This will surprise you - in a very good way.

Rating: 8/10 (8 June 2014)

It's hard to know what to make of Tom Cruise's career these days. No longer the surefire marquee name he used to be, he's an aging, fading superstar who makes some brave choices (Tropic Thunder, Collateral) but is also happy to prop up generic - albeit watchable - action franchises like Mission Impossible. Add that to his tabloid-baiting personal life, and it just might no longer be cool to think of Cruise as... well, cool. It's hard to deny, however, that Cruise makes a pretty strong case to the contrary in Edge Of Tomorrow, a bruisingly smart, unexpectedly romantic sci-fi action thriller that's easily one of the best films he's made in ages.
Terrifying aliens known as Mimics are laying waste to our planet, and as troops of soldiers head into almost certainly futile battle, Lt-Col. Bill Cage (Cruise) is happy to lurk on the media front of this war. After an unfortunate encounter with a grumpy general (Brendan Gleeson), Cage is sent to the actual frontlines: not for publicity reasons, but to die horribly. Which he promptly proceeds to do - repeatedly. For some reason, Cage is living a long, terrible, war-torn day that resets itself each time he dies. As he struggles to live a little longer every day, he goes from complete novice to hardened soldier, and begins to figure out just what needs to be done to turn the tide in humanity's favour.
If you're thinking Groundhog Day with a heck of a lot more aliens, death and destruction, you'd actually not be too far off-base - just like Bill Murray's self-centred Phil Connors, Cage actually learns, grows and evolves as a human being while trapped in his occasionally hellish time- loop. There's even a wonderfully rich vein of humour that runs throughout the film, as Cage's unexpected 'gift' gets him into and out of awkward situations aplenty. Once in a while, the comedy dips into the macabre, but is nevertheless unusually assured and very, very welcome in a movie that could easily have played like a dirge full of doom and gloom.
That's not to say that Edge Of Tomorrow is merely a sci-fi version of a comedy classic from over twenty years ago - hardly. As an entry in the sci-fi genre, Doug Liman's film is fresh and exciting, entirely on its own merits. At its best, Edge Of Tomorrow practically explodes with breathtaking action sequences, shot fast and furious with aliens tunnelling out of sand dunes or helicopters spinning through the air, while also peddling some pretty deep, interesting ideas about the mutability of time, self-determination and free will. Liman cuts everything together masterfully, not an easy task when timelines are constantly altered and mashed up in increasingly confusing ways.
Add to the mix Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt), one of the smartest and most capable female leads sci-fi cinema has ever seen, and Edge Of Tomorrow really is a winner. Having endured a time loop of her own, Rita is a war hero so effective that she's accumulated a clutch of nicknames: everything from the Angel Of Verdun to Full-Metal Bitch. Repeatedly, she proves herself to be tough-minded, resolute and determined, saving the day - and Cage - any number of times. Intimidating though that might sound, there's as much joy and wonder in getting to know this tough, tender character for Cage as for the audience.
Even more surprisingly affecting is the relationship that springs up between Cage and Vrataski. It's by no means conventional, since technically she will only ever know him for - at most - a day. But he learns more about her each time he meets her, and the mutual respect that develops between the two characters is a delight to watch. She figures out quickly, too, that there's something more worthwhile about Cage than any of us would have expected at the outset. Their battlefield interactions - prickly, sharp and achingly bittersweet - are more romantic than a thousand kisses and professions of love.
As far as performances go - Cruise really is very good as a man who goes convincingly and painfully from coward to hero, demonstrating a vulnerability that one would typically never associate with him. And Cruise's biggest detractors might want to give the film a shot simply because they'd almost certainly get a little perverse joy out of the extent to which his character is put through the wringer. Blunt, an actress who would usually fall far out of the orbit of a sci-fi blockbuster, acquits herself just as well - she fights, tumbles and ducks as ably as Cruise, and lends Rita a sweet, sad soul that easily makes the character considerably more real and appealing.
Anyone expecting another by-the-numbers sci-fi flick from Cruise - following in the footsteps of last year's rather bland Oblivion - should be prepared for something quite different. To be perfectly honest, Edge Of Tomorrow begins and progresses well, but ends on a slightly disappointing note. For a film that trades so deeply in death and war, the final narrative twist can come across as a little cheap and predictable. But that doesn't detract overly much from the rest of the film, which packs plenty of wit, thrills and action - not to mention a thoroughly surprising and very touching romantic punch.