In the new film Oblivion, the world meets its match when a network of alien imposters nearly destroy all of humanity, leaving the Earth a barren and ravaged territory monitored by an army of drones.
Morgan Freeman co-stars in the movie alongside Tom Cruise, and says while he has “mixed feelings” on the use of drones – officially known as unmanned aerial vehicles – he does see the advantage to using them for military strategy.
“We’re getting rid of a lot of bad guys without killing ourselves, without putting our own troops into harm’s way,” the 75-year-old star tells theGrio at the Hollywood premiere. “I think the controversy’s over collateral damage, but there’s collateral damage with I don’t care what you use.”
Freeman compares military drone attacks to air raids in wars, a combat strategy which has also killed innocent civilians despite its human-led operations.
“When we were dropping bombs from 45,000 feet, [people] didn’t care,” Freeman points out. “They didn’t know.”
Superstars take on the future world
While Oblivion may not explore the intricacies of anti-terrorist ploys, it does present a unique futuristic scene where computers hold more power than human intelligence, and drones are left to decipher good from evil. The storyline plays out 60 years into the future at a time when human life has practically vanished due to extraterrestrial incursion, and the world has turned predominately ashen.
Now the only man left alive, Cruise and his partner (Andrea Riseborough) remain on the planet in an isolated skytower, where they serve a mysterious human commander in an operation to extract the planet’s remaining resources and destroy the imposters with the assistance of their drones.
Freeman said he chose to join the film simply to work with Cruise, and that he’s more limited than people would expect when it comes to his selection of movie roles.
“There’s definitely stuff that I’ve wanted to do, that I’ve never gotten the chance to do, and can’t do now cause I’m past the age for it,” he explains. “Jobs just come your way. It’s not like you have your pick of anything…But Tom Cruise, working with him – it’s great. I’m hoping it’s not the last time.”
Cruise plays the last man on Earth, a character he describes as an average, ordinary, “blue collar drone repair guy.” As a fan of both action and sci-fi, the star says he liked the setting and conflict that Oblivion presented, and feels he’d never read a script of this nature before.
Additionally, he says it offered a philosophical approach to innovation, and possibly even a forecast of what’s to come in technological advancement.
“I don’t want those drones in the real world,” Cruise admits. “But sci-fi is dealing with humanity. It’s always dealing with future: man versus machine and identity; what do you believe, what don’t you believe. I think that kind of thing is told in a very unique way.”
Rise of the drones?
According to Time, drones are infiltrating human life, from the battlefield to the home. Ten years ago, the Pentagon utilized only about 50 drones in its fleet, while now it employs nearly 7,500.
In 2012, there were 447 drones attacks in Afghanistan during the first 11 months, and this year, there have been five covert attacks in Pakistan, eight attacks in Yemen, and strategists are planning to construct a drone base in Northwestern Africa.
The operations have sometimes been successful, but they’ve also fallen off target, killing more innocent people than predators. Opponents have criticized Obama for making it his “weapon of choice,” or “key national security policy,” and claim that he has misled Americans about his intent.
But drones are also being used for domestic purposes. Developers have created devices to save people’s lives at home, monitor hunting of endangered species, and conversely, “spy” over the country’s skies.
“When the movie was being conceived, the drone debate was a non-debate,” Oblivion writer Karl Gajdusek notes. “We were using drones, but that debate that’s happening in America wasn’t happening when we made this film…I don’t worry about a drone thing per se at all. I think you can talk about the surveillance state. You can talk about a state that wants to survey its people as a policy whether it’s done from a drone or a helicopter or a telescope, I don’t care. It’s really about the philosophy of what you want the government to know.”
He adds, “Obviously the drones in the movie are science fiction conceived. It’s the fun bad guy. It’s a less serious thing than what we’re talking about when we [are] discussing government policy.”
Another feature in Freeman’s big year
Beyond surveillance, the film touches on the end of ordinary life, and the often times overlooked beauty of simplicity.
For Freeman, it’s the latest in slate of films on tap for this year. The Academy Award-winner already starred in Antoine Fuqua’s new movie, Olympus Has Fallen, and will soon appear in the star-packed thriller Now You See Me. He also has two additional films aimed for release towards the latter part of the year.
Remarkably, the actor averages at least two films a year, often more, and his celebrity seems to only be mounting with age. Now one of the most revered talents in Hollywood, his acting career didn’t even take off till later in life when he made Driving Miss Daisy in his 50s, proving reward does come to the persistent.
“I didn’t want to fail,” Freeman remarks. “You know how you fail? You give up.”
Oblivion opens in theaters April 19.
Follow Courtney Garcia on Twitter at @CourtGarcia