Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on May 2013

This pretty, forgettable exercise in competence will remind you of the many better movies to which it is glaringly indebted: Total Recall, The Matrix, I Am Legend, Star Wars and even WALL-E (though the star in that last one arguably had more range). Tom Cruise and Andrea Riseborough are some of the last humans on a post-apocalyptic Earth, monitoring maintenance and defense drones (aliens). Tom has a revelation, etc., etc. Slick looking until the cliches start piling up. This is an empty, self-serious Tom Cruise vehicle that never really achieves lift-off. Bombastic soundtrack. Go rent 2010’s Moon.