A Sci-Fi/Action Gem Lost in the Summer Shuffle of 2014

Rating: 8/10 (28 March 2015)

I get the impression that EDGE OF TOMORROW is a film that most people will forget ever existed within a year of it's release. Despite being a big budget sci-fi action film with Tom Cruise in the lead, this movie went almost completely ignored by audiences. Including me. Unfortunately, I paid no attention to this movie during its theatrical run and contributed to its depressingly low box office haul. It's a high concept sci-fi action that's well written and populated with a strong cast; it should've done better than it did to encourage more interesting films out of the studios. Based on a Japanese novel (that I've never read), the story follows Major Cage (Cruise) in the midst of an alien invasion that has consumed Europe and threatens to soon spread across the rest of the globe. The aliens, dubbed Mimics, are an impossibly skilled species of killers that can seemingly predict humanity's every plan and prepare for it. Cage, an official with the military's public relations department, is assigned to be on the front line to record their invasion of Normandy for humanity's latest attempt, Operation: Downfall. Panicked, he tries to blackmail his way out and finds himself arrested and dropped on the front lines, no longer as a media specialist but as a deserter reassigned to an infantry unit. His first real taste of war ends as one would expect when he dies at the hands of one of the aliens' "Alphas" but not before introducing it to the business end of a claymore mine. He dies, covered in the Alpha's blood, and finds himself awakening moments later at the start of the day, reliving events. Cage is now on an endless loop of death on the frontlines and the only person who understands his plight is the "Angel of Verdun", a celebrated soldier named Rita (Emily Blunt) who has experienced the same phenomenon.
Tom Cruise once again proves that, while I'm baffled by his personal life, he is a solid actor. His character, Major Cage, has a full arc over the course of the film as he transforms from a cowardly media relations specialist into a killing machine who is willing to selflessly sacrifice himself if needed to end the Mimics' invasion. Despite Cruise's history of playing the near-invincible action hero, he is totally believable in the beginning of the film when Cage is so terrified of seeing combat that he's willing to attempt blackmail on a general. His counterpart in the film is Rita, played in a surprising turn by Emily Blunt. I'm only familiar with Blunt from comedies so her role of a decorated military alien murder machine is mind-blowing in how well she does. Blunt has gravitas and you never question her character's ability to slaughter hordes of enemies on the front lines. Best of all, the filmmakers never bother to cram a love story between Cage and Rita into the plot as most summer big-budget action movies would be prone to do. Cage and Rita keep their relationship professional (mostly) and keep their focus on winning the war. In order to defeat the Mimics, they will need to locate and destroy their Omega, an organism that essentially acts as the central brain for the species. Cage's ability to restart the day each time he dies comes from a direct connection to the Omega, so he is now humanity's final hope in defeating the alien threat.
I have never read the novel on which EDGE OF TOMORROW is adapted ("All You Need Is Kill" by Hiroshi Sakurazakaand arguably a way cooler title) so I don't know who all deserves the credit for crafting such an awesome story structure, whether it be Sakurazaka, screenwriters McQuarrie and the Butterworths, or director Doug Liman. Cage dies a lot in this film, in fun and creative ways, and we're exposed to a lot of the same material over and over. But it never becomes repetitive or gets old. Each trip back through the day only shows what we need to see and advances the plot. It's a creative plot device that sets it apart from the usual linear storytelling and cookie- cutter plot structures the theaters are inundated with during the summer months. EDGE OF TOMORROW will do down as 2014's most under-appreciated movie, as audiences didn't exactly flock to see it and the hype machine died down real fast (despite critic's praises). I recommend this to anyone in the market for some blockbuster entertainment that isn't the same old grind. If I were to lobby any complaint against EDGE OF TOMORROW (aside from that horrible "Live, Die, Repeat" tagline that became the movie's unofficial second title), it would be the alien design. The Mimics are masses of writing tentacles and do little to impress or frighten. But that's a minor complain for a movie that is otherwise incredibly solid with terrific performances from Cruise and Blunt. If you haven't seen EDGE OF TOMORROW, go do so and see if you agree.