Line #204 Film/Oblivion2013


1	[[quoteright:299:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/oblivion2013poster.png]]
2
3	->''"Earth is a memory worth fighting for."''
4
5	''Oblivion'' is a 2013 [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalyptic]] ScienceFiction {{Action\|Genre}} film directed by Creator/JosephKosinski (''Film/TronLegacy'') starring Creator/TomCruise, Creator/OlgaKurylenko, Creator/AndreaRiseborough, Creator/NikolajCosterWaldau, Creator/MelissaLeo and Creator/MorganFreeman. Anthony Gonzalez of Music/{{M83}} and Creator/JosephTrapanese (''Film/TheRaid'', ''WesternAnimation/TronUprising'') are the composers. It is adapted from a comic book created by Kosinski that never got published.
6
7	Cruise plays Jack Harper, a repairman who maintains a series of drones on the surface of the Earth in the aftermath of an alien invasion which resulted in half of Earth being destroyed. When he finds a crashed spaceship, he starts a series of events that forces him to question everything he knows.
8
9	It's something of an "old-fashioned" style of Sci-Fi, i.e., an unraveling mystery/elements of conspiracy with visual effects concentrating mostly on a post-apocalyptic wasteland, as opposed to a series of confrontations in flashy scenery.
10
11	Not to be confused with ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'' nor the [[Film/Oblivion1994 1994]] SpaceWestern or its sequel.
12	----
13	!!This film has the following tropes:
14
15	* ActorAllusion:
16	** One of the more prominently featured artifacts that Jack collects is a set of aviator shades - [[Film/TopGun perhaps previously owned by a certain naval aviator?]]
17	** Another of his treasured artifacts is a faded New York Yankees ballcap, like the one Tom Cruise wore in the first half of ''Film/WarOfTheWorlds2005''.
18	** Jack is at one point covered in ash, after witnessing an alien device [[Film/WarOfTheWorlds2005 vaporize someone]] in front of him.
19	* AerialCanyonChase: A high-speed canyon chase ensues between Harper and three drones after he stops being loyal to Sally.
20	* AfterTheEnd: The primary setting is Earth after it was devastated by an interstellar war.
21	* AGodAmI: Though done more as a BadassBoast. [[spoiler:When Jack quotes the line about "the temples of his Gods", the Tet replies: "I created you, Jack. I ''am'' your God."]]
22	* AlienAbduction: [[spoiler: What happened to the real Jack and Victoria. It was Harper's decision to uncouple the piloting section from the [[HumanPopsicle crew section]] as it was being [[TractorBeam swallowed by]] the Tet [[HeroicSacrifice that prevented]] the rest of the ''Odyssey'''s crew from becoming clones.]]
23	* AlienInvasion: By a race referred to as "Scavengers," or "Scavs" for short. The setting is in the aftermath, about 60 years afterwards, and TheRemnant haunt the Earth's underground. [[spoiler: Or so Jack believes. Turns out, the AlienInvasion was actually by the Tet, a gigantic autonomous AI, and the Scavengers are the human resistance.]]
24	* AlienSky: The wreckage of the [[DetonationMoon destroyed Moon]].
25	* AndStarring: "And Creator/MelissaLeo." [[note]]as Sally[[/note]]
26	* ApocalypticLog: The flight recorder playback of the ''Odyssey''.
27	* ArcWords:
28	** The poem that Jack reads in the library is quoted several times and is directly relevant to the plot:
29	-->And how can man die better than facing fearful odds,
30	-->For the ashes of his fathers, and the temples of his Gods?
31	** Also, "effective team." [[spoiler: If they stop being an effective team, Jack and Victoria are [[KillAndReplace killed and replaced]].]]
32	* ArtisticLicensePhysics:
33	** The Moon is still in several large pieces that haven't orbited each other nor fallen back together after 60 years.
34	** The buildings of Manhattan are buried under an improbable amount of dirt, and probably couldn't take the weight of that much dirt on top of, around and on their sides without being in much worse shape. Tsunamis and earthquakes are mentioned, but they would probably have destroyed the buildings rather than just buried them all. [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools However this all makes for some stunning, beautiful visuals]].
35	** The Tet appears to be in an orbit around Earth that is at most a couple of hundred kilometers high, yet it appears to lose line of sight (and communication) with Tower 49 for around 12 hours each night. Such a low orbit would normally mean that the Tet would orbit Earth within a much shorter time, meaning it might be offline for less than an hour before rising above the horizon again [[note]] The International Space Station orbits Earth in about 90 minutes and is 400 kilometers high [[/note]]. The 12-hour orbital period shown in the movie would correspond to a much higher orbit of several tens of thousands of kilometers.
36	** Put a CoolBike on its twin stands, pull a winch cable out of the front, rappel down into a building. How does that work? It seems unlikely that the bike would be heavy enough or anchored well enough by the two stands to hold Jack up, especially with the acrobatics he goes through on the end of that line.
37	* AsceticAesthetic: How the Tet and anything related to it (the Towers, the suits, the drones, the firearms) is represented. Borders EverythingIsAnIpodInTheFuture in some places (like the Towers' communication consoles).
38	* AwardBaitSong: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mkUp1V3ys0 Oblivion]]
39	* BabiesEverAfter: The movie's epilogue [[spoiler:which shows Julia tending the garden at Jack-49's secret cottage with a three year-old girl which is most [[SomeoneToRememberHimBy definitely]] his]].
