Oblivion (Joseph Kosinski)

[Morris Schæffer]

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PP3kJh2Zus4/URR6Ay4UQBI/AAAAAAAABAg/b9CUbsqmqEI/s1600/Oblivion+(2013).jpg

[Morris Schæffer]

Anyhow, while I appreciated the general lack of action in favour of something more tranquil and cerebral, I was surprised at how liberally this movie ripped entire ideas from other films.

Yes, it's a nice looking picture, but you've seen the Icelandic vistas before in Prometheus and that includes what appears to be the exact same waterfall that opens the 2012 flick.

I will admit to being baffled by some of it, but contrary to something like Inception, where one simply feels that the complex plot demands a second viewing, here my general confusion can probably be attributed to the ramshackle script.

Kosinski is nil for two I'm afraid.

Stunning score however.

[[ETM]]

One for one here, still looking forward to this.

[Skitch]

;474536']One for one here, still looking forward to this.

Same here.

[Stay Puft]

Stunning score however.

This is all that matters.

[Rowland]

I listened to a good chunk of the score that was streaming online a week or so ago, and I may have been disappointed because I was hoping for something that sounded more like a standalone M83 album, whereas this is more like a synergy between your typical Hollywood orchestral score with the M83 sound, only I'd say the influence leans more towards the former than the latter.

[[ETM]]

The last track, "Oblivion", featuring the vocals of Susanne Sundfør, is spectacular.

[megladon8]

I listened to a good chunk of the score that was streaming online a week or so ago, and I may have been disappointed because I was hoping for something that sounded more like a standalone M83 album, whereas this is more like a synergy between your typical Hollywood orchestral score with the M83 sound, only I'd say the influence leans more towards the former than the latter.


So it's kind of like the Daft Punk score for Tron Legacy?

[[ETM]]

So it's kind of like the Daft Punk score for Tron Legacy?

Joseph Trapanese was heavily involved in both, so it's no accident.

[Ivan Drago]

I listened to a good chunk of the score that was streaming online a week or so ago, and I may have been disappointed because I was hoping for something that sounded more like a standalone M83 album, whereas this is more like a synergy between your typical Hollywood orchestral score with the M83 sound, only I'd say the influence leans more towards the former than the latter.

How the fuck did I not know that M83 did the score for this? That's fucking awesome!

[Watashi]

I don't see how you could be confused by this, Morris. It pretty much explains the plot to you in a lengthy exposition scene near the end. There's nothing mind-bending about it.

I did like the first 1/3 of this film quite a bit. It's very WALL-E-ish in that very little dialogue is spoken. However, once it started turning into other familiar sci-fi films from the past few years, it became nothing special.

[Morris Schæffer]

I don't see how you could be confused by this, Morris. It pretty much explains the plot to you in a lengthy exposition scene near the end. There's nothing mind-bending about it.

I did like the first 1/3 of this film quite a bit. It's very WALL-E-ish in that very little dialogue is spoken. However, once it started turning into other familiar sci-fi films from the past few years, it became nothing special.

I had vague notions of what may have happened, but nothing more. Let's see if I'm on the mark

This movie is similar to Moon in that there are millions of Jack Harper's waiting to be deployed by an extra-terrestrial and hostile A.I. that has destroyed Earth, but is still harnessing its resources via those huge white structures in the seas. Then one version of Jack Harper begins to remember things, shown to us via flashback. It transpires that Riseborough isn't his real wife, but, and here I'm really not certain, another clone of what used to be a real person. The A.I has selected this woman to be Jack's wife even though in reality it used to be Kurylenko. I'm still unsure how it is possible that the NY flashbacks occur at more or less the exact moment that Kurlenko falls out of the sky?! And where did she come from?

About right? :)

[eternity]

Universal spent hundreds of millions of dollars on a silly amalgam of Portal, Killzone, and Moon. Seriously, Gabe Newell should consider a lawsuit. At least it has a shot of Andrea Riseborough's spectacular PG-13 bare hiney.

...and don't even get me started on the hysterical and offensive subtext.
So let me get this straight...a group of desert dwellers who are routinely being attacked by DRONES send a suicide bomber on an aircraft to wipe out a technologically superior enemy that up to that point, merely exists to the audience as an idea. WHAT DOES THAT SOUND LIKE?

[[ETM]]

Can't wait to see it.

[Stay Puft]

I enjoyed it.

