The post-apocolyptic thriller, Oblivion, written, produced and directed by Joseph Kosinski, launched in theaters across the country on Friday, April 19.  Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman and Olga Kurylenko confronted the topic of alien invasion as they fought the authority with full force. If you are a sci-fi junkie or a couple just looking for something to do on a Friday night, it is worth a trip to Redbox.

Jack Harper (Cruise) is one of the last drone repairmen commissioned on Earth, alongside his partner Victoria (Andrea Riseborough). Part of a massive operation to extract vital resources after decades of war with a terrifying threat known as the Scavs, Jack’s mission is almost complete. Living in and safeguarding the skies of a destroyed planet, from thousands of feet above, his soaring existence is brought crashing down when he rescues a beautiful stranger from a downed spacecraft that he has been envisioning in his dreams. Her arrival triggers a chain of events that forces him to question everything he knows and puts the fate of humanity in his hands. Are Jack and Victoria an effective team? Who is the authority? Will Jack save what is left of Earth?

I went into the theater expecting an action movie with a climactic ending. While my expectations were met, the two hour long movie drug its feet a little too far into the ground as it reached its end. Kosinski had many brilliant ideas, just not enough time to develop them. The film had cinematic inspiration, however, it would have thrived if brought to America as a television saga.  He could have expanded on the human resistance; he could have used his stars as a draw for the audience. Cruise’s performance was habitual, a typical role. His narration suited the intensity of the topics presented, but nothing unique and out of the ordinary. The love triangle between Cruise and his two leading ladies added yet another layer to an already extensive plot. The story needed a fresh pair of eyes in its beginning stages, but what are you gonna do? Another sci-fi film, another $27 dollars down the drain. You pay your money, you take your chances.