40	* BackToCameraPose: The film shows the protagonist atop a rocky mound in a post-apocalyptic New York, looking up at a waterfall cascading off the Empire State Building.
41	* BellyScrapingFlight: Happens a few times to Jack's aircraft, sometimes with its belly scraping the side of a canyon because it's capable of flying in several different orientations.
42	* BigApplesauce: The movie happens in a virtually unrecognizable New York State. What remains of the Empire State Building is a plot-important location.
43	* BigDamnHeroes:
44	** The drone coming to Jack's rescue during the Scavs' ambush on the remains of the New York Public Library, and the drones sent to intimidate the Scavengers when they capture Jack and Julia. [[spoiler: Although considering TheReveal that follows, they could be considered more of a VillainousRescue in action.]]
45	** When the drone on Tower 49 is reactivated, [[spoiler: killing Victoria]] and getting ready to shoot Jack, Julia saves him by blowing away the drone with the Bubble Ship's guns. [[spoiler: The fact that the later AerialCanyonChase has the drones getting shot repeatedly with the same guns with little damage making it also an example of WorfHadTheFlu, is justified by Harper mentioning earlier that the drone isn't worth much without its armor.]]
46	** During the final shootout between the drones and the Scavengers on the bunker, one of the drones is about to shoot Julia [[spoiler: and some human civilians]]. [[DefiantToTheEnd Julia picks up a gun]] and [[FiveRoundsRapid shoots the drone ineffectively]]... but is enough of a diversion for Sykes to be able to [[ConvenientlyTimedAttackFromBehind shoot it in the back]] with no problem. [[RebelLeader Beech]] also mans a turret and shoots it out with one of the drones, destroying it although he ends up injured because of it.
47	** [[spoiler:A swarm of drones swoop down to finish off LaResistance. Sykes and Kara order everyone inside while they make a clearly suicidal attempt to hold them off. Fortunately they're a KeystoneArmy and fall out of the sky the moment the Tet is destroyed.]]
48	* BilledAboveTheTitle: Downplayed. The movie poster has Tom Cruise's name appear in small letters right above the title.
49	* BittersweetEnding: The Earth is finally saved from [[spoiler: the Tet]] after 60 years of a war that humanity pretty much lost, and that which remains of humanity finally will have a chance to rebuild. [[spoiler: All that it cost were the lives of the Drone Tech 49 clone of Jack Harper and Malcolm Beech. Julia has [[SomeoneToRememberHimBy a daughter]] and the 52nd Drone Tech clone of Harper has finally found her after looking for her for three years.]]
50	* BookEnds: Jack finishes his OpeningMonologue with "I can't shake the feeling that Earth is still my home". The last scene of the movie has Jack closing with "And I am home".
51	* BulletproofVest: The suit Jack wears for most of the movie is a pretty effective SpaceClothes kind of armor. [[spoiler: We see how effective it is when [[SergeantRock Sergeant Sykes]] shoots him [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique in the chest]] during the interrogation scene. At the least, it can take 9mm rounds with nothing to show for it but one hell of a scare.]]
52	* TheCakeIsALie: [[spoiler:"There is no Titan".]]
53	* CatapultNightmare: Jack awakes this way from another dream of Julia at the lake, at the moment when she calls out for him.
54	* ChekhovsBoomerang: The fact that [[StuffBlowingUp drone fuel cells are pretty devastating when they go off]] comes to bite both sides of the conflict [[NukeEm in the ass]] a few times.
55	* ChekhovsGun[=/=]BrickJoke: Lots of them:
56	** The LogoJoke shows the Tet and the ''Odyssey'', the latter being easy to miss. Repeated reminders about the Tet's blind spot make this especially relevant later in the film.
57	** Jack's recurring dream about a viewfinder on the Empire State Building. [[spoiler: It's where the original Jack Harper proposed marriage to Julia.]]
58	** The picture of Jack and Vika in the apartment. [[spoiler:It's the picture Victoria took in the ''Odyssey'' just before arriving at the Tet.]]
59	** The fact that the Scavs [[spoiler: aka LaResistance]] have been stealing drone fuel cells.
60	** The fact that lightning strikes force electronics (such as the Bubble Ship's [[spoiler: and the drones']]) to reboot if struck while flying.
61	** The constant reminding to MissionControl to please send parts and armor to repair the drone on Tower 49, which Sally keeps disregarding. [[spoiler: Julia's BigDamnHeroes moment later on is also a good example of WorfHadTheFlu because of it.]]
62	** The missing drone mentioned at the beginning. [[spoiler: It was captured by LaResistance, but it's intended use to carry a nuke to the Tet ends up [[SubvertedTrope sadly subverted]].]]
63	** The Bubble Ship and the drones using voice recognition to identify Jack. The latter comes in use when Jack first rescues Julia from the crashed ''Odyssey'' (since they're programmed to not shoot him). [[spoiler: As for the former... as Jack discovers, all that it's necessary to use another clone's ship is to change the Tech operator number you say for ID, which comes in handy [[HeroStoleMyBike because he needs to use it to save Julia's life after she's accidentally shot]].]]
64	** The ''Odyssey'''s flight recorder. [[spoiler: And its nuclear reactor core.]]
65	** The Scav communications equipment that Jack deactivates on the ruins of the Empire State Building. And the building itself.
66	** The fact that the drones can track Jack's DNA comes back to bite the ass of the Scavs during the final act.
67	** When Jack first reports about finding Julia to MissionControl, Sally says there is a great deal of interest up there in bringing her up to the Tet. [[spoiler: During the TrojanPrisoner gambit, Jack mentions this back to Sally to be allowed into the ship.]]
