Edge of Tomorrow

Rating: 8/10 (7 August 2014)

The Edge of Tomorrow
First Impressions:
I've always liked Tom Cruise's science fiction films, from Minority Report, Mission Impossible I to Oblivion. In these he finds himself supporting one group or goal and having to suddenly change himself to counter-act a group or goal that is no longer survival and could mean his death if he continues on the path he finds himself. So he goes it alone, new, untraveled ground, to find himself and to fight the group he formerly supported.
Not so with Edge of Tomorrow!
Unusual for Tom's usual characters, he plans a PR man who encourages people to join the fight against the alien invasion that is rapidly taking over Europe and threatens to jump the Channel and England. Humans are losing and losing badly.
It's clear not all the public relations in the world will save the planet from this implacable enemy, but Tom tries very hard to make it so. Until they call him in for active duty!
He is a coward at heart and wants nothing to do with actual combat. After some interesting altercations, he finds himself on the battlefield, meets an alien called an Alpha, and almost accidentally kills it – and finds himself 24 hours earlier, lying on baggage in handcuffs, as he was the day before. Which is today. Of course.
Plots and Plans:
Really liked this movie! Not only the Groundhog Day-style living the day over and over, but in each incarnation trying to find a way to beat the alien threat. The aliens have time travel technology in their blood and know what we're going to do before we do it. Only Tom's character has the way and method of stopping them.
He teams up with a soldier who knows of his ability and tries to use it to beat the aliens.
The story is not so much about the aliens, but about the slow change of Tom's character – from a coward who wants to stay behind the lines to a man who realizes that only through his own actions will he stop a major threat to Man.
Conclusion:
Not to give too much away, but Tom's relationships with the people in this film develops well and the characters that support him run pretty well throughout the film. The army sergeants, the "J Company" troops and others were a bit cardboard and not developed well at all. This could have been a five star film if I really cared about what happened to them.
This is not your Dad's Groundhog Day! It's a plot point that carries with it a message of standing up to your fears and realizing your goals despite unimaginable odds.
Great special effects! The ground swells with these aliens, look like spinning octopuses with large glowing eyes and can slice you up really well! Their weapons are energy balls that tear through the troop transports, that make hand-to-hand combat nearly impossible. You go to the battlefield of death! Except if you're Cruise – then you die again and again and again!
A physical film, action and guns, heroes and inner enemies. A must-see film.
Cast & Crew:
Tom Cruise Cage Emily Blunt Rita Brendan Gleeson General Brigham Bill Paxton Master Sergeant Farrell
Directed by Doug Liman
Writing Credits Christopher McQuarrie ... (screenplay) and Jez Butterworth ... (screenplay) & John-Henry Butterworth ... (screenplay)