Maninthemirror
Banned
Thats the general consensus
OBLIVION |OT| (dir. Kosinski; Cruise Control, Freeman and Kurylenko)
- Thread starter SCULLIBUNDO
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Thats the general consensus
A real shame as I went into this one having not seen any trailer and knowing just the basic plot.
I will say the music was fantastic though.
XANDER CAGE
Member
The soundtrack is the biggest disappointment of the year so far, for me.
I went in with no expectations.
I came out thinking this was one of the worst films I have seen in a long time.
The first 30 mins was intriguing - I liked the style, I enjoyed the build-up even though it was nothing extraordinary at this point - and then it went to shit. Unbelievably so. Loads of people left the screening after about 80 mins into the film. I stayed to the end but could not wait for it to be over.
Too many pointless scenes, utterly cliched, some shots were hilariously bad
. It had potential this film, but was so badly executed for 3/4 of it, the experience was ruined. Oh, and the 'emotional' scenes were atrocious. And drones with feelings and stupid sound effects?! Laughable.
It's a shame the film is, in concept, very similar to
- which is an absolute disservice to it that it's mentioned in the same breath.
I gave it a 1.5/5, my housemate was harsher and gave it a 1/5. I'm confused people are enjoying it much more than me, but hey-ho.
I came out thinking this was one of the worst films I have seen in a long time.
The first 30 mins was intriguing - I liked the style, I enjoyed the build-up even though it was nothing extraordinary at this point - and then it went to shit. Unbelievably so. Loads of people left the screening after about 80 mins into the film. I stayed to the end but could not wait for it to be over.
Too many pointless scenes, utterly cliched, some shots were hilariously bad
the drone coming out slowly creeping forward over a lick of fire through the curtain net made me cringe and laugh
It's a shame the film is, in concept, very similar to
Moon
I gave it a 1.5/5, my housemate was harsher and gave it a 1/5. I'm confused people are enjoying it much more than me, but hey-ho.
entremet
Member
Yeah. And I love M83.
I thought this was a cool sci fi movie. There were a few plot points that could have been handled better, but overall I thought the whole alien invasion concept was awesome. Way better than what you get from the trailer. Although I only watched the first trailer, so I have no idea how much was given away in the later ones. The virtues of a media black out.
Miles Quaritch
Member
You're not wrong, much preferred her to the Kurylenko character whose loss from the movie from wouldn't have been missed. Utterly useless character in the grand scheme.
Heart Attack
Member
I loved the first half. Sadly it goes to shit once Kurylenko appears. The last 30 minutes are garbage.
Funky Papa
FUNK-Y-PPA-4
Disclaimer: I was completely uninvested in Oblivion and only saw the first trailer before the movie. I came into the theatre with no expectations at all. That said...
THIS MOVIE GAVE ME CANCER
This is the first time in years I've wanted to walk away from the cinema. It's just as simple as that. The first half of the movie is actually pretty solid and competent, even if it's nothing spectacular, but everything crumbles right after Cruise
. By the time Kurylenko shows up the film crashes right into the ground. It goes from fun sci-fi flick to a straight collection of tropes barely held together with the thinnest plot-tape I've ever seen.
It is just a collection of set pieces and clichés from a thousand flicks before, all of them intertwined to create a "new" movie. There are bits of The Matrix, ID4 and countless others all over the place, but the worst part is that those scenes are so damn lazily written and so poorly directed that you can help but notice how goddamned amateur the script it. Everything is just so trite and derivative. The final 30 minutes or so are just so goddamned poor.
On top of that, Oblivion may be the one of the most inadvertently sexist movies in recent times. Kurylenko sole role is that of a walking
, whereas Andrea Riseborough (the only actor who didn't phone it in... even if at the end of the movie
) only exists to look pretty for the camera. It's seriously ridiculous and at points disconcerting how useless are all the female characters in Oblivion.
On a more technical level, Oblivion is almost as barren as the Earth it depicts. The aesthetics are interesting at first, but the camera work is completely unimaginative and pedestrian, while the soundtrack is every bit as derivative as the rest of the film. Unremarkable at best. The song after the credits was the only decent part, and I can't even remember much of it.
Verdict: Save your sci-fi monies for Elysium.
THIS MOVIE GAVE ME CANCER
This is the first time in years I've wanted to walk away from the cinema. It's just as simple as that. The first half of the movie is actually pretty solid and competent, even if it's nothing spectacular, but everything crumbles right after Cruise
visits his cabin
It is just a collection of set pieces and clichés from a thousand flicks before, all of them intertwined to create a "new" movie. There are bits of The Matrix, ID4 and countless others all over the place, but the worst part is that those scenes are so damn lazily written and so poorly directed that you can help but notice how goddamned amateur the script it. Everything is just so trite and derivative. The final 30 minutes or so are just so goddamned poor.
On top of that, Oblivion may be the one of the most inadvertently sexist movies in recent times. Kurylenko sole role is that of a walking
McGuffin
is barely an automaton
On a more technical level, Oblivion is almost as barren as the Earth it depicts. The aesthetics are interesting at first, but the camera work is completely unimaginative and pedestrian, while the soundtrack is every bit as derivative as the rest of the film. Unremarkable at best. The song after the credits was the only decent part, and I can't even remember much of it.