68	** When Jack first starts checking the wreckage of the crashed ''Odyssey'', he opens a HumanPopsicle capsule which is empty, and when the Scavs arrive, you can see them taking that capsule. It becomes pretty important later on [[spoiler: as it is the capsule Julia goes into thinking that she and Jack will do the TrojanPrisoner gambit and Jack then transports to his cabin, where she will be safe. The capsule is labeled "J. Harper"--it belonged to her (real) husband.]]
69	** A minor one: when Jack first disables the communications equipment in the Empire State, he takes a [[Film/KingKong gorilla]] plushie that was on the room and puts it among his collection of scavenged stuff. [[spoiler: He remembers seeing the child who dropped it later.]] Also, [[spoiler: Julia's child is seen playing with it in the movie's epilogue.]]
70	** When Jack first checks up on the downed Drone 166 in the opening scenes, he [[spoiler:affixes the loose fuel cell to the frame with chewing gum because he doesn't have the proper tools with him to do a better job.]] When Drone 166 comes back online [[spoiler:after his fight with Jack 52, he reaches into the open hatch and is able to yank the fuel cell out quickly and easily because it was just chewing gum holding it in]].
71	* ChekhovsGunman:
72	** The deactivated drone that is being repaired on Tower 49.
73	** Jack Harper. [[spoiler: Clone Number 52, to be specific. Shaken from his oblivion after encountering Jack 49 and Julia, he seeks her out after encountering the survivors.]]
74	** Drone 166, which Jack goes out to fix in a routine job during the expository opening scenes. It comes back to [[spoiler:"save" him from the Scav ambush at the buried NY City Library]], it arrives at [[spoiler:the ''Odyssey'' crash site to dispose of survivors]], and then it becomes [[spoiler:the lead drone and most persistent foe chasing after Jack when he escapes with Julia]].
75	* CloneArmy: The [[spoiler: Tet cloned an army of astronaut Jack Harper to [[KillAllHumans conquer earth]], then switched to drones and had the Jacks maintain them.]]
76	** It's left unexplained why [[spoiler:Tet would send out Harper clones instead of the superior {{Attack Drone}}s to fight the human forces, though given how often the coversations between Vika and Sally concern a lack of spare parts for the drones and the unacceptability of losing one, it can be inferred the drones are either non-replaceable or at least much more resource-intensive than clones are.]]
77	* CompanionCube: Harper's Bubble Ship has a bobble-head figurine glued to the instrument panel that Jack calls "Bob" and occasionally talks to. He makes a point of gluing it to his [[spoiler: fellow clone's]] replacement Bubble Ship's dashboard after his first one gets wrecked.
78	* CoolBike: Harper's motorcycle-which is collapsible so it can be carried on the Bubble Ship's storage space, has integral winch and sensors, and is pretty rugged. [[spoiler: Pity that [[HumiliationConga it gets stolen early in the movie, and then soon after Harper gets it back it runs out of gas]].]]
79	* CoolMask: The Franchise/{{Predator}}-style masks that the Scavs wear. Made of Stealth Bomber material (as well as the rest of their armor), with voice distortion, and very intimidating. [[spoiler:It's no wonder they look like rampaging aliens during the first act.]]
80	* CoolPlane: The "Bubble Ship" (see FutureCopter below). Visually speaking, the drones, as well.
81	* CoolStarship: The "Tet" space station, and the ''Odyssey'' (for how little time it appears on-screen, anycase)
82	* CoversAlwaysLie: The page image poster shows a waterfall cascading down by the Empire State Building, but in the film it is buried up to the observation deck all around. [[http://www.imdb.com/media/rm4179469056/tt1483013?ref_=tt_ov_i Another poster]] shows the George Washington Bridge free and at an angle, while in the movie it is half-buried and standing straight.
83	* CryoSickness: When Julia is woken from her cryogenic escape pod, the first thing she does is vomit. It also turns out she is dehydrated. She makes a full recovery from this state though.
84	* DarkIsNotEvil:
85	** The evil-looking Scavengers all wear dark colors and live in dark underground areas, but are eventually revealed [[spoiler:to be a human [[LaResistance resistance force]] led by [[Creator/MorganFreeman Malcolm Beech]] with noble goals]].
86	** The Tet is a pretty ominous-looking black obelisk in space, but Jack describes it as being something like a human MissionControl HQ. [[spoiler: [[SubvertedTrope Jack's wrong]]. [[DarkIsEvil The Tet is monstrous]].]]
87	** [[spoiler: At first, our hero Jack, Victoria, their home and all their equipment is pure white, establishing them as the good guys. As Jack continues his trip away from the evil side and towards the good, his white uniform becomes darker and closer to black. Notably, the Odyssey crew wear very dark gray uniforms which are nearly black. Also, the real Sally wears black, but when the Tet is impersonating her, it crops close to her face and doesn't show her black jacket.]]
88	* DetonationMoon: A torn-apart moon is a constant sight during night sequences. [[RebelLeader Malcolm Beech]] reminisces when it was blown apart to cripple the human race pre-invasion.
89	* DieLaughing: Combining the savoring of the imminent doom the Tet is facing and Jack's [[PrecisionFStrike one last comment]] to Sally, [[spoiler:Beech does this as the bomb lights off.]]
90	* DoubleMeaning: When [[spoiler: Vika is killed by the drone-in-maintenance]], Mission Control absolves Jack from blame by telling him that drones are unreliable. She wasn't only referring to the robots.
