"Oblivion" (2013 motion picture)

No worries. I'm also not a big fan of Cruise, but I think he did OK with what he was given and I was actually hoping for something really good - so maybe that's my fault. I still think it started out really well with the scenes of devastation and the questions of "what's really going on here?" - again much like IAL. I just don't think it was able to sustain that, unfortunately.

 

I apologize. This was a lazy response. Here is the best I can do to answer your questions:

- Repair work. My point is that there is no need for human repairman - why not make robotic ones? Sturdier, requires no shelter or backstory to keep them happy. Seems much less efficient the way it was setup. I took it for granted that the aliens needed humans to work in the Earth environment. Obviously the drones needed Cruise's character to repair them at times. Beyond that - time to ditch the script.
- The nuke. Sure he bluffed his way in - but my point is he shouldn't have even gotten that far. They couldn't detect a nuclear device on the ship? Why not kill him long before he even gets there ie stop his life support? I don't understand, it seemed just right to me. Chalk this one up to individual perceptions.
- The Chrysler Building. My point is that she happened to crash land (with Morgan's help of course) near the place where she and Tom's character lived. Just too convenient - it's a big planet. And it doesn't even sound like Morgan knew WHO was on that ship, so it was random chance. Wasn't it the Empire State Building? Why wouldn't Freeman's character know who they were? He was one of the few surivors who could have known because he was alive at the time of the aliens' arrival. He even said as much. I think this is the crux of the whole movie. Missing out on this is missing out on a lot of the plot.
- The clones. True, but they were also at it for 60 years - you'd think they'd learn a few things, like avoiding the DNA of a person who was "curious". Or shooting down a pod with sleeping humans who were in orbit. They are ALIENS, not HUMANS - I give them some slack when it comes to human behavior. Hell, we have had more than 60 years and haven't figured it out yet!

 

BTW, you have a cool dog!

 

RE: Chrylser Building. Re-thinking it a bit more it must have been the ESB -- the Chrysler Building got stuck in my head as the spire at the top was such that it reminded me more of the CB than the ESB, so it got stuck in my head. But the lookout area would have been the ESB and if I rewatch the ground level scene it's probably the ESB - also makes more sense as everyone would have assumed the ESB anyway. (why doesn't the CB get any love in the movies?)

RE: Morgan Freeman - it was the crux, but my point is why NYC? He himself said they were in Chicago, so why move to NYC which just happens to be where Cruise and his wife lived pre-war? Why not stay in Chicago? And how did they even know that pod was up there and how to get it down? They have an 80+ year old NASA engineer in their group somewhere?

I have more, though - like why did Cruise ditch the poor woman in the woods? Why not leave here near base camp with human beings instead of isolating her? Why did he need to fly up with a pod in the first place versus having the human being in the passenger seat? How did this race of aliens even know how to clone humans - was that planned in advance or they made it up on the spot? Then why not clone super-humans with organic battle armor and superior strength? Or when they created the repairmen, why not do the same or give them new memories ie humans on earth are bad (they didn't think the humans would show themselves to Cruise at some point?). How did Morgan Freeman manage to get a good cigar after 60 years or war and a devastated planet? Why in the world did his wife not say anything at first when she was out of stasis, regardless of her confusion? If that was my wife and she saw me holding hands with that other woman, she would have decked her.

Again, most of these I chalk up to either it was "cool" or "it moved the story along" or "give landmarks that the audience knows". And some I could excuse -- but there were just too many for me.

 

Now, you are asking things that deal with subtleties, IMO. That will take a lot more effort to comment on than I can give now. Maybe a 2nd look will answer these questions for you. It's not that I want to bail on this discussion, but you are thinking at a much more deeper level than I ever gave to this movie. I enjoyed it better than I thought I would and I feel like I got my money's worth. I'll revisit Oblivion later - on Blu-ray. I liked enough about it to purchase it for future viewing. Maybe the extras will answer some of your/my questions.

 

Here's the funny thing - in a week all these questions will have been forgotten in my head - this is all just initial "what did I just see?" thoughts that will eventually settle down.

