A Deftly Calibrated Sci-Fi Spectacle

Rating: 9/10 (21 September 2014)

Reviewed by: Dare Devil Kid (DDK)
Rating: 4.4/5 stars
The conceit may sound constricting, but Director, Doug Liman gets exceptional mileage out of it, presenting his ever-revolving tale with visual style, narrative velocity, and a wonderful dose of dark humor. Ultimately, it's is a two-hour video game. But the filmmakers play it exceedingly well to churn out an instant sci-fi classic. The plot deals with an alien race that has hit the Earth in an unrelenting assault, unbeatable by any military unit in the world. Major William Cage (Cruise) is an officer who has never seen a day of combat when he is unceremoniously dropped into what amounts to a suicide mission. Killed within minutes, Cage now finds himself inexplicably thrown into a time loop-forcing him to live out the same brutal combat over and over, fighting and dying again...and again...and again. But with each battle, Cage becomes able to engage the adversaries with increasing skill, alongside special forces warrior Rita Vrataski (Blunt). As Cage and Vrataski take the fight to the aliens, each repeated encounter gets them one step closer to defeating the enemy. While this premise might sound derivative, be rest assured that the narrative is strewn with copious intricacies and unpredictable moments that demand your attention, lest you be left behind in the adrenaline-pumping, frantic pace of the film. More story than testosterone, more time-jump-cuts than spacey filler, and more war-as-hell than war-as-cool. The biggest achievement of the movies is that it leaves you pondering if we're 'masters of our fate' or just action figures going through the emotions in some supreme player's idea of a war game.
Tom Cruise once again shows why he's still a bona-fide movie star and guaran-damn-tees us that he's got at least a few more years of leading man material left in his arsenal. Along with the gorgeous Emily Blunt – in a kick-ass role – he takes you on a (literally) loopy ride that's thoroughly entertaining and – baring a few pardonable moments in the second half – never wears out its welcome. The performances of Cruise and Blunt are spot on, with good supporting work from Bill Paxton, who plays a very hard-headed albeit somewhat humorous sergeant.
The film is such a refreshing departure from the run-of-the-mill genre yarns of countless modern sci-fi blockbusters, and offers a fascinating and enjoyable vehicle that creates an ambitious illusion. All in all, a perfectly superior example of industrially fortified Hollywood fun, and as good a guarantee as Doug Liman can offer that we haven't seen the last of him yet. Smart, unpredictable, expertly-designed, well- acted, astutely directed, shrewdly-edited, and boasting impressive special effects, "Edge of Tomorrow" is a model example of the sci-fi genre and summer blockbuster done right.