91	* DroneOfDread: The soundtrack makes use of the drone sounds.
92	* DyingMomentOfAwesome: [[spoiler: Jack 49 and Malcolm Beech.]]
93	* EarthThatWas: Earth was nearly destroyed during a war against a race of alien invaders known as Scavengers. They were only defeated by the use of nuclear weapons, which left most of the planet irradiated and uninhabitable.
94	* EverybodysDeadDave: [[spoiler: The fate of the entire ''Odyssey'' crew except for Julia. Bonus whammy points for this information being given to her by a clone of ''her own husband''.]]
95	* EverythingIsAnIpodInTheFuture: The Bubble Ship in particular is a prime example, all sleek curves and shiny white surfaces.
96	* EvilCannotComprehendGood: [[spoiler:Inability to understand the human psyche is where the Tet's plan falls apart. It thought it could just stick a male and female together and have them be content. It thought just killing one that was being inconvenient (Viki 49) would be brushed off. It thought all humans would have an aversion to death. It thought that invoking godhood would deter defiance.]]
97	* ExactWords: [[spoiler:During his trip to Tet's core, Jack is stopped by a pair of drones, Sally having [[LieDetector deduced that he has misled her]] about the nature of his return. Jack then replies quite honestly that he's returned because it's the only way humanity would survive. He just doesn't give her the specifics.]]
98	* {{Expendable Clone}}s: [[spoiler: Jack and Victoria, given Victoria 49's fate.]]
99	* EyeLightsOut: At the tower, the "death" of the drone that Julia is able to shoot down is signaled by its red light going out.
100	* TheFilmOfTheBook: Of a GraphicNovel, actually. It was begun by the film's director, as it happens. However, as of 2021 it ''still'' hasn't been finished or printed yet and most likely due to the movie's lukewarm reception (and that he intended it to be a movie rather than graphic novel in the first place), never will.
101	* FirstContact: The ''Odyssey'' mission was originally meant to be a manned mission to Titan, but was repurposed into this instead when they discovered an alien craft entering the solar system. To say that it [[GoneHorriblyWrong Went Horribly Wrong]] is a ''massive'' understatement.
102	* FlashbackEffects: Jack's memories of Julia at New York City are depicted in [[DeliberatelyMonochrome black and white]].
103	* ForbiddenZone: The radiation areas.
104	* {{Foreshadowing}}:
105	** [[spoiler: Beech expresses the desire to see the look on the Tet's face when they detonate the bomb. He got his wish.]]
106	** [[spoiler: Jack's conversation with Victoria at the beginning about the last UsefulNotes/SuperBowl before the AlienInvasion (especially, that the last play on it was a "Hail Mary" pass) becomes pretty important later on in context (the plan regarding the TrojanPrisoner is a "Hail Mary" play).]]
107	** [[spoiler: The phrase about sacrifice Jack finds in a book sets up his final sacrifice.]]
108	* FutureCopter: The VTOL craft that Jack flies around, the [[http://radicalpublishing.com/2013/04/oblivion-and-tom-cruise-a-closer-look-at-the-bubble-ship-design/ Bubble Ship]]. With guns (which can fire in any direction, even straight backwards), autopilot (and remote piloting), ejecting cockpit, voice-recognition lock, remotely-accessible surveillance cameras, storage space for a CoolBike, [[spoiler: and the capacity to fly up to space]].
109	* GeneticMemory: [[spoiler:Within both Jack Harper 49 and 52,]] which causes the original to be, in a sense, "reincarnated" in both.
110	* GenreThrowback: [[WordOfGod Joseph Kosinski's word]] is that it's meant to evoke sci fi movies of TheSeventies. What we see wouldn't be (that much) out of place in a Magazine/HeavyMetal or Creator/{{Moebius}} comic.
111	* GoForTheEye: Along with the engines, this is one of the few unshielded points on the drones.
112	* HappyFlashback: Jack and Julia, before the war.
113	* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Jack 49 and Malcolm Beech.]]
114	* HeroStoleMyBike: Harper got both ends of the trope. [[spoiler: LaResistance steals his motorcycle after an attempted ambush on the beginning of the movie, and he steals the Bubble Ship of one of his fellow clones when his own gets wrecked near the end.]]
115	* HopeSpot: [[spoiler:Jack and Julia return to the resistance base so Jack can reprogram the drone for an attack on the Tet. The drone is loaded on a vehicle and the doors are opened...just as three drones arrive outside and catch everyone not wearing their stealth gear. The reprogrammed drone is then destroyed in the subsequent shoot-out.]]
116	* HomeworldEvacuation: The film has humanity attempting to escape a ruined Earth that has been wrecked during an AlienInvasion war, settling a new colony on Titan. [[spoiler: Of course, this is [[TheCakeIsALie a big damn lie]], but saying any further details is a massive spoiler.]]
117	* HopeSproutsEternal: At least one small valley within the area of the state of New York remained forested. Harper found it, and it's where he keeps his [[TheCollectorOfTheStrange collection]] of [[DisasterScavengers scavenged memorabilia]] and a small cottage he built. [[spoiler: Him trying to give Victoria a small plant (presumably from this place) and her casually throwing it away, justifying it as the plant possibly being contaminated with radiation, is another sign of Victoria's StepfordSmiler behavior.]]
118	* HumanShield: [[spoiler:The only reason Julia isn't killed on landing is that Jack physically stands between the drone and her pod. Without the ability to get orders from the Tet, the drone withdraws. It's this act that convinces Beech that Jack is more than just a clone.]]
