Edge of Tomorrow

Rating: 9/10 (2 November 2014)

Underrated sci-fi opus from Doug Liman provides Cruise with a nifty part as this cowardly "Military PR Propagandist" and Emily Blunt as this heroic soldier who represents a brave icon for the war against an alien threat that could very well wipe out the human race from existence of the world. When Cruise is placed on the front lines of a ground attack, against his wishes (he tries to flee from the office where Brendan Gleeson's general informed him of his trip on the front lines!), he somehow watches as the battle around him destroys ships and men without harm, his mechanical body weapon suit stuck on safety (!), and only after he gets his arm guns to fire does "mimic blood" fuse with his own causing him to "rest" every day after he is killed! Liman takes the story arc and cleverly uses it to the hilt. Think Groundhog Day Meets The Terminator with a little Matrix Revolutions mixed in. There's an Alpha alien that, if destroyed, could be the key for humankind winning the war. Repeating everyday is also familiar to Blunt's Rita as Cruise's Cage soon discovers. The two of them will reset each day, trying to determine how to defeat the alien scourge. Playing with the conventions of time within sci-fi is nothing new, but how Liman is able to use Cruise to recruit the J-troop into helping him is rather neat as is Blunt's developing relationship with him. Blunt, to her credit, has reached that pinnacle in her career where she can share the screen with a real bonafide movie star like Cruise and hold her own. The war scenes with the military and the alien mimics are a real visual feast as are the special effects involving the weaponized military body suits mechanized to kill the mimics from all directions. Cruise, no surprise, anchors the film as this man who develops from absolute spineless weasel to full-fledged soldier of valor and courage. If anything the novelty of Cruise dying over and over gives those non-fans who dislike him a reason to giggle. The only disappointment to me was the night sequences because little can really be seen and they happen at the crucial points of the film. How Bill Paxton's Kentucky drill sergeant is used in the film when Cruise continues to awaken over and over is a hoot. Thankfully Liman knows how to keep the film from feeling repetitive and dull, with an editing style that is specifically designed to accentuate Cruise's dilemma and make him credible when trying to convince others that he actually resets after death over and over without grounding the film to a halt.