Edge Of Tomorrow Review

Rating: 9/10 (4 June 2014)

For some reason, during the marketing of 'Edge Of Tomorrow' this film seemed to have a lot of scepticism surrounding it, but I was excited for this movie from the moment I first heard about it. You know why? Because I really like Tom Cruise. I couldn't care less about his personal beliefs; he's a good actor so I can separate who he is from the roles he plays. Unfortunately, there are some people who can't do that and will refuse to see this movie just because of Tom Cruise. Those people don't know what they're missing out on, because 'Edge Of Tomorrow' is one of the best original sci-fi movies I have ever seen.
It's abundantly clear that Tom Cruise is passionate about sci-fi movies, and he definitely gives some great performances in them. Last year we saw him in 'Oblivion', and now we have him playing Major William Cage, a solider fighting in a war against aliens. Cage soon realises that he's stuck in a time loop of his last day in battle, and whenever he dies he wakes up at the beginning of the day again. This immediately draws comparisons to 'Groundhog Day', but there are also several other movies that 'Edge Of Tomorrow' seems to take inspiration from, with 'Aliens' being one that felt like a huge influence. This film even has Pvt. Hudson himself, Bill Paxton, who gives a very entertaining performance as Master Sergeant Farell. Another reason I was excited for this movie is because of Emily Blunt, and she did not disappoint. I'm always happy to see strong female characters in film, so it's great to see that Emily Blunt has her fair share of badass moments in this movie.
Even though 'Edge Of Tomorrow' obviously draws inspiration from many other movies, it never feels like a rip-off. Although its highly generic title may suggest otherwise, 'Edge Of Tomorrow' is actually a very original movie. It's incredibly unpredictable, and unlike other movies within the genre I wasn't picking out plot holes as I was watching. Even though a lot of the movie involves the story going back on itself and repeating events, it never feels boring and is constantly engaging.
Doug Liman gives excellent direction, creating a world that feels alive and interesting. The action scenes are especially well directed, they don't rely on shaky cam and the mech-like suits that characters wear create interesting new dynamics in the battlefield and they're a lot of fun to watch. The VFX are stunning as well, there were no moments where there was any noticeable bad CGI.
This year had already been a great year for big summer blockbusters, but 'Edge Of Tomorrow' just supports that statement even further. It's an incredibly memorable sci-fi experience that I would strongly recommend.