119	* HumanPopsicle: Julia and the rest of the ''Odyssey'' crew.
120	* IJustShotMarvinInTheFace: Dramatic example. During the fight between [[spoiler: Jack-49 and Jack-52]], they are struggling for a gun. The gun goes off, hitting Julia on the stomach. This prompts Jack to knock out his opponent [[spoiler: who is understandably shocked to have shot the woman he's seen in his dreams]] and [[HeroStoleMyBike steal his ship to get to the Tower]] and retrieve medical equipment to save her.
121	* IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight: [[spoiler:Basically what Beech tries on Jack after he sees him display curiosity (studying a book) and protectiveness/disobedience (protecting Julia's pod against the drone). We can assume from Sergeant Sykes' skepticism that this tactic has been tried before and failed -- presumably without Julia's presence to awaken their memories and feelings other captured 'Jack' soldiers refused to accept the evidence, like Victoria when confronted with Jack's wife.]]
122	** [[spoiler:Of special note pointing out Beech's tactic. When he reveals the captured drone to Jack for the first time, Jack refuses to help. He has Jack shot (his spacesuit protects him from damage), to put him under stress and then has Julia brought out on her knee's execution style with a gun put to her head. this incites a reaction from Jack. While at first this ruthlessness seems out of character, it's just Beech bluffing to intentionally stoke Jacks feelings and memories and set him on a path that will "bring him back"]]
123	* IWantMyJetpack: By 2017 (a mere 4 years after the movie's release), we were supposed to have self contained "delta sleep" capsules that allow humans to survive for up to 60 years in hibernation and all of the space hardware we need to send a manned mission to Titan. This [[CaptainObvious did not happen]].
124	* IncendiaryExponent: The drone on Tower 49 [[spoiler: right after it gets reactivated by the Tet and vaporizes Victoria 49]] is briefly on fire for no reason other than looking pretty scary (and floating into the room through recently-shot curtains).
125	* IronicEcho: Between Mission Control and Victoria, Jack's partner.
126	--> '''Mission Control:''' Are you an effective team?
127	--> '''Victoria:''' We are an effective team.\
128	([[spoiler: When Victoria betrays Jack]])\
129	'''Mission Control:''' Are you still an effective team?\
130	'''Victoria:''' [[spoiler: We are not an effective team.]]
131	* KillAndReplace: Jack and Victoria were astronauts on a mission to Titan when MissionControl picked up the Tet and sent them to investigate. [[spoiler:They were captured, cloned and probably killed. Then their clones were sent back to Earth to maintain equipment while the Tet drains the world of water to power itself.]]
132	* LightIsNotGood: The white-suited humans in their clean, sterile towers. Sure, they're more-or-less good people, but [[spoiler: they're unwittingly maintaining the Tet's ongoing obliteration of humanity]]. Similarly, the shiny, white, disturbingly TriggerHappy AttackDrones.
133	* LogoJoke: The Universal logo features Earth with coastlines consistent with much of the oceans being drained. It also shows the "Tet" space station floating over it, as well as the ''Odyssey'', which is easier to miss. This becomes a [[FridgeBrilliance plot point]]. [[spoiler: Why doesn't the Tet already have Julia, if it wants her so badly? The ''Odyssey'' is in its [[ChekhovsGun blind spot!]]]]
134	* MarsNeedsWater: Humanity has rigs draining all of Earth's oceans to produce fusion energy in order to send the rest of humanity to Titan. [[spoiler: Actually, the Tet itself is gathering it to finish off humanity and power its trip to another planet and begin again.]]
135	* MeaningfulEcho: Stanza XXVII of Horatius (The Lay). Gets used [[RuleOfThree three times]]. First time is just a random passage of a book Jack scavenged that he reads aloud. The second time it's said by Malcolm Beech to tell Harper that [[spoiler: he's different from the army of Harper clone soldiers that assisted in devastating the planet, since he has curiosity and they were 'soulless']]. The third time is said [[spoiler: by Harper right before his HeroicSacrifice by setting off the nuke inside of the Tet]].
136	-->"And how can man die better\
137	than facing fearful odds\
138	for the ashes of his fathers\
139	and the temples of his gods."
140	* MeaningfulName: ''Literature/TheOdyssey'' is the name of an ancient greek poem which describes Odysseus' journey home from the Trojan war, during which he gets lost for 10 years. Similarly, the spaceship ''Odyssey'' returns to Earth after being lost in space for a long time.
141	* MeaningfulRename: Julia Rusakova makes a point of presenting herself as [[spoiler: Julia Harper]] when she and Jack go back to the bunker. [[spoiler: When the TrojanPrisoner gambit is being worked on, she enters a capsule with a MeaningfulName on it. See ChekhovsGun for details.]]
142	* MirrorMatch: [[spoiler: A rare live-action version. Jack Harper-49 vs Jack Harper-52.]]
143	* MonumentalDamage: One of the first things we see during Jack's OpeningMonologue is the Pentagon smashed almost beyond recognition by a huge crater. The New York Public Library is completely underground. The Empire State Building is buried up to its observation deck, leaving only the gift shop and the spire above ground. The Statue of Liberty is broken up and scattered, with the torch-holding hand visible during a [[AerialCanyonChase high-speed canyon chase]]. The One World Trade Center building, taller than the ESB and prominent in the flashbacks, is ''nowhere to be seen'' in the present time, implying that whatever wasn't buried was demolished.
