Although Oblivion took in $300 million at the box office (including international), it was released in the U.S. without much fanfare.  I remember seeing a couple of trailers for it and noticed it was playing at a drive in a couple of weeks after its release.  I checked it out and surprised by the entertainment value.  The last third of the movie is a bit anti climactic and a let down but everything before that was great.  I wondered who directed the movie because it had a slick look and the music was great.  The soundtrack reminded me of Tron: Legacy but smoother and calmer.  It turned out the director was Joseph Kosinski, the director of Tron: Legacy.

The movie starts out with Jack (Tom Cruise ) and Victoria (Andrea Riseborough) overseeing a decimated East Coast.  They’re assigned to fix machines while fighting off the aliens known as Scavs.  Majority of the humans live in outer space in a big spaceship after the war with the Scavs.  Nukes were fired on Earth and the environments conditions are unlivable.  We all know from the get go nothing is what it seems.  Kosinksi makes it obvious from the get go that something is wrong with Jack and Victoria’s memory.  They’re productive yet they don’t talk about the past.

Jack uses a trusted Bubble Ship for scouting and it’s one of the coolest vehicles I’ve ever seen.  The way it flies vertically and horizontally and the surprises it has makes it a joy to watch.  I like how it’s so compact, yet so lethal.  The dog fight with the Bubble Ship and the bad guys was the best part of the movie.  The weakest part was the ending.  After a couple of plot twists, the movie didn’t know where to go and concluded it with something from the left field.

Oblivion is worth a watch because of its interesting story, great special effects and the great score by M83.

The HD video transfer is phenomenal.  Picture is crystal clear.  The colors are a muted intentionally but there’s no compression or artifacts.  I love the sweeping shots of the defunct East Coast.  It looks tragic, while still beautiful.  The video quality is as good as it gets for blu-ray, very impressive.

The audio is also outstanding.  The movie has a lot of scenes with beautiful imagery and the great music really stands out.  It’s really soothing.  The action scenes sounds great.  I like the sound design for Jack’s rifle.  It sounds like a laser but still has heavy bass to it.

Extras include a commentary by director Kosinski and Cruise.  They talk about the movie making experience as well as some of the creative choices made.  You can tell they get along really well so it’s a kickback and fun informative track.  There’s also a 48 minute documentary on the movie including pre production, stunts, special effects and the awesome score.  There’s a 4 minute deleted scene and an isolated track for M83’s score.

Oblivion is a fun movie with  great transfer and above average extras.  While the ending could’ve been better, the movie is slick and stylish and captivating enough to own it on home video

Grade: B+

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