Oblivion

Joseph Kosinski's Oblivion (US, 2013) - Visually unimpeachable but only modestly successful otherwise, Oblivion further cements the impression that Tron: Legacy director Joseph Kosinski knows how to craft a world — as for interesting humans to populate that world, well, that still proves to be a bit of a stumbling block for him. And yet, the boldness of his vision is enough to mostly compensate for story beats that won’t seem that surprising or original for sci-fi fans who may feel like they’ve seen much of this before, albeit rarely put together this stunningly. Nevertheless, an empathetic central performance from Tom Cruise as a man protecting a post-apocalyptic Earth lends a little soul to a sombre, tense thriller that needs all the heart it can scavenge. RATING: 3.