144	* MonumentalDamageResistance: The Capitol Building and the Washington Monument are free and still standing, everything else is gone and replaced by mud flats.
145	* MorningRoutine: Before the film's [[TitleCard title card]], we see Jack with Vika eating breakfast, exercising, and leaving for work in his bubble ship while his voice-over narrates the fall of humanity.
146	* MortalWoundReveal: Non-lethal example. During the fight between Jack-49 and Jack-52, they are [[GunStruggle struggling for a gun]] and it goes off. Julia (and the audience) only notices that she is hit by discovering the blood on her hand several moments later.
147	* MultinationalTeam: The NASA mission.
148	* NippleAndDimed: The nude swimming scene, showing off pretty much everything they could of Andrea Riseborough and still have a PG-13 rating - including ''light shining through her thigh gap''.
149	* NoEndorHolocaust: [[spoiler: The Tet is in low orbit and explodes in a giant explosion. No one is hurt.]]
150	** Hell, the freaking ''Moon'' was destroyed before that! Whatever happened later, couldn't be much worse.
151	* NukeEm: [[spoiler:The resistance sabotage a fusion reactor, and later the Tet.]]
152	* OffhandBackhand: The Drones' weapons can turn independently of each other and the general facing of the drone. Several of these ensue whenever the drones fight.
153	* OhCrap:
154	** When Jack is dropping down into the pit to get one of the drones, he finds out that [[spoiler: the drone signal was fake and it was all a trap,]] he starts to escape successfully - and then the line snaps and he falls back into the pit.
155	** Beech gives a small one [[spoiler:when Julia Rusakova reintroduces herself as Julia Harper, revealing that she and the original Jack were secretly married]], so Beech realizes that single factor might have been the only thing [[spoiler:that made "bringing back" Commander Jack Harper at all possible]].
156	* OneWordTitle: "Oblivion", meaning ''to be forgotten'' - as stated by Jack at the beginning, Jack and Victoria have chosen to forget the war so as not to interfere with his job. [[spoiler: ...Or so he thinks.]]
157	* OpeningMonologue: Provided by Harper while we get brought up to speed on the characters and situation and see a montage of SceneryPorn (The skies and some parts of the planet that look less [[BuffySpeak wasteland-y]]), SceneryGorn (the shot of the bombed-out Pentagon - with implications of it having been [[NukeEm ground zero for a nuclear strike]] during The War - and [[RuinsOfTheModernAge the remains of New York and Washington, DC]]), TechnologyPorn ([[CrystalSpiresAndTogas Tower 49]], the [[FutureCopter Bubble Ship]], the collector vessels, the guns and [[CoolStarship the Tet]]), {{Fanservice}} (ShirtlessScene and ToplessnessFromTheBack) and [[spoiler: some {{Irony}} in that [[TheCakeIsALie most of the info is unwitting bullcrap]] on Jack's part.]]
158	* OurWeaponsWillBeBoxyInTheFuture: Jack's rifle, and the guns on the drones and bubble ship too. [[spoiler: Though not the human's weapons.]]
159	* OutrunTheFireball: Happens to Jack during the final shootout with [[spoiler: the drones inside of LaResistance's bunker]] - complete with visible OhCrap moment as he starts to run away just before the explosion.
160	* PercussiveMaintenance: Jack does this to make the Bubble Ship restart when it gets struck by lightning the first time.
161	* PlummetPerspective: When Harper descents into the abandoned library, there is a huge chasm at the bottom which several objects fall into for effect.
162	* PostApocalypticDog: Jack discovers a shaggy dog early on and almost shoots it by accident.
163	* PosthumousNarration: {{Subverted}}. [[spoiler:In the epilogue, we're initially made to think Jack's narration is this, but it turns out to be Jack 52 looking for Julia.]]
164	* PrecisionFStrike: [[spoiler: '''Jack:''' [[PrecisionFStrike Fuck you]], Sally. [[HeroicSacrifice detonates fuel cells]]]]
165	* ProductPlacement: A really bizarre example: in the final scene [[spoiler:when the human survivors arrives to Jack's hidden valley]], one of said survivors has a sweater with the Coca Cola logo printed on it and he spends a significant amount of time front and center amongst the crowd.
166	* PyrrhicVictory: It initially appears that the humans have defeated the aliens, but at the cost of the Earth. [[spoiler: It's actually the opposite. The aliens have conquered the Earth, but they haven't yet managed to successfully wipe out the humans.]]
167	* RammingAlwaysWorks: While set on a much smaller scale, drone 166 does this to Jack 49's bubbleship a couple of times. The final time knocks him to go into the radiation zone.
168	* RecurringCameraShot: The scene where Jack finds Julia's sleeper pod, with her visible through the viewport while he looks down at her from the right with a hand on the pod, is mirrored later when he puts her back into it right before he flies up to the Tet.
169	* {{Retirony}}: Throughout the movie, both Jack and Victoria mention that they had two weeks remaining on their mission before being sent to the Tet, where they would go with the rest of the human survivors to their new home in the moon of Titan. [[spoiler: It's all a lie anyway. It's unclear what the Tet would actually do to them when that time comes, but considering the movie doesn't hold back in showing its monstrosity...]]
170	* TheReveal: [[spoiler: The war with the Scavs never happened the way it's told. Rather, the Tet kidnapped the real Jack and Victoria, cloned them a thousand times and used them to KillAllHumans and TakeOverTheWorld to be able to use the ocean water as a fuel source for itself.]]
