Tom Cruise took the plunge into Sci-Fi. He's one of the last living members on earth in the new film from TRON: Legacy 3D – director Joseph Kosinski.
As one of the few films that is excellent to the IMAX format in our cinemas, the sci-fi film Unconscious goes. This film is directly shot for the IMAX format, with the entire film shot on the latest 8K digital cameras. That's 7,680 × 4,320 pixels. This is the first time this format has been used. It's noticeable because even in IMAX it's only 4K, so within the downscaling the 4096×1714 pixel resolution used looks good and you can't see the sharp edges of the pixels. Unfortunately though, the Czech subtitles were only prepared for 4K, and so pixel pitting was visible.
It was also interesting to note that for this film, the IMAX image format was adjusted to a ratio better suited for such a large theatre, and so one gets to enjoy the image more at the bottom and top edges. Instead of the 1:2.4 format, the 1:1.9 format is used.
Joseph Kosinski is a new director with a good visual sense, and made his name as the director of TRON: Legacy 3D, which was all about computers and in computers. Its graphic component was very pleasingly technical. Joseph Kosinski chose a very beautiful, almost Apple-like, visual component, where all the scenery, as well as the technical sci-fi gadgetry, is very well technically depicted. Each of the moving parts of the film has its own space that fits perfectly into the universe.
Unfortunately, there is only the visual component to love. The story, unfortunately, is already weaker. Jack and his partner are maintenance workers on an earth that is destroyed by an alien attack. The inhabitants of the earth win, but at the cost of losing their planet. Jack is still repairing destroyed drones until the woman from his dreams shows up in a wrecked ship from the past. I won't spoil it of course, it's just an introduction that shows all the life on the ruined earth and the disruption of the regular routine that changes the main character's mindset and situation.
Tom Cruise, in my opinion, still can't act much, he's still just a dude who gets caught up in new situations. Unfortunately, as you'd expect, Morgan Freeman outplays him in the acting department. The rest of the actors are just there for decoration and to give the main character a choice between women, or to educate him about the workings of the world and his employers. Unfortunately, Olga Kurylenko isn't an actress either, so she just stands there and watches.
I really liked how the whole film was visually gorgeous, but all the ideas have been used multiple times before in previous films. Joseph Kosinski is also the screenwriter of this film, but he used pre-existing stuff that we saw 45 years ago. Yes some of the sources of inspiration for the film's design were already used in the groundbreaking 2001: A Space Odyssey. I was very embarrassed that the most important computer that can be responsible for the most important plot is just a big clone of the famous PC Hal.
As I conclude my review, it's obvious that the only thing about this film is the gorgeous visuals of the film. The story was already there, Cruise and the other actors, well, with one exception, are playing in their own minor league. I'd rather watch 2001, where despite the slowness of the film, one is in awe of everything that happens in the film. Unconscious is a film solely on Sci-fi and visuals. I'll also try to remember the earlier film Moon, which was simply better.
So how much do I give this film? Cruise 10%. Morgan Freeman - 90%, Story 10% and the visuals with the film's music 100% So a total of 50%.
Original article April 18, 2013 – Kritiky.cz
