Edge of Tomorrow

Rating: 8/10 (17 November 2014)

Very often, if Tom Cruise is present, it almost guarantees an interesting movie. And it did in the case of Edge of Tomorrow. Directed by Doug Liman, (The Bourne Identity (2002), The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), Edge of Tomorrow has all the elements of a good, if not great, movie.
It's mandatory to get the Groundhog Day (1993) comparison out of the way, as the plot follows soldier Bill Cage (Tom Cruise) who repeatedly dies and relives a day (apparently his first in combat) repeatedly. He also seems to have no training, and continues to repeat the cycle until he encounters Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt) a famous solider who has experienced the same phenomenon.
The opening montage of news networks did not set up the plot entirely clearly, and I wasn't a fan of this style of opening in I am Legend (2007) as much as say, simple titles to state the current situation. The plot is familiar: aliens invade earth, and the world needs to fight back. However, an interesting twist of reliving the same day each time Cage dies, given to him by the invaders, makes the plot much more interesting.
Regardless of our suspension of disbelief, it almost is believable, considering the fact that the invaders come from space, coupled with Einstein's theory of relativity, that aliens from outer space would be able to see the future and twist time as they do in the film.
The film draws comparisons between itself and WWII (landing on the beaches of France, a possible invasion of London from the other side, and the fact that the aliens land in Germany and fight outward across Europe). Perhaps the screenwriters (Christopher McQuarrie, Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, and novelist Hiroshi Sakurazaka). wanted to use the plot to convey situations and emotions faced by soldiers in WWII, including the alliance of nations, and the chaos of battle at Normandy.
The continuous repeating day provides some comic relief, as Cage is able to recite word-for-word what people are about to say before they say it, dodge punches before people throw them, and so on. The editing was well done where the scenes allow the audience to see the repeating day and understand how Cage is able to learn from the previous day's experiences, but do not linger so long as to bore or irritate the audience.
As for the cinematography, some point-of-view shots add to the feeling of confusion and immediate danger as Cage struggles with his suit and weapons, accidentally choosing a foreign language for the instructions, and frantically scrambles to figure out how to reload his weapons.
Overall, Edge of Tomorrow will not disappoint. While it is not necessarily a groundbreaking film, it is a solid movie with an interesting plot, good acting, and good visuals. It is about all that I felt it would be before I watched it, and perhaps even a little more.