OBLIVION (wtf?)

[fezident]

SPOILER FREE:
This movie was ambitious in scope. A lot of effort went into the design and the details.
That's about the only good thing I can say about it. Visually... it's as impressive as Prometheus.


SPOILERS:
What thee fuck was going on??
Did you understand a single thing that was happening from scene to scene?? If yes... please explain to me the basic plot.
Why did the human resistance pretend to be mutant monsters for so many years??? What was the upside to doing that??

Why were the drones so inept at killing the humans??

How come Tom's spaceship, even when expending dozens/hundreds of lasers, couldn't destroy the rogue drones, but his 9mm pistol was able to take down a drone with just one bullet??

What the fuck was Tom and his chick even DOING on earth??? Why would the creator put them there in the first place?? Much less... multiple versions of each of them?? What was gained??


This movie had a horribly constructed narrative. Like Tron (same director) any one scene was very interesting. But... in context... it's a disaster.

This movie was unfollowable.

I give it a D-

[jimmyolsenblues]

I am going to see Oblivion regardless of the reviews.
You put Tom Cruise and Morgan Freemen in a dystopian future movie. I am in. All in.

I did like Upstream Color, Primer, TimeCrimes, Pi, so anytype of scifi I mostly enjoy.
Except for Battle Field Los Angeles that was terrible.

[newport king]

I think this will flop. Scientologists shouldnt be involved in Sci fi movies.

[fezident]

It seems like there's a pattern forming with new scifi movies, and that pattern is:
make it very dense... make the characters seem sincere... and maybe don't spend a lot of time making a coherent plot.
Then... when the audience is confused, make it appear as though it was simply too profound for them, and that it was simply over their heads.
Prometheus is a great example of this.
As is Tron Legacy.
Oblivion fits right in there.

Perhaps it all started with the SW prequel trilogy. Nobody was really able to comprehend those movies. Nobody could really explain exactly what each character was trying to accomplish and why.
But... the SCENES were supposedly impressive. People showed up in droves.

I have never spoken to single person about Prometheus that DIDN'T mention how amazing it looked. No matter how hard I attempt to discuss the plot and themes... the other person will always always feel the impulse to remind me how "cool!" It looked.

Oblivion is in that same vein.

People will not comprehend or discuss the narrative... or it's themes. You will hear a lot about the spaceships though.

[newport king]

So is it a scientology movie?

[fezident]

What??
No.


??

[newport king]

What??
No.


??

Battlefield Earth

[KnoxHarrington]

It seems like there's a pattern forming with new scifi movies, and that pattern is:
make it very dense... make the characters seem sincere... and maybe don't spend a lot of time making a coherent plot.
Then... when the audience is confused, make it appear as though it was simply too profound for them, and that it was simply over their heads.
Prometheus is a great example of this.
As is Tron Legacy.
Oblivion fits right in there.

Perhaps it all started with the SW prequel trilogy. Nobody was really able to comprehend those movies. Nobody could really explain exactly what each character was trying to accomplish and why.
But... the SCENES were supposedly impressive. People showed up in droves.

I have never spoken to single person about Prometheus that DIDN'T mention how amazing it looked. No matter how hard I attempt to discuss the plot and themes... the other person will always always feel the impulse to remind me how "cool!" It looked.

Oblivion is in that same vein.

People will not comprehend or discuss the narrative... or it's themes. You will hear a lot about the spaceships though.



That's been a thing in sci-fi for a while: hard to understand = profound. I think 2001 really was the big factor here, but the thing is that 2001's basic plot was actually pretty simple and fairly easy to follow. The question wasn't "What happenened?" but "What does that mean?"

There's a big difference, storytelling-wise, between those two questions.

[sailor]

Battlefield Earth

The fact Tom cruise wasn't involved should have been a sign how disappointing that was going to be.

[fezident]

The question wasn't "What happenened?" but "What does that mean?"

.

Exactly.

The problem with a movie like Oblivion is, there's no connection to the characters. Not for me, anyway.
I was sitting there in my chair... watching the movie... and I didn't have any feelings about what I wanted to happen next. I wasn't understanding the simple logistics of the plot.

