Groundhog Day meets Starship Troopers meets Saving Private Ryan - but it was great

Rating: 8/10 (24 May 2016)

This film is "Groundhog Day" crossed with "Starship Troopers" and maybe "Saving Private Ryan". An alien race has attacked Earth and on the surface of things is winning, humanity is mounting a final push hoping that they can turn things around and hopefully get some success - if not win. Tom Cruise plays Major William Cage, he's screwed over and put in a front line squad of grunts who will be fighting on the beaches of France. Things go wrong and Cage is killed in action. Instead of fading away into death he wakes as if it was all a really vivid dream. Cage repeats the day numerous times, changing events ever so slightly but each time he dies and wakes up in the same day again. From here he tries to figure out what is happening and how to escape it while keeping his life. Step forward battle hardened Emily Blunt, a random encounter with her (one of the times she doesn't die) Cage tells her what is going on and she advises him to find her when he wakes up again. She seems to know what is going on with Cage and tries to coach him and get him and humanity through the day and the war.
Despite the parallels this obviously has to "Groundhog Day" I quite enjoyed this. The film wasn't one which invokes lots of thinking or emotion but it was a good old yarn to keep me entertained for the duration. The cast is really good, all players play their parts really well and are believable. The chemistry on film is tight and even silences seem to invoke a narrative conversation. The effects and CGI is tastefully done and works well to compliment the film. The story isn't original by any stretch of the imagination (I've read reviews that say it is but it really isn't something new, sorry) but it is an original delivery of the story which makes up for it not being 100% original. The film doesn't treat its audience like idiots by over explaining things and this is a refreshing approach. The science used and mentioned in the film seems believable enough despite being immersed in fiction. The action is great although there are times were wired stunts are used a lot, but I guess with a mecha-suit enhancing the wearers actions this is a likely hood. All in all I am going to give this a meaty 8 out of 10, definitely worth a watch and suitable for a wide range of audiences.