Say what you will about Tom Cruise but thereâ??s no denying that his choice of projects have always been bankable. Throughout the 80â?²s and 90â?²s most of his films and performances were of a particularly high standard. The same could be said of the 00â?²s as well. However, over the last three years, cracks are beginning to appear; â??Knight and Dayâ??, â??Rock of Agesâ?? and â??Jack Reacherâ?? have failed to register any form of quality. On the surface, â??Oblivionâ?? has all the hallmarks of the Cruiser getting back on track but, unfortunately, proves just as lacklustre as the aforementioned duds.

In the year 2077, Earth has been obliterated by an alien race and the surviving members of humanity have moved on to inhabit Saturnâ??s moon, Titan. Jack (Tom Cruise) and his wife Victoria (Andrea Riseborough) have remained on earth, though, to protect machinery harvesting the planetâ??s resources before Jack begins to suspect that his mission isnâ??t as straightforward as he thought it was.

Director Joseph Kosinski follows up his previous science fiction film â??Tron Legacyâ?? with another venture into the future. He works from his own graphic novel and delivers an intriguing premise that pays homage to classic Sci-Fi movies like â??2001: A Space Odysseyâ?? and â??Planet of the Apesâ??. His setting is suitably bleak (captured beautifully by cinematographer Claudio Miranda), his use of visuals are striking and his tone is perfectly sombre. In fact, Kosinski actually assembles a good addition to the science fiction genre. Unfortunately, his assembly soon falls apart due to a script thatâ??s devoid of any substance or characters that we can invest in. The pace is lethargic, to say the least, which only really registers that a lot of the film is just padding. Nothing happens for a good chunk of the movie and when the plot is finally opened up, it fails to make sense or hold any form of coherence. Even if it did, your likely to have lost interest by that point anyway. Cruise wanders around aimlessly (presumably in search of characterisation) and the likes of Morgan Freeman and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau neednâ??t have turned up at all. The most frustrating thing overall, though, is that the big reveal is one that weâ??ve seen many times before and all, but completely, rips-off Duncan Jonesâ?? far superior â??Moonâ??. The similarities are almost shocking and I wouldnâ??t have been surprised to have seen Jonesâ?? name on the screenwriting credits.

Kosinski is a director that may yet find his feet. He certainly has an eye for sumptuous visuals and can stage a fine action set-piece. However, he really needs to work on a coherent narrative and one that isnâ??t as dull or desolate as the landscape that his characters roam.

Mark Walker