Cloud Atlas is perhaps the single biggest offender of "I don't understand the scene" film making in recent memory.
There's a scene wherein the Halle Berry character is frantically pressing buttons on a control panel. Lots of buttons and switches and lights. And she's pressing things and looking at screens and she seems very intent on completing some kind of task. While that was happening... Tom Hank's character was in the background... and he's having an internal debate with himself about killing her. Should he do it? Should he let her live? The little devil on his shoulder is telling him to stop Halle.... but... he is very conflicted about it. Should he? Shouldn't he??
And the audience doesn't give a fuck. Not a single fuck was given.
I didn't know what the meaning of her actions meant... and I didn't care if she succeeded or failed. Nor did I care if she lived or died. If Hanks killed her.... was I then supposed to be happy about it??


Oblivion has that kind of writing. There's a lot of racing around... and commitment to these very high-tech tasks. And lots of booping and beeping and lights. But... WHY???? And... for WHAT???


Maybe it'll make sense to me when I see it on HBO in three months.

[realmenhatelife]

I'm just happy I guess what was going on in the movie from the trailers.

[Furtherman]

WARNING: HERE BE SPOILERS



What thee fuck was going on??
Did you understand a single thing that was happening from scene to scene?? If yes... please explain to me the basic plot.

A ship was destined to survey Titan, but then the alien ship was detected and the ship, Odyssey, was re-routed to investigate. Jack and Victoria were captured, while the rest of the crew was jettisoned in cryo-sleep.

Alien takes out the moon. Earthquakes and tsunamis devastate the planet.

Jack is cloned and they invade the planet, virtually wiping out humanity. A small number survives.

Jack is then set up as a custodian, with Victoria, to watch over the hydrogen machines. He thinks there are a small number of aliens still live on the earth, but Jack wonders why since he believes humans won the war - this thinking of "why" is the beginning of Jack remembering what really happened....

I could go on explaining the movie, but overall, yes.. I understood the movie.

Why did the human resistance pretend to be mutant monsters for so many years??? What was the upside to doing that??

They weren't pretending to be... there were no monsters. They looked odd due to the old stealth technology they wore to protect themselves from drones. Beech asks Jack: "Have you ever seen a Scav up close? No, of course you haven't."

Jack was programmed that story of the Scavs.

Why were the drones so inept at killing the humans??

I saw them kill a lot of humans when they found the rebel base.

How come Tom's spaceship, even when expending dozens/hundreds of lasers, couldn't destroy the rogue drones, but his 9mm pistol was able to take down a drone with just one bullet??

That is a standard movie senario in almost every space battle... the shot with one bullet up close - he knew where to shoot, as he fixes those drones.

What the fuck was Tom and his chick even DOING on earth??? Why would the creator put them there in the first place?? Much less... multiple versions of each of them?? What was gained??

Jack and Victoria were places there to watch over the hydrogen machines and repair any drones that malfunctioned. Jack was already used to invade the planet, why not just use the two humans the Alien captured for every need? The Tet, a brutal and simplistic machine, created a whole backstory for Jack and Victoria, who believed they were finishing up and would be heading to Titan. What it did not count on was eventually, the clones would start to remember their past.


I thought the movie was great. Even though I guessed one plot twist early on (when he entered the radiation zone), that still didn't take away the movie and the overall arc of what happened I thought was a great sci-fi scenario. Visually epic as well, I thought the story worked much better than the last big sci-fi movie I saw, Prometheus.

[sailor]

Just saw this and don't get the confusion at all. Pretty straightforward. Good explanations btw, FM.

One minor quibble I had was knowing the scavs were human from the fucking trailers. Wasn't clear to me until later that they were even supposed to be alien. No flaw of the film itself, but knowing that twist beforehand made me think the war was intraplanetary in nature.

[jennysmurf]

Just saw this and don't get the confusion at all. Pretty straightforward. Good explanations btw, FM.

Did you see it at the IMAX theater at the Palisades Center? Trick question, I know you did.