171	* SaharanShipwreck: At one point we see Harper riding his CoolBike across a plane with lots of shipwrecks sticking out of the ground.
172	* ScavengerWorld: [[spoiler: The underground world beneath the surface of the Earth, where the remaining humans live.]]
173	* SceneryGorn: Most of the Earth has been wrecked and we get lots of shots of [[RuinsOfTheModernAge crumbled, bombed, and/or partially buried landmarks]] (among them the Empire State Building, the New York Public Library, Brooklyn Bridge, the Pentagon (implied to have been ground zero for a nuclear strike during the AlienInvasion war) and Washington, DC).
174	* SceneryPorn: But the few bits of untouched scenery we do see [[spoiler:such as Jack's hideaway]] are beautiful. The film was also filmed on location in Iceland and the wasteland is pretty damn beautiful as a result.
175	* SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale:
176	** The film's backstory includes a manned mission to Saturn's moon Titan in 2017- merely four years after the movie's release date. NASA doesn't even have concrete plans for a mission to Mars. Such a mission isn't likely to materialize until the 2030s. Also, it seems FTL communication is already possible by 2017, which did not come to pass in reality.
177	** Also, even if cracking the Moon caused massive tidal waves and earthquakes, there wouldn't be enough sedimentation to completely bury New York up to the Empire State's observation deck.
178	** The fracturing of the Moon would result in the destruction of life on Earth, except maybe a few extremophile bacteria extremely deep in the crust. It would continue to break into smaller parts and send debris to Earth in increasing amounts until the atmosphere was heated to thousands of degrees and the sky would be solid white with falling stars.
179	** As is often the case in such films, the final explosion just was as big as it needed to be; in this case, the "nuke" had the explosive yield of several hundred hydrogen bombs.
180	* SensorSuspense: The first time the Bubble Ship is struck by lightning, we get a glimpse of the Ship disapearing from the Tower's sensor display, much to the distress of Victoria.
181	* SergeantRock: Sykes. Complete with one-liners, JackBauerInterrogationTechnique, and BigDamnHeroes moment.
182	* ShinyLookingSpaceships: The winners of the war deploy clean, shiny and very advanced weapons and crafts. [[spoiler:An early hint about something strange going on, as a UsedFuture befits a post-apocalyptic civilization.]]
183	* ShoutOut:
184	** Several to ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey'', such as the shape of the drone pods, Jack being suddenly denied access to the base, the red glaring eye of the eerie antagonist or the name of the space mission to the unknown, ''Literature/TheOdyssey''. [[spoiler:Jack Harper's situation at the beginning of ''Oblivion'' is essentially a deconstruction of what happens to Dave Bowman at the end of ''2001'': aliens have abducted the first human astronaut to make contact with them, put him up in a luxurious all-white set of rooms, and made him into their servant.]]
185	*** Not to mention, [[SinisterGeometry The Tet]] very likely references how the Monolith originally had a tetrahedral shape in Creator/ArthurCClarke's original ''The Sentinel'' short story.
186	** The number of shout outs to the ''Franchise/MassEffect'' series in this movie is rather astounding:
187	*** Jack's rifle looks almost exactly like the Viper Sniper Rifle from ''VideoGame/MassEffect2''. It also sounds the same with similar-looking glowing blue projectiles.
188	*** Jack Harper has the same name as (''Franchise/MassEffect'' spoiler) [[spoiler: The Illusive Man.]]
189	*** (spoiler for ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'') FridgeBrilliance: [[spoiler:The Illusive Man was [[EpilepticTrees Indoctrinated]]!]]
190	*** [[CatchPhrase "Welcome back, Commander."]] [[spoiler:although this is a [[FridgeBrilliance massive case of]] {{Irony}} consodering where and when this is said.]]
191	*** The soundtrack is at times reminiscent of the ''Franchise/MassEffect'' soundtrack.
192	*** [[spoiler: The BigBad is a giant sentient spaceship with a god complex.]]
193	*** However, Sally's voice, her DeadpanSnarker attitude, and the turrets, [[spoiler:along with the cloning of two people, using them as test subjects, setting up individual areas, the remarkably mechanized voice when approaching the core, and the glaring red eye when confronted [[VideoGame/{{Portal}} are much closer to]] [=GlaDOS=]. All we need now is a literal CompanionCube and we have a [[CaptainErsatz post-apocalypic]] Portal!]]
194	*** The drones resemble the Oculus fighters. [[spoiler: The scene where the drones attack the human base is very similar to the scene near the end of ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' where an oculus breaks into the Normandy's cargo hold.]]
195	*** ''Mass Effect 3'''s final downloadable content ''Citadel'' has the plot revolves around [[spoiler:the clone of Commander Shepard, and its climax is the clone and the original Commander getting into a MirrorMatch battle. Guess what happens in this film?]]
196	** There's also a nice shoutout to the ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' series, with the present year being 2077, the same as the Great War. Considering the vital part nukes take place in the back story, it's hardly a coincidence. Also, in the making-of features, we learn that the Scavs' base is called Raven Rock - the same as The Enclave's base in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}''. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raven_Rock_Mountain_Complex Raven Rock is a real place too, in any case.]]
197	** The name Sally might be a shoutout to Sally Calypso from the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "Gridlock". The character was a newscaster who communicated with everyone solely via video transmissions, and [[spoiler: also turned out to be a recording of a person long dead]].
198	** The chase scenes through the city are more than a bit reminiscent of ''[[Film/ANewHope Star Wars: A New Hope]]''.