Verdict: Save your sci-fi monies for Elysium.
XANDER CAGE
Member
The soundtrack is so derivative, it honestly makes me question how much involvement M83 actually had. There are a few moments where his stuff is really obvious, but the rest of the soundtrack just sounds like one of the many Zimmer-clones operating in the scene at the moment.
Funky Papa
FUNK-Y-PPA-4
I was just Zimmer-noise for the most part. The soundtrack was the only thing I was looking forward, so I felt completely puzzled through the whole film. Batman at times, Inception at others.
What the fuck.
What the fuck.
XANDER CAGE
Member
Joseph Trapanese is the one who collaborated with M83/Gonzalez, apparently. Thing is, Trapanese has some really good stuff - he also collaborated with Daft Punk on Tron (which was a much better, if still derivative in spots, soundtrack) and the Tron Uprising soundtrack, which was really good too.
I don't know if this is just Trapanese phoning it in, or if he and M83 just couldn't mesh together. StarWaves is the only track on the soundtrack that has any real sense of M83's involvement, other than the closing theme song.
Movie started off a bit slow in the first few mins, then got crazy good for me, and when the plot started to unfold I thought it was so-so with a few peaks here and there. In general tho, very enjoyable, although I can see sci-fi buffs not liking this at all. Sometimes it felt like some Matrix type of ripoff (tho, I'm sure it may be based on other movies/works I haven't seen)
Movie also game me some serious future PS4 game vibes, loved that at least
Movie also game me some serious future PS4 game vibes, loved that at least
Ether_Snake
å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®
I like what I saw conceptually, but the cut of the trailer makes me think it's a generic plot structure, and a generic plot structure sci-fi is a waste of sci-fi, considering how little the genre is explored.
Youtube 21 minute featurette.
So Tom Cruise has the Yankees cap because he collects shit? More Wall-E stuff.
I can already guess what the twist is.
So Tom Cruise has the Yankees cap because he collects shit? More Wall-E stuff.
I can already guess what the twist is.
The "boss" woman is a robot, the machine has destroyed most of the humanity etc etc
Memphis Reigns
Member
Stopped reading at "tropes".
thebaroness
Member
Sorry, it lost me at "Tom Cruise".
Expendable.
Member
Dang. I sincerely believe this could have been an enjoyable movie. It's a step above Tron: Legacy (but really, what isn't?), as Kosinski actually has somewhat of an actual plot/world here. His visual eye is still strong, but the film has on odd structure. It feels like next to nothing happens for about 75% of the film and then the last 25% is crammed with big ideas. I'll admit, I really liked the idea it was going for, even as cliche as it was, but I would have LOVED to see a director with more care for his story take this on instead. There's some about Kosinski's sterile style that actually hurts any emotional connection one might have with his films. He's so concerned with the perfect shot (something I'd normally appreciate with just about any other director, oddly) that it just feels like it outweighs everything else.
C
Also, I'd be shocked if it took Melissa Leo more than 13 minutes to shoot her role -- and she has more screentime than Morgan Freeman.
C
Also, I'd be shocked if it took Melissa Leo more than 13 minutes to shoot her role -- and she has more screentime than Morgan Freeman.
AgentOtaku
Member
Saw it yesterday.
I've not seen Tron Legacy, so I didnt know what to expect from kosinski.
First of all, the movie has some derivative albeit cool art direction/set design. The visual elements are strong and some scenes are well shot. It looks aesthetically pleasing but it isn't terribly original.
The plot has great pacing at the beginning. Takes its time and you get really involved. Feels like a good movie is in the making till the bring in one character who basically speeds up all developments at super speed and things start slowly falling apart.This leaves you dissapointed because there is a genuinely strong movie with great ideas in there
M83's OST is generic as fuck. Very dissapointing. Its like the listened to a lot of Dark Knight music, some classic john williams stuff and did their best to find a mid point to create a OST that basically sounds like any other musical score from a recent blockbuster. Very safe. Very boring.
All said and done, it is worth watching. Sci-fi movies with great visuals and good ideas are still watching (like blade runner) even if the rest of the plot and characters are weak. Unlike Blade runner, Oblivion feels more derivative and you can spot some "matrix" or "2001" or what have you moments - but it does do just enough for at least one watch. Cruise missle does the best with the material, olga is forgettable, the british chick does her best too and Freeman is a glorified cameo.
7/10
I've not seen Tron Legacy, so I didnt know what to expect from kosinski.
First of all, the movie has some derivative albeit cool art direction/set design. The visual elements are strong and some scenes are well shot. It looks aesthetically pleasing but it isn't terribly original.
The plot has great pacing at the beginning. Takes its time and you get really involved. Feels like a good movie is in the making till the bring in one character who basically speeds up all developments at super speed and things start slowly falling apart.This leaves you dissapointed because there is a genuinely strong movie with great ideas in there
M83's OST is generic as fuck. Very dissapointing. Its like the listened to a lot of Dark Knight music, some classic john williams stuff and did their best to find a mid point to create a OST that basically sounds like any other musical score from a recent blockbuster. Very safe. Very boring.