[sailor]

Did you see it at the IMAX theater at the Palisades Center? Trick question, I know you did.

Ha, yeah, had a fun date.

[jennysmurf]

Ha, yeah, had a fun date.

You playa you.

[sailor]

Oh, and after almost getting talked out of this one with the confusing talk, I may go back and try Prometheus.

[jennysmurf]

Oh, and after almost getting talked out of this one with the confusing talk, I may go back and try Prometheus.

That's how they git ya.

[PapaBear]

Oh, and after almost getting talked out of this one with the confusing talk, I may go back and try Prometheus.
If you do, you're more brave than I.

[sailor]

If you do, you're more brave than I.

See, this is the talk that convinced me not to watch it.

[PapaBear]

See, this is the talk that convinced me not to watch it.
Don't eat a McRib.

[sailor]

Don't eat a McRib.

Had one maybe two years ago; won't make that mistake twice.

[underdog]

Oh, and after almost getting talked out of this one with the confusing talk, I may go back and try Prometheus.

Prometheus wasn't confusing, it was just bad. It had every shitty sci-fi movie cliche smashed into one movie.

I'll still see the sequel, though.

[Fallon]

I enjoyed it!

[fezident]

I am endlessly confused by this plot. Still.
Whenever I talk to people about it... their descriptions of the plot do match each other's... nor do they exactly match the descriptions typed here.


Also, I have seen two reviews that state "while some people find this movie confusing I was able to follow it."
Not exactly a ringing endorsement for the movie's coherence.


The movie has a disjointed-ness.

The machines that suck the ocean water... what purpose do they serve? And for who?? Who built them? Who is trying to sabotage them? Why?

Why are the drones so flakey? By the time we join the movie.... the drones seem to have a hard time deciding if they're supposed to obey Jack. Why? Why is that happening? And why do the drones always eventually listen to Jack when he yells at them? Why not kill him, if that's what they're supposed to do?

[CountryBob]

I had to leave the theater right when Morgan freeman captures Cruise. Lookin forward to pay per view to finish it

[jennysmurf]

I had to leave the theater right when Morgan freeman captures Cruise. Lookin forward to pay per view to finish it

Why did you have to leave early? Your pimp called your beeper with a job? You had violent diarrhea from too much fake butter-flavored grease on your popcorn? The teenage couple you were masturbating to caught on?

[sailor]

I am endlessly confused by this plot. Still.
Whenever I talk to people about it... their descriptions of the plot do match each other's... nor do they exactly match the descriptions typed here.


Also, I have seen two reviews that state "while some people find this movie confusing I was able to follow it."
Not exactly a ringing endorsement for the movie's coherence.


The movie has a disjointed-ness.

The machines that suck the ocean water... what purpose do they serve? And for who?? Who built them? Who is trying to sabotage them? Why?

Why are the drones so flakey? By the time we join the movie.... the drones seem to have a hard time deciding if they're supposed to obey Jack. Why? Why is that happening? And why do the drones always eventually listen to Jack when he yells at them? Why not kill him, if that's what they're supposed to do?

The ocean collectors are sucking up the seawater for the tet/aliens (they used it for energy, I believe, but I don't have a great memory, so don't quote me). The scavs/humans are attacking them and the drones. Again, I don't see how that wasn't clear, except for the fact Jack has been deceived about which is the human side and which is alien.

The drones are shitty because the scavs are attacking them and parts are scarce. They're also attacked and shitty because they probably thought it helped the action sequences along.

I agree with everything FM wrote above. If people are saying something else, I don't know how they're interpreting it, but they're probably wrong.

[CountryBob]

Why did you have to leave early? Your pimp called your beeper with a job? You had violent diarrhea from too much fake butter-flavored grease on your popcorn? The teenage couple you were masturbating to caught on?

Forgot I was playing golf - drunken promises the night before

[jennysmurf]

Forgot I was playing golf - drunken promises the night before

Not nearly as fun an explanation as mine were. You need to work on that.

[Furtherman]

What Sailor said. That's an accurate answer.