MANILA, Philippines - Watching Tom Cruise engaged in a fight scene with a challenger that is obviously also himself can make one crack a joke about the pricey presence of the actor. That somehow it was decided none was worthy enough to share the pivotal screen fight with him on the particular scene.
It likewise brings to mind the Hollywood star’s faced back image shown on the poster of his 2003 film The Last Samurai. One can wonder, this guy’s too big his faceless figure was enough to sell a picture.
And yet, for his latest film, Oblivion, which is now showing in theaters, it seems that the same message is right there.
He alone can carry the movie which literally is devoid of human populace as it is set in a post-apocalyptic imagined world more than 50 years from now.
A present-time alien attack signaled by the moon’s destruction caused chaos on Earth and wiped out populations, with survivors perceived to have moved to Saturn’s moon Titan for refuge.
Cruise plays Jack Harper, a highly-equipped Earth-monitoring drone mechanic working under the supervision of a lady boss named Sally (Melissa Leo) who appears only on a screen. His job is to repair damaged circle-shaped drones patrolling the skies, presumably to protect Earth from aliens.
He shares his high-tech job description with Victoria (Andrea Riseborough) who helps him fulfill the task through her fingertips and curious talk with Sally who often asks her about how effective they are as partners.
The sci-fi movie, co-written, produced and directed by Joseph Kosinski of Tron Legacy fame, offers a production design that counts well on details and visual astonishment. Cruise manning a futuristic helicopter recalls the actor’s love for taking such kind of air adventure which made him accept his iconic role in Top Gun, while his athleticism and quick reflexes solidify once more his action star-21st century image.
Veteran act Morgan Freeman, who plays insurgent Earthling head Malcolm Beech, appears in a supporting role, equally important to that of Julia Rusakova (Olga Kurylenko) whose ladylove charm makes her appear as a more sympathetic character than that of the all-good Victoria.
Hidden truths are compounded by significant hints coming off the perfectness of the initial situation and the substantial scare brought about by Harper’s recurring dreams of a woman atop the pre-invasion Empire State Building and Sally’s assuring tones.