A shoddy amalgamation of borrowed sci-fi ideas, action movie cliches, and blunt dramatics, no doubt - as Wats suggests, promising at first, but fumbles its way to the end. And yet, an accomplished spectacle, more confident than Tron: Legacy and often cleverly crafted. I saw an IMAX screening and am glad I did, if only to soak in that M83 music on a great sound system.


About right?

About right:

The other woman, Victoria, is the co-pilot captured with Jack in those flashbacks we see at the end, when the Tet pulls the ship in. The other passengers, including Julia, are ejected from the ship, and float in cryostatis or whatever until the scavengers find the pod and bring it back to Earth. The NY flashbacks don't start when Julia lands on the planet, Jack has always been having those flashbacks (the film even opens with them); the film suggests that Jack's humanity, his identity, remains intact in each of the clones, is always creeping below the surface, and Julia helps reawaken it.

[Henry Gale]

Well, I really enjoyed it, and considering how much I actually agree with a lot of the major criticisms of it, I'm happy at how pleased I still am with the rest of it.

Sure, it sags a bit in the middle and at its core its narrative really is a fancy, re-upholstered patchwork of a lot of previously, even quite recently, established (though still tantalizingly meaty) staples of similar films, but it's also such a thoroughly, uniquely realized, coldly but richly atmospheric and sometimes gut-wrenchingly executed science fiction fable that feels more like a strong, celebratory step in the right direction for modern mainstream sci-fi than a simple aping what the genre's done before. It's not necessarily intimate or subtle, but as a $100 million+ Tom Cruise action movie, its scope actually assists its storytelling in surprisingly quieter ways than very many big budget studio pictures ever manage to accomplish.

Kosinski's direction isn't flawless, but his head is always in the right place. He manages to steer the plot in a way that plays more aggressively intricate than convoluted, the team he assembled to visually and aurally define the film from the design team to Claudio Miranda to M83 all manage to distinctly inject their sensibilities perfectly in service of the story, and if anything there's too many spaces where you feel like Kosinski could be showcasing their efforts even more.

It's not quite great, but it strives for a lot in its run time, and I thought it hit enough right notes along the way for me to hold it with just enough of a level of esteem to recommend it to anyone who enjoys big-scale Hollywood fare when it's done with a more confident, singular vision than storytelling-by-committee feel or for those who saw as many promising glimmers of Kosinski's style in the extremely re-watchable Tron: Legacy as I did. I look forward to revisiting this too.

***1/2 / B+

[KK2.0]

Oh yeah, reading your posts i've confirmed my suspicious that...

... this is a blockbuster version of indie sci-fi 'Moon' with Sam Rockwell. The twist is pretty much identical but with added CGI stuff blowing up and Morgan Freeman.

Despite all the "I've watched this before" feelings the film was a mild 'yay', I agreed that the film suceeded in most part thanks to the atmosphere, helped by the great score and the overall story and acting were decent despite all the borrowed ideas, also...

... the whole "let's take the nuke to the alien core" stuff was so silly and tired, it almost ruined the film to me. And the whole scene looked very similar to the end of Independence Day but at least that movie was intentional camp.

[Watashi]

Anyone find it funny and creepy that...

There is now a thousand Jacks and Victorias all over the world. What do they do now the Tet has been destroyed? Do they kill each other? All these Jacks have the same memories of Julia. What will happen if they see her with another Jack?

[Henry Gale]

Anyone find it funny and creepy that...

There is now a thousand Jacks and Victorias all over the world. What do they do now the Tet has been destroyed? Do they kill each other? All these Jacks have the same memories of Julia. What will happen if they see her with another Jack?

I think the main takeaway should be that this new version of Earth will be mostly populated by children that look like different combinations of Tom Cruise and Andrea Riseborough. Just as Tom Cruise wants.

But yeah, they're gonna have to hide Julia a lot from these other Jacks and shy away from dream talk if/when they find that creek. Otherwise the sequel would be two hours of:

"So, she's yours, why?"
- "Because, I found her first!"
"Well, no, you didn't, you said the one of us that did find her died for all of us."
- "Yeah, but he trusted that I was already essentially him and I understood the deal. So I got dibs, bro!"
"And I'm an exact copy too, bro, so just because she landed in the zone right next to you, she's still just as much my wife. I just remembered proposing to her and everything!"
- "Woah, sorry man, gimme a second, agh, I'm just remembering... What's this? Oh wow, our wedding! Yup, it was beautiful. Too bad you don't have that memory."
"Reeeeally? Ah yeah, that's too bad. I definitely believe you. Where did we get married again?"
- "Uh... right on the... Julia knows. Hey, um, Julia?"

