Whenever I ask people if they have seen the latest Tom Cruise movie, I always hear the same response: “I don’t like Tom Cruise.” But people make this judgment almost solely because of Cruise’s controversial personal life, or maybe it is from an impression he exudes of arrogance and over-confidence in his acting abilities. But just look back at the last 25 years, and of the many great films that Cruise has been a part of: the Mission Impossible series, Top Gun, Rain Man, A Few Good Men, Magnolia, Born on the Fourth of July, Risky Business, Eyes Wide Shut, Jerry Maguire, Minority Report; just to name a few. When Cruise chooses a movie, he usually chooses well. “Oblivion” is no exception. While perhaps not at the top of the list of Cruise’s best, it succeeds as a solid, entertaining sci-fi flick all the same.

“Oblivion” exists somewhere between entertaining summer blockbuster and thought-provoking science fiction. The story may seem like one that we have seen before. It is the year 2077. As described by Cruise in a voice-over narration, Earth had been attacked by a race of aliens 60 years earlier called Scavengers, or “Scavs” for short. Though we succeeded at getting rid of them, the planet was almost completely destroyed, and is now uninhabitable. All of the humans have been transported to Titan, one of Saturn’s moons, or to a tetrahedron shaped space station above Earth. Jack Harper (Tom Cruise) and Victoria Olsen (Andrea Riseborough) are a married two-person crew; stationed on Earth for a time in order to keep up and maintain the drones, which, when operable, help to extract the Earth’s remaining natural resources and to also take out any remaining Scavs.

But, from the start, we know that something is not quite right. If the situation is exactly as Jack originally describes it, then why does he have these strange dreams about a woman he has never met (Olga Kurylenko) or just a general feeling that Earth is his actual home; when in reality he could not have known what Earth was like before it was destroyed? The ambiguity and uncertainties are what make “Oblivion” an enjoyable puzzle to decipher. Who is Jack, what really happened to Earth, and who are these mysterious group of humans that he soon finds hiding out in caves, when all of them were supposed to have been transported to the space station or to Titan?

The essence of “Oblivion,” as described by the director Joseph Kosinski, is inspired by the science fiction films of the 1970’s. I observed a few references to “2001: A Space Odyssey;” with the ideas of artificial intelligence, or the overall mysteriousness of the aliens. I could even see an homage to Hal 9000 at one point, the robotic intelligence from “2001.” Some other influences are “Planet of the Apes,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” and even a connection to the more modern film “Wall-E.”

At the same time, “Oblivion” is visually stunning, and will easily entertain anyone looking for the action-packed thrills of your average big-budget summer movie. Whether gazing at high-angle shots of the dystopian landscape of what was once New York City, or experiencing some edge-of-your-seat fighting action, the film will attract any casual moviegoer. And, as mentioned before, Tom Cruise is perfectly cast as Jack Harper. He is charming, emotional, and an all-around bad-ass, proving once again his star power, and his ability to tackle and succeed at almost any genre. Olga Kurylenko, perhaps most famous as a Bond girl in the film “Quantum of Solace,” is also well-cast as the mysterious girl in Jack Harper’s dreams. Some of the other cast members I wish had a more elaborated role, such as Morgan Freeman as Malcolm Beech, the leader of the group of humans. But really, this is Tom Cruise’s movie.

The one possible setback about “Oblivion” is the unconventional story. At times, I looked at my friend sitting next to me in the theater, and we both expressed our confusion. But at the same time, this is also what I appreciated about the film. To always have a straight-forward narrative, with every question perfectly answered, is sometimes boring. It may be what many people want out of a movie, but I truly feel that sometimes you have to be confused, so that you can put the pieces together in your head and figure things out for yourself afterwards. But, even with this aspect, “Oblivion” has enough stunning imagery and thrill-seeking value that people may overlook the parts that they don’t understand. And especially for anyone really into science fiction, “Oblivion” is a treat.