Most underrated film of 2014

Rating: 8/10 (2 January 2015)

The storming the beach sequences were spectacularly filmed. I never lost track of where I was within the action. Too many films these days try to hide their shortcomings by having the immersive camera, which basically means shaky cam. This does not enhance the viewers experience in "war", it does the opposite. You'll have your audience squinting at the screen trying to see what the hell is going on. Liman manages to film the battle sequences beautifully, blending action, comedy and drama in all those sequences.
Wait, what? Comedy? Yes, this film is funny. Liman has fun with killing off Cruise multiple times in funny and unique ways.
Cruise is a coward when we meet him, trying his hardest to NOT be enlisted onto the front lines. But things don't work out for him and he finds himself waking up in cuffs and thrown into the war. No idea how to use his mech suit, no idea how to fight, no idea how to do anything, he finds himself in hellfire trying to stay alive. He doesn't last that long and ends up dying after blowing up an "Alpha" alien.
Rewind.
He wakes up again back in cuffs, alive. But how? What can he do differently to survive this time? Edge of Tomorrow takes a few minutes to explain to the audience why Cruise has this ability and what he must do to stop it, but other than that, this film is non-stop excitement. The editing here is crisp and benefits the story immensely. We are in Cruise's shoes at the beginning, learning what is going on, seeing the different outcomes for the first time and how it can be changed. Then, we find ourselves in Emily Blunt's shoes, experiencing events for the first time, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it hasn't happened already. Cruise reveals that he's been here before, despite the viewer never seeing this scene. Now we have no idea how many times he's gone back.
The third act raises the stakes a bit, I won't reveal why, but at that point it also tends to be a bit more generic and clichéd. Other than Blunt and Cruise, we aren't really given much character development from others. Not needed really, but how are we suppose to care for the squad Cruise is with when they die? We don't.
I found myself asking questions after the film was over. Does every time Cruise die start a parallel universe ala Back to the Future? There was one particular sequence where he dies and it continues on for a little bit. We see what happens after he dies, so the question remains, does each time he die have that exact timeline continue on? OR is it simply that ONE timeline that continues to be reversed. Either way is possible.
I highly recommend seeing this film. I went in with low expectations and was more than surprised.