(Julia quietly slips into a bubble ship, goes anywhere else. Forever.)

[D_Davis]

I listened to a good chunk of the score that was streaming online a week or so ago, and I may have been disappointed because I was hoping for something that sounded more like a standalone M83 album, whereas this is more like a synergy between your typical Hollywood orchestral score with the M83 sound, only I'd say the influence leans more towards the former than the latter.

Yep - like Tron. I don't understand the point of getting creative synth/sound design guys to do soundtracks, if the soundtracks are just going to end up being mostly the same, boring old symphonic score stuff we always get.

The soundtrack in question here is total dullsville.

Should have went with the best - tomandandy.

[[ETM]]

I love me some boring old symphonic score stuff.

[[ETM]]

I agree with some of the criticisms, but I agree with the praises a lot more. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would.

EDIT: Wow. I haven't really followed RT reviews in a while, but the Oblivion reviews are mostly completely moronic.

[plain]

needed more dreamy foreplay in that wonderful pool, less of everything else.

[Skitch]

Holy shit, I didn't expect this movie to be this good.

Totally felt like a 70's cerebral sci-fi (mostly to the amazing score perhaps), especially reminded me of movies like THX-1138. I figured the trailer blew most of the plot, but there was still wonder left to discover. Time is going to shine well on this film. Ten years from now when the marketing campaign has totally faded, this will be rediscovered.

Also, did I mention how wonderful the score was?

Damn. I did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did.

[[ETM]]

Some iffy plot points aside, it's competently directed, beautifully designed and some of the sequences were well done and memorable. I really enjoyed the atmosphere, though. I find myself thinking about the movie a lot, especially since I've had the score on the iPod ever since.

I really think the credits song is incredible. Too bad it will be completely overlooked come awards time.

[Dukefrukem]

Oh man, such great music. Someone find me the ending credits song.

[Stay Puft]

Oh man, such great music. Someone find me the ending credits song.

I could have sworn ETM posted it in this thread, but I must be thinking of another thread?

Anyways, here it is:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=822P87a773c

[Dukefrukem]

Thanks.


Why would a robot need to suck resources off our planet? What do they need water for?

[Morris Schæffer]

Thanks.


Why would a robot need to suck resources off our planet? What do they need water for?


Irrelevant no? Why do the Borg need to assimilate other civilizations?

[Dukefrukem]

The same reason the Reapers need to conquer civilizations....

But a robot wanting water? Is weird.

[max314]

If you can steel your concentration away from playing "Spot the Movie", Oblivion will haunt you as a beautiful and surprisingly intimate piece of mega budget filmmaking.

★★★★★

[Dukefrukem]

This is another one of those movies that would be considered a bomb if the intentional market didn't propel it into the upper $200 mil.

[Thirdmango]

I liked this movie a lot. I love the mixing of like 8 stereotypes in one bowl and mixing them all together. Cool stuff.

[Grouchy]

Didn't enjoy this one nearly as much as some of you. The complete rip-offs of different movies weren't the worst part, but the languid pace and predictability of absolutely everything.

I'd watch any other film from Kosinski because I trust the guy. But this was bad.

[Mal]

If this movie wasn't so visually impressive and entertaining in its first hour, it legit would be one of the worst movies I've seen in years. I was rooting for Tom Cruise, but then Morgan Freeman showed up and it was like the script gave up on its ideas to spell everything out.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Yeah, this movie spells out too many things too clearly too many times, when I think that inference and simply showing us the information would've worked. Freeman's shpiel while Cruise works on the drone in the Underground Lair is dispiriting. And as with Tron Legacy, Kosinski remains a weirdly humorless director, which hurts the humanism he clearly thinks his movies contain.

But it's still a pretty picture, retaining the glossy home magazine sheen of Legacy and offering nice visual twists on the usual post-apoc imagery. I also liked the none-too-subtle DNA references in the design of the rustic home's windmill and the spiral staircase in the control tower domiciles. Also, is this the most terrorist-sympathetic Hollywood film, like, ever? Technologically advanced force comes in, wars desert land, recruits locals to aid in its drone-aided police force, until one person remembers his heritage and saves the day with a suicide bomb? I mean, props for taking a premise that would wet Osama's panties and releasing it to mass audiences.