199	** Several to ''[[Film/PlanetOfTheApes1968 Planet of the Apes]]'': There's a shot of the Statue of Liberty during the chase (and buried ruins of the Empire State Building and other New York City landmarks evoking the 1968 film's [[Film/BeneathThePlanetOfTheApes sequel]]), and astronauts in cryosleep who crash back to an Earth long after apocalyptic cataclysms, and then does an inversion from ''Apes''; there, three male astronauts survive to return to Earth but the sole woman astronaut did not due to a cryosleep failure, while here Julia and three male astronauts survive the long cryosleep and the crash of the "Odyssey", [[spoiler:but a drone kills the other three still asleep in their pods]].
200	** There are nods to ''Film/{{Zardoz}}'', as the protagonists both stumble upon a library in the ruins which catch their interests, and one particular book they find becomes important. [[spoiler: And like the "Tabernacle" A.I., the Tet boasts that it's a "God".]]
201	* ShutUpHannibal: At the end, you get this doozy:
202	--> '''Sally:''' [[spoiler: I created you,]] Jack. [[spoiler: I am your God.]]\
203	[[spoiler:(a beat as Jack and Beech share a glance)\
204	'''Jack:''' [[PrecisionFStrike Fuck you]], Sally.\
205	(Jack [[HeroicSacrifice detonates]] the [[NukeEm fuel cells]] as Beech [[DieLaughing laughs at Jack's flippancy]])]]
206	* SlowMotionFall: Happens when the rope snaps and Harper falls back into the cave.
207	* SmashToBlack: When Jack gets apprehended by the scavengers. The screen goes black after the Darth Vader-like figure [[PistolWhipping knocks Jack out with his gun]].
208	* SomeoneToRememberHimBy: At the end, Julia tends a garden while her two-year-old daughter plays nearby. [[spoiler:Subverted, sorta, when it's revealed that Jack-52 [[note]]the other Jack that was in the MirrorMatch who was shaken from [[TitleDrop oblivion]] upon seeing Julia himself[[/note]] had joined up with Sykes and company and searched for the hidden cottage he knew was out there.]]
209	* StarScraper: Jack works from a Sky Tower located on a 3000 foot spindle. Another such tower is simply placed on a high mountain.
210	* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler:How Jack and Malcolm save the world from Tet]].
211	* TemptingFate: Jack laughs gleefully while being fast-winched out of the Scav ambush -- only for his rope to snap.
212	* TogetherInDeath: [[spoiler: What Julia thinks (and accepts) will happen during the TrojanPrisoner gambit. Jack has other ideas.]]
213	* TomatoInTheMirror: [[spoiler: He's not the real Jack Harper, but a clone. He works for the Tet, which is [[PlanetLooters stealing the planet's water for fuel]]. And he's just one of many (we follow the 49th, which fights the 52nd later on, and Beech mentions that the Tet used an army of Harper clones as foot soldiers during the war).]]
214	* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: The fact that [[spoiler: humanity isn't completely dead]] and there's a [[spoiler: [[LaResistance resistance]] led by Creator/MorganFreeman]] would have been a great plot twist if it hadn't been included in the very first trailer. Fortunately, there are other twists that the trailer managed to omit.
215	* TwoPersonPoolParty: Begins with Jack being made "RuleOfPool-compliant". For extra male {{Fanservice}}, Victoria's the one character we see naked ([[SexySilhouette her shadow from behind]]), with Jack ending up shirtless afterwards.
216	* UnderwaterKiss: From the TwoPersonPoolParty trope above.
217	* UnreliableNarrator: Jack has no memory from before he began his current job - his OpeningMonologue is entirely based on what Sally tells him ([[spoiler: and Sally herself is an UnreliableExpositor]]).
218	* TheUnreveal: [[spoiler:The origin, motives and nature of the Tet -- is it an Artificial Intelligence stealing the energy it needs, or is it acting on behalf of an unseen alien race?]]
219	* VehicularAssault: During the AerialCanyonChase, one of the drones tries to ram Jack's bubble ship against the canyon wall but fails. The last one however succeeds in doing a TakingYouWithMe, crashing into the bubble ship and forcing them to eject.
220	* VomitIndiscretionShot: When Julia wakes up from her cryosleep, she repeatedly pukes [[BreathableLiquid cryo-liquid]] on camera.
221	* WakingUpElsewhere: Julia wakes up at the cottage after passing out from her gutshot.
222	* WhamLine:
223	** [[spoiler:"I'm your wife."]]
224	** [[spoiler: "No. We are not an effective team."]]
225	** "The drones were [[spoiler:designed to kill humans.]]"
226	* WhamShot: After Jack [[spoiler:goes into the forbidden territory of the Radiation Zone and crash-lands with Julia, he finds another person who had landed in a Bubble Ship, and as a quick zoom-in shows when they're face-to-face... it's another Jack.]]
227	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
228	** [[spoiler: Jack 52 gets to grow old with Julia. What happened to the Victoria 52 that we saw?]]
229	** [[spoiler: And to the other 50+ Jacks and Victorias that presumably must be out there somewhere.]]
230	* WhyDontYaJustShootHim: Averted. Sgt Sykes actually does that when Jack 49 initially refuses to cooperate. Fortunately he was wearing a BulletproofVest, and Sykes was using a low caliber handgun, so while it knocked Jack down, it did stop the bullet.
231	* WorfHadTheFlu: The drone on Tower 49. See BigDamnHeroes and ChekhovsGun.

Context Film / Oblivion2013