Cruise and Blunt showcase this sci-fi action roller coaster with dark humor

Rating: 9/10 (23 September 2014)

I'm a fan of Tom Cruise. He's the type of action star any fan would want. He's got charisma, star powers, works with good people and does his own stunts. I think if his lifestyle didn't get in the way of his stardom he wouldn't have alienated so many moviegoers. As a person I can take him or leave him. But as a movie star I'm always there first weekend for his films. I think many of his films lately have given people a bad taste. But that's not his movie star fault. His "personality" rubs people the wrong way. Which in my opinion is sad. I could go on about Jack Reacher. And I have many times. As normal I was excited to hear he was making an action sci-fi fun which he's not done very often. I was even more excited to hear he was working with director Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Mr and Mrs Smith) and actress Emily Blunt.
Edge of Tomorrow has been advertised as a Groundhog's Day type sci-fi action movie using time travel which isn't wrong. Cruise and Blunt's characters do live the same two days over and over trying to figure out how to win this war against an alien threat. But the way they use time travel isn't too complicated or too dumb for viewers to get. I would say it's a cross between The Terminator and Back to the Future. Cruise play a major who is a military talking head. He is blackmailed into being the face of this new battle. Cruise is playing out of character for most of the film. Which excited the hell of me.
He doesn't do the normal Cruise action star for much of the movie. He's just trying to survive in a situation he has no business being in. Emily Blunt throughout this film is the main hero. She is the "super soldier" who is on all the poster and doing the most damage in battle. It's so refreshing to see a female action heroine who is doing all of the action beats most male action heroes do. Blunt is strong, fierce and venerable. I really hope studios take notice because she needs more action roles. I'd love to see her face off with Eva Green in a big action film.
Blunt and Cruise's chemistry keeps the viewers sucked in. There is a lot of dark humor in the film. And it doesn't distract from the story. I feel like if some moments were taken too serious they would have fell flat. But the humor injects some brevity to the film. Bill Paxton plays a hilarious hard nose sergeant. With Brendan Gleeson and Noah Taylor rounding out the supporting cast as a headstrong general and "mad" scientist respectively.
Doug Liman is one of the best action directors working now. The film had quite a few awesome action scenes. They are shot well and not edited to death. A car chase and "Plane" chase stood out in my head as two of the best action sequences in films this year. It's nice to see that a character goes through an evolution in a movie before becoming the hero he's meant to be. It was so enjoyable not to force a love story. There's a bit a romance in the film but it is based out of the situation. This film was a blast. On repeat viewings I can see it becoming a cult classic with Emily Blunt's performance being heralded in the action fan circles.
9 out of 10