All said and done, it is worth watching. Sci-fi movies with great visuals and good ideas are still watching (like blade runner) even if the rest of the plot and characters are weak. Unlike Blade runner, Oblivion feels more derivative and you can spot some "matrix" or "2001" or what have you moments - but it does do just enough for at least one watch. Cruise missle does the best with the material, olga is forgettable, the british chick does her best too and Freeman is a glorified cameo.
7/10
The movie is like 40 minutes too long. It seems like they just wanted to show some scenes they thought it would look cool cinematographically.
I could spend some time complaining about the ordinary plot filled with stupidity, but whatever. It made me sleepy more than angry.
Tom Cruise was Tom Cruise.
I could spend some time complaining about the ordinary plot filled with stupidity, but whatever. It made me sleepy more than angry.
Tom Cruise was Tom Cruise.
Sirpopopop
Member
This movie really cribbed a lot from other sci-fi films.
Shame.
I went in thinking folks from GAF were exaggerating and hating on the movie because of Cruise missile backlash.
Nope, GAF wasn't lying. Believe the non-hype. Good thing I didn't pay any money for this film.
Shame.
I went in thinking folks from GAF were exaggerating and hating on the movie because of Cruise missile backlash.
Nope, GAF wasn't lying. Believe the non-hype. Good thing I didn't pay any money for this film.
smokeandmirrors
Banned
Getting mixed reviews on here. From giving cancer to being okay.
For those who've seen it, it worth seeing for $5 next week? ($5 movie wednesdays at a local theater is awesome btw. Big fan of most all things sci-fi
For those who've seen it, it worth seeing for $5 next week? ($5 movie wednesdays at a local theater is awesome btw. Big fan of most all things sci-fi
SCULLIBUNDO
Banned
Yeah.
Saw it last night. Loved the first 2/3 of it and I'm really starting to dig the director. He just really needs to get a handle on the scripting.
So yeah, good film but not great.
Yep.
So yeah, good film but not great.
Yep.
I'll agree it is not great. I think it is worthwhile though. Giving cancer and massive walk-outs is a load of crap.
How does the destruction work in this movie? All the buildings are in the ground. You see this giant canyon and it's buildings on the inside, and even the Empire State Building is swallowed up by the ground? How this this work in a time span of 60 years? This was something I couldn't wrap my head around during this movie.
My guess would be
due to massive earthquakes and ocean forces after the moon was destroyed.
I saw this and initially kinda liked it but I agree it's just filled with cliches and predictable and cringeworthy twists. It has some nice shots and the first 30 minutes are ok, but it falls apart halfway and it's just too long.
Cruise and that Russian girl were the most unconvincing couple ever. Also, what was the point of Cruise and the other clone? The TET seemed pretty advanced, why did they had to use Cruise and couldn't they just produce some repair maintenance robot?
Looking forward to the sequel where all the Cruise clones from the other sectors come together in the valley and have a party.
Looking forward to the sequel where all the Cruise clones from the other sectors come together in the valley and have a party.
Front projection. Hmmph, this changes things.
Motion control camera + motion control equipment + a Cube or Spherical enviornment would mean you could do a lot.
Hmm.
Movie is definitely an okay in my books, and actually "good" entertainment for what it is.
Especially if you like good production values, since I really liked the design of some of the vehicles/places and the cinematography. These elements aren't original, for sure, but still well executed.
Music was worst offender for me, since it is composed by a very good band.
So Kosiniski's next movie is most likely going to be scored by Skrillex, amirite?
Anthony Gonzales on working on the soundtrack
So basically it boils down to hire M83 to do soundtrack, but make him do a cookie-cutter soundtrack.
So basically it boils down to hire M83 to do soundtrack, but make him do a cookie-cutter soundtrack.
Insane Metal
Member
Really REALLY liked it.
But I see this is a love/hate movie.
But I see this is a love/hate movie.
It's a film score and not an new M83 album.
I can understand your comment but I already went through this with Tron Legacy. As with that score, it isn't as satisfying as a completely original album but it is still enjoyable.
Title track live on Jimmy Kimmel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhHZaJAfFsI
At least this track works with Susanne Sundfør stealing the show.
At least this track works with Susanne Sundfør stealing the show.
Expendable.
Member
Published three articles this week about the film, if anyone is interested. I'd say my thoughts closely match the review below. Also, I love the Halo 3 commercial he did, almost forgot about that one.
Watch: The Early Works of ‘Oblivion’ Director Joseph Kosinski
Hollywood’s Storytelling ‘Oblivion’: How the Studio System Can Learn From Its Past Mistakes
[Review] Oblivion
Watch: The Early Works of ‘Oblivion’ Director Joseph Kosinski
Hollywood’s Storytelling ‘Oblivion’: How the Studio System Can Learn From Its Past Mistakes
[Review] Oblivion
The work that he did with Digital Domain on Halo and Gears were great. I think that the H4 announcement trailer was the most recent advertisement related project that he's worked on.
I'm seeing Oblivion at an IMAX with my brother in a few hours. Should be fun.
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