Tom Cruise is a versatile actor who has appeared in horror films, action films, drama films, romance films and science-fiction films. You have to admit, for an actor associated for running away from explosions he has a lot of range. I could easily have talked today about Vanilla Sky, Top Gun or even Cocktail, but instead I had to pick one of his most underrated films - Oblivion.
Joseph Kosinski is a very visual filmmaker with his first theatrical film, Tron: Legacy, being a feast for the eyes even if the film itself didn’t perform favourably. For this sophomore film he decided to craft something original but equally visually stunning with Oblivion. Kosinski and Cruise are re-teaming up for Top Gun: Maverick, but it was this film that created a visual language where they told a story about a man protecting the last remnants of Earth, or so he thought.
The film isn’t known for it’s vibrant colours. In order to achieve its dystopian look the landscapes are rough and ravaged with Earthy browns and limited greens. The white-clean models for the drones and the glass structures allow the film to have a futuristic feel to it too as seen in this scene. The wide shot and rubble make Cruises’s character, Jack Harper, look minuscule and isolated from the rest of the world. The music also brings out the futuristic elements with an electronic soundtrack that feels sinister and otherworldly, matching the overall dystopian aesthetics.
In contrast to the rugged looks of Earth we have the Sky Tower which has pierced through the clouds and its glass walls allow the light of the Sun to shine through the sculpture and reflect on the surfaces inside, which lends itself to some very beautiful cinematography. As seen here, the yellows and oranges of the sunset gives the film a very natural look instead of any harsh synthetic life usually seen in films such as these. The shadowy silhouettes of Jack and Vika take away the human element from the shot and they almost feel like part of the scenery.
As mentioned before, there is a lot of emphasis on the environment and the landscapes in Oblivion. The theme this shot is showing here is how human nature has led the Earth to its destruction. The alien-like sculptures in the distance immerse themselves inside the shot and create a stark contrast between the rest of the scenery. Tom Cruise sticks to what he does best by standing out amongst the rest of the shot. The whole film is carefully balanced between the characters and the settings and in doing so creates a sense of realism that you can’t find in the CGI worlds of other science-fiction films.
You can tell that influences from films the likes of Planet of the Apes and 2001: A Space Odyssey lend itself to Oblivion, in how it looks and with how the story’s tragic overtones. Tom Cruise truly delivers a performance that enhances the story and also proves at how much of an action-hero he is. The science-fiction genre is like a second home to Cruise and I’m sure he will tell more stories within the genre in the years to come.
Thanks for reading today’s blog!
Alex Murray, the Head of Eyesight Productions
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