Groundhog Day with aliens?

Rating: 7/10 (28 May 2014)

Director - Doug Liman Starring - Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt Take one part Groundhog Day, one part Matrix, even a pinch of G.I. Joe, and you end up with Tom Cruise's latest movie. But don't let the sound of this unique mash up fool you, this is an entertaining sci-fi, action movie.
For some reason, there are people in this world that do not like Tom Cruise. Actually, they detest him, believe him to be the spawn of Satan, etc, etc, etc... However, I have no problem with the diminutive super star. I actually enjoy his films; Mission Impossible, The Last Samurai and that cameo in Tropic Thunder. I like him and, in this film, I still like him. He is well suited as William Cage, a smooth talking mouth piece for the military who is 'drafted' into a fight against the Mimics, aliens who have invaded earth. The audience isn't told why they're here but, as a scene mid way through the film explains, it doesn't matter why they're here, they're here and that's all that matters. So there isn't any convoluted explanations to get in the way of the action.
Cruise is joined by Emily Blunt who is quite believable in her role as fellow soldier Rita, aka The Full Metal Bitch. Blunt obviously worked hard for this role and just the sight of her biceps made me want to weep into my bag of maltesers.
Together they share a secret; the ability to re-live the same day over and over again which could be the key to ending the alien invasion.
The two stars definitely share a chemistry, although at times you're not sure if it is romance or just comradery. There are also some real comedic moments; Tom Cruise can be a funny guy.
The film does well to keep interest considering how many times you see the same thing or have to guess if the scene is for the first time or a do-over. There were a couple of times when I thought 'enough already' and maybe the final part could have been brought forward by about 15 minutes but that might say more for my attention span than Liman's direction.
I have to say that there is something magical about seeing London on the big screen; the capital is displayed in all her glory at several points. It's nice to know that the aliens invade countries other than America every now and then.
This is based on the short novel 'All You Need is Kill' and I'm sure some fans of that will complain about Cruise's role in the film (much the same as when he took on the part of Jack Reacher). But for the uninitiated, such as myself, this movie is a fine enough reason to go to the cinema.