An ambitious sci-fi that started strong before falling to pieces discovers new signs of streaming life

Tom Cruise and Joseph Kosinski recently conspired to deliver the near-perfect Top Gun: Maverick, one of the finest blockbusters of the modern era that rode a wave of critical acclaim all the way to almost $1.5 billion at the box office, ensuring their second collaboration turned out a great deal better than the first time they teamed up on Oblivion.

Not that the ambitious sci-fi epic was a disaster, but a great deal more was expected from the world’s biggest movie star making a rare detour into the genre, especially when the visual mastermind behind Tron: Legacy was at the helm. Once again, though, Kosinski’s stunning visuals failed to paper over a narrative that was severely lacking.

A 54 percent Rotten Tomatoes score and a $287 million take at the box office on production costs of $130 million is almost the very definition of solid-if-unspectacular for a project with Cruise front and center. Starting off strong with the leading man embracing his lonely existence, the introduction of more familiar sci-fi trappings and action sequences ultimately conspires to send Oblivion down a route marked “seen it all before,” something we weren’t expecting given the stellar opening act.

Nonetheless, shiny big budget spectacle and A-list superstars remain bulletproof on streaming, which is no doubt one of the reasons why Oblivion has conspired to fly onto the Prime Video Top 10 in a dozen countries spanning three continents this weekend, per FlixPatrol.

It’s decent, but nowhere near as good as it could have been, which is a major missed opportunity when you consider what Cruise and Kosinski went on to cook up almost a decade later.