Stars Tom Cruise, Andrea Riseborough, Olga Kurylenko, Morgan Freeman, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Melissa Leo and Zoe Bell Directed by Joseph Kosinski I honestly can't remember the last time I watch a movie that took place on a desolate nuclear ravaged post-apocalyptic desert Earth. They were such saples of 80s Sci-Fi movies. Okay, it's not entirely desert here, but deserts do feature as does the ocean. We do have ruins of New York, the Empire State Building being a major highlight. Look closely and you might see Lady Liberty's torch lying around as well. The scenery presented is epic in scope and utterly worthy of the big screen. Ah, but what about the story? The early trailer sort of presented the idea of Tom Cruise as Wall-E, a lone tech wandering the wastelands, fixing downed probes. A comparison further solidified within the trailer when Morgan Freeman pops up to describe Cruise character as a "curious one" much like our favourite trash-bot. Thankfully, if that's the only trailer you saw, they did a good job of hiding the main story. Yes, we're in a post-apocalyptic nuclear ravaged future of 2077, complete with designated radiation zones that must not be crossed. Aliens had invaded. They destroyed the moon to throw our planet into a mess, thinking it would knock humanity down. Humanity fought back with the nukes. We won battles, perhaps the war, but lost the planet. Humanity has apparently migrated to the Saturn moon, Titan! Technician Jack Harper (Cruise) and his base bound partner, Vika (Andrea Riseborough) are on maintenance duty with two weeks to go before joining the rest of humanity on Titan. There are no other humans around, but leftover alien Scavengers to worry about. That's the opening scenario. Back in the 80s, the Titan idea might be feasible. Here and now, something in the back of my mind is setting off alarm bells. Something's not quite right with this scenario. Sure enough, the 'plot' kicks in and, surprisingly, nothing is really as it seems compared to how the movie was marketed. That's also not to say that the plot is entirely all that original. So, story-wise, it's decent and entertaining although it does slog a little in the middle. The wonder of the movie then rests on director's Joseph Kosinski's presentation of his own story (which was adapted into a graphic novel first). Kosinski manages a visual signature from the design of the tech on screen to the mise-on-scene. The unique visual style of Tron: Legacy was not a fluke as Kosinski does manage to put up some truly beautiful and sumptuous visuals. Not an easy thing with desert landscapes. Of course, actual science is out the window, but don't entirely check your brain at the door. Cruise does what he does best, even with the meta-joke about how he might be playing the same character over and over again. Riseborough is Cruise's foil for most of the movie as the loyal employee, eager to finish her job and take the long trip to join everyone else. Most of the rest of the cast play along, committing to the parts they have, but not really rising above the typical character you might find in these movies. Heck, even when Nikolaj Coster-Waldau turns up sporting the ragged beard, first thing that popped into my head was "MegaForce". As much as this is Kosinski's movie, Cruise is his co-conspirator, doing the heavy lifting acting-wise. Ultimately, it sometimes feels like a mash-up of some other movies (or ideas) you might have seen before. It does strive to be something different, but barely rises above the norm, lacking a true threat to propel the story. What does elevate the movie a little are the resplendent visuals, but that seems to be what drives movies these days. (see also, Oz, The Great and Powerful or GI Joe: Retaliation for recent examples). It might also enforce the idea that Apple is set to take over the world of design… oh, wait. They already have, haven't they?
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