Or maybe it's just anti-war.

Regardless, the drones kneecap the film to a degree, since they're not interesting villains and don't inspire anything in the humans besides gloomy apprehension. The reveal with the alien intelligence as being a big-ass triangle is also disappointing, although it's a nice visual touch that she's in the center of a womb full of Tom Cruise eggs, each of the clones no doubt ready to pop out and start running and shouting questions.

So, I don't know, a B? B-? How about a B.

http://i1.cpcache.com/product/690982331/triangular_rectangular_canvas_ pillow.jpg

[Ezee E]

Ugh, once Morgan Freeman shows up (not his fault), this goes to a heap. Lame.

Score is pretty awesome though.

[Dukefrukem]

Ugh, once Morgan Freeman shows up (not his fault), this goes to a heap. Lame.

Score is pretty awesome though.

And some of the set work.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DCkIuv82Q4

[Watashi]

The score is so fucking good. Might be my favorite of this decade.

[[ETM]]

The score is so fucking good. Might be my favorite of this decade.

Martinez almost disowned it because the studio kept demanding "more epic".

It did introduce a wider audience to Susanne Sundfør, which is awesome.

[Henry Gale]

;516352']Martinez almost disowned it because the studio kept demanding "more epic".

Yeah, which basically translated to "more typical action-movie strings, bigger percussion" and "Do what we're more comfortable with hearing" in the end. I like the score significantly more than even Gonzalez seems to, but I do imagine what it could've sounded like if him, Trapanese and even Kosinski got their way.

I mean, Kosinski said he hired M83 because he first wrote the outline and earliest drafts back when Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts had just come out and was all he was listening to as a soundtrack of sorts for his process, so once he was setting up the final film he knew he wanted exactly strike me as the same sound. Obviously the final product doesn't exactly remind me of that album (except maybe as a loose tribute of sorts to it with arrangements on a way more towering scale), but again, imagine if it did...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rlu_5kUHYMg


;516352']It did introduce a wider audience to Susanne Sundfør, which is awesome.

Absolutely. Gonzalez basically said in an interview (maybe the Pitchfork one?) at the time that theme/title track was the only piece he was given complete freedom with. It is exceptional.

Anyone heard his score for a film his brother made? The things I've heard from it are really strong:

https://soundcloud.com/muterecords/sets/m83-you-and-the-night/

[transmogrifier]

I can't believe this has a positive reputation here. It is one of the shiniest, hollowest, nothings of a film I have ever seen. It is like a scan of a photocopy of a fax of a polaroid of a movie. In a way, it is an absolute wonder of a movie; 100 minutes without a single affecting moment (an emotion, a plot point, a moment of tension, etc.) or reason to exist.

[megladon8]

I can't believe this has a positive reputation here. It is one of the shiniest, hollowest, nothings of a film I have ever seen. It is like a scan of a photocopy of a fax of a polaroid of a movie. In a way, it is an absolute wonder of a movie; 100 minutes without a single affecting moment (an emotion, a plot point, a moment of tension, etc.) or reason to exist.


Is it at least pretty? I've heard it's really pretty, and that the music is awesome (I love M83).

[Dead & Messed Up]

It's definitely pretty. Kosinski is one of the best image-creators in sci-fi right now.

[[ETM]]

Different standards, I guess. It had affecting moments.

[transmogrifier]

I don't think it looks great. Washed out and sterile. I can't remember the score one way or the other.

[[ETM]]

Well, that's okay too, I guess.

[Stay Puft]

Anyone heard his score for a film his brother made? The things I've heard from it are really strong

I've heard the whole thing. It's kinda what I imagine Digital Shades Vol. 2 would sound like if it existed. A lot of brief tracks, play more like sketches than songs, lots of half-formed ideas... hit or miss but still with a lot of good moments circulating around in there, certainly worth a listen.

[megladon8]

This was pretty darn good.

[Dukefrukem]

All this Tron talk made me rewatch this today. Yes the story is thinly laid out and not a novel idea by any stretch... but god damn the camera and music work move this thing along. Can't remember the last time I wanted to watch a movie strictly for these types of technical reasons and barely care about the story.

[Skitch]

The climax of this movie is so metal too