Oblivion (1994)

“Jim, beam me up!”  30 September 2019

In this Western/Sci-Fi/Comedy mash-up, a lizard-man named Redeye comes to Oblivion, ready to pick a fight with the local sheriff.  After gunning him down in the street, Redeye and his cronies take over the town. The townspeople need a hero. In steps the sheriff’s estranged, empathic son, Zack.  Can he face his fears and defeat Redeye?

I’m really amazed to read all the extremely positive things about Oblivion across the internet.  It seems to have quit a cult following. This is my second time viewing the film and, in all honesty, I don’t get it.  Sure, there are some quirky bits I liked and a couple of characters that work for me (Andrew Divoff as Redeye and Carel Struycken as Gaunt to be specific), but the overall film just falls flat.   The plot is way too predictable. Is there anyone who couldn’t see Zack’s transformation to hero coming from a mile away? The acting doesn’t help. Richard Joseph Paul, as Zack, made for a pretty weak hero.  At no time did I get behind and root for his character. In fact, you could say pretty much the same thing about Zack’s compatriots, Maddie and Buteo. They’re too dull to care about. But Oblivion’s greatest sin comes in the parts that were meant to be funny.  Too often, the comedy left me groaning – not laughing. Listening to George Takei’s seemingly endless Star Trek references (like the one in my title) is about as cringy as anything I’ve heard recently. But poor Julie Newmar’s performance is even worse. The former Catwoman plays a madame named Miss Kitty (get it, Catwoman playing Miss Kitty – oh how hilarious), complete with purring and hissing.   Instead of laughing (or even smiling), I was left shaking my head in disbelief. I felt sorry for her. What a poor excuse of a movie.

3/10