I just had higher hopes for the movie I suppose. One comical note -- at the EO the movie we see Jack 52 likely get the girl (which kind of annoyed me given that he didn't really do all the hard work that 49 did, he just reaps the benefits). But my daughter and I were like "OK, so 52's there. What happens when the other 50 guys eventually show up?". you figure if there were two Jack's within flying distance of each other, how many more of them were there? At least 50, but possibly hundreds if they were stationed along Japan or India or Australia, gobbling up seawater. The woman will have a load of Jack's vying for her affections!

 

Next time, you might want to do a

 

That seems like a legit question. That is probably something left for Oblivion II - if it happens (which I don't think will happen). We can make up that problem's answer in our mind otherwise.

 

Sorry. I've had a long day and don't usually feel very passionate about Tom Cruise movies.

 

I don't know....Jack Reacher grossed $216 million worldwide and is likely getting a sequel while Oblivion is approaching a $280 million worldwide gross.

 

Never say never regarding sequels...

Hollywood seems to take anything that makes a profit and turn it into a sequel.

 

Quite a nice movie. It has a nice atmosphere en de visuals are very good. On the 'story'-side of things, it tries a little bit too hard to be some kind of Philip K. Dick-like story with hints of "2001" and Minority Report... With a few edits (or adaptations) it could have been a better and more coherent movie. Funny that Morgan Freeman has such a 'co-lead'-like presence on the poster...

 

Should be coming out on DVD soon.

 

I think I'm gonna order the UK Blu-ray steelbook >>>

 

I liked it...but I agree it's a lot like "Moon" and "Matrix".

It happens.

 

Walmart is offering a steel book case when you buy it there.

 

Too bad for me I won't shop Walmart for ethical reasons...

 

I still like the movie. It at least tries to be a better than average science fiction movie and has ambition. I have to give the makers for that.

 

Not crazy about this movie. Had a lot of potential, but left me feeling it was squandered. The visuals in this movie were very good though.

 

Not a bad movie. I seen the ending coming. No surprise there.

 

Yeah, the ending was predictable. The 70's vibe (meaning somewhat of a throwback to the 1970's movies that the director admired so much).

 

It was made clear that they chose Cruise because he's adept at improvising, quick-thinking on his feet. We see this when he uses chewing gum to repair the drone at the beginning. The machines and intelligences used by the TET, while sophisticated, are much cruder instruments than a person and not very creative or adaptable. I thought it was a pretty humanistic movie, actually.

 

I just rented the DVD and thought it was an enjoyable movie.

 

Sometimes there are explanations for things that we don't necessarily see in the film itself because of editing at any stage of the film.

Repair work--Perhaps the aliens believed that a human would make the surviving humans less like to attack them. Perhaps it's because robots couldn't do the work necessary and quite a bit of improvising might be necessary. It's better to send clones of humans to the surface in hopes that they won't kill their own. Perhaps it's because the shock troops all looked like him and this is designed to unnerve them. That information isn't given it isn't necessarily a logic issue.

-The nuke. Supension of disbelief is a necessary part of most movies and this is one of those moments. You either buy it or don't because. Perhaps they used something to mask the signature of the nuke because it was in the cryochamber. We just don't know. I suspect they had some means to shield it otherwise why sent it up in the drone where it could also be detected?

-The escape pod was directed to crash land in that area deliberately--Morgan's crew arranged it in hopes that Jack would discover it.

-The aliens knew nothing about us and, perhaps, it was rare that one of the Jack's became too curious or perhaps they would periodically just kill and replace them as needed. Again, we don't know but just because there's no explanation, doesn't imply it's a lapse in logic or storytelling.

-As far as avoiding the DNA of someone who was curious--it's not like they had a lot of choices. There were only two people on the ship to choose from.

Anyhow, I enjoyed it. is it flawed? Sure. It straddled the line of 70's movies that were BOTH thinking science fiction films AND filled with action scenes but with a modern spin.

In a deleted scene by the way, Freeman's character points out that he followed Jack's career as a young man and idolized him even showing him a book with info on him. I don't think he realized that he was married to her but that was necessary for the surprise element. He brought the ship down in hope that his former crewmaters might spark some level of recognition.