a terrible second act.

I_am_Cymm

"Fuck you Sally"

reav11

I don't personally go into every movie thinking it needs to be high minded or have plausible information. I'm a big fan of good production quality, attention to detail, and the actors performing their crafts.

They got a lot of the space physics right, they went short on a lot of details but were good with weaving together a coherent story that pulls at the heart. Great actors, I'm a big fan of Cruise, Freeman, and Kurlyenko.

It was a good "shut off the higher reasoning and enjoy something" kind of movie for me.

Fancy_Combination436

Yeah no I agree, I honestly went into it just expecting shallow sci-fi shlock presented well, which it delivered on, and was just really surprised at how interesting the themes of the story were. Dont totally know how to articulate what Im trying to say, but it just left me feeling kinda unsatisfied I guess, like it kind of teased all these super interesting ideas, but then just presented them as a generic sci-fi action movie, when honestly I feel like that story could've been given a Matrix or Blade Runner or Dune level of attention. But also Idk the source material so maybe its just accurate to that.

reav11

I can understand your perspective. For everything good I say about the movie there is a lot of deserved criticism of it. The movie had a very lethargic pace for a good portion of it, then once the pace picks up we shoot past characters, plot devices, and themes so fast it makes it difficult to really get engaged in a way that gets you invested. I think if this was a mini series or television show with similar production quality it would make for a much more satisfying story for most people. When I write this I kind of think of an Altered Carbon style series, that kind of direction and time to work on the theme of the series would have made for great television.

But I'm incredibly cynical so I watched the movie with little to no expectations for a good sci-fi film and came out the other end pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed in the film.

ZestyclosePower3525

Dunno what you mean. The film is great

Bechimo

We really enjoyed it, own it on dvd & rewatch occasionally

Detroit_Cineaste

I felt the same way. Its what I would describe as a "serviceable" science-fiction film. The amazing thing is that its one of the few original science-fiction films we've gotten over the past 10 years.

drunkenbeginner

There are lots of original sci Fi movies.

Bust most of them are crap

FrugalFreddie26

Atlas 🤮

not_old_redditor

The amazing thing is that its one of the few original science-fiction films we've gotten over the past 10 years.

I think you got to the bottom of why I enjoyed this movie so much. It came during the time where I think everything was a superhero movie.

Pkittens

I remember really disliking the big meet-up reveal at the end, since that seemed like the most wasted potential. Aside from that I don’t think themes were wasted on this film

SuperDanOsborne

We got the Tom Cruise "what?" Gif from it, so I'd call it a success.

SouthernAsk9363

It just felt a bit boring to me.

lundman

It was a bit mid, for a Tom Cruise film. I do remember it having a great example/scene of how devastating drones "will be one day" (POV 2013)

scrubslover1

Not the best movie ever made of course but I love it. Watch it like once a year

FrugalFreddie26

I enjoyed it. The music was awesome and it had a great atmosphere to it.

areolegrande

I think it made the point it intended to, I don't know if I'd want to see another clone pickup and opening a small business or something afterward 🤷‍♂️

reinaldonehemiah

Isn’t it based on an L Ron Hubbard sci-fi story?

Special-Fix-3320

SPOILERS

Oblivion has some nice visuals and the score is great, however plot wise it was very derivative of other sci-fi properties. The plot just boils down to multiple twists. Tom Cruise is working for the aliens! TWIST! The scavengers are actual humans! TWIST! Tom Cruise is a clone! TWIST!

The ambition was there, but the end result was lacking. That being said, I agree with others that it is a serviceable action sci-fi. I put it on par with Michael Bay's The Island. Not as smart as it thinks it is, but still a mostly solid ride.

WeakButNotFast

I liked it but in the end its just a worse version of Duncan Jones' Moon

specular-reflection

Your criticism is extremely vague. I really don't know what you're trying to say.

I definitely like it but can't offer up some deep analysis at this point.

Itsnotthateasy808

I agree, I think the concept was interesting but the cinematography and visuals really didn’t stand out in any meaningful way. Kind of a paint by the numbers sci fi movie that didn’t do anything interesting to set itself apart.

Edge of tomorrow had an even better concept and some really great performances from Emily blunt and cruise that really blew oblivion out of the water in my opinion.

OMUDJ

Exactly. Edge of Tomorrow is twice as good as Oblivion. Oblivion isn’t even in the same league.

whykae

-1

Apples and oranges

Itsnotthateasy808

Not really but go off

whykae

Edge of Tomorrow was a big budget sci-fi action film. Oblivion is a mid-budget slowburn dramatic film with a couple of action set pieces.

Besides the sci-fi element with Tom Cruise, they were completely different movies.

AbsolutTBomb

178 million vs. 120 million.

The "drama" was basic and predictable, with cliche flashback storytelling akin to Aeon Flux. The slow burn made it incredibly boring.

Itsnotthateasy808

Okay so besides being two big budget sci fi films that came out one year apart both starring Tom cruise with elements of action and thriller they’re wildly and completely different films. Got it.

Sometimes I thank god I’m not a pedantic asshole.

fr4gge

Wasn't this just a clone of Moon? But with higher budget and action?

KlangtheMerciless

This is what I was looking for. The premise worked better in Moon and had a better payoff at the end. At least Tom gives EVERY movie his all so I do respect him for it.

aeralure

Could have been a classic if it was better written. It had some good ideas, an astonishing soundtrack that I still listen to, and pretty good visuals. It just didn’t deliver for me in the writing department, which is sadly the case a lot of the time.

Fancy_Combination436

Yeah exactly. I mean I really liked it, and the themes and twists definitely made the action shlock more interesting, but it just felt way too generically presented and written for how interesting those themes and twists were.

SFishes12

SentientDust

-3

I liked it, but the cheesy good ending kinda turned me off. Similar to my thoughts on Edge of Tomorrow

OMUDJ

-2

Yes. It has an interesting aesthetic but the plot is so thin. The ending is cool, but it’s definitely one of Tom Cruise’s worst movies besides the obvious stinkers.

IMovedYourCheese

-2

Million dollar visuals and soundtrack, 10 cent plot, acting, dialogue and everything else.