It may be flawed, but it has a lot of infectious fun with its concept.

Rating: 7/10 (11 July 2014)

In the summer battleground of uninspiring franchise blockbusters, it's refreshing to see a film like Edge of Tomorrow putting up a fight. It may also be based on a comic book much like the rest of what's in vogue, but its ideas, if familiar, are approached in a compelling and risky way. At a time when it seemed that the film would slip under the radar I'd always secretly supported it because I liked the cast and plot. By the time that it indeed slipped, it managed to quickly gain a following of devoted fans similar to those that latched onto Pacific Rim and Dredd. Unfortunately, I was unimpressed by a trailer I saw at the cinema and lost my anticipation. The enthusiasm of its fans pushed me back to check to see if my original hype was justified and I was delighted to find they were right, at least to an extent.
Granted, this is Doug Liman behind the lens, director-for-hire for such films as Mr. and Mrs. Smith and The Bourne Identity. They may have burrowed a place in contemporary pop culture but the films themselves leave a lot to be desired and their actual experience seems to be forgotten. Edge Of Tomorrow both thrives and suffers under his guise, though it's fair game to say it's his strongest work since Go. It's a tonal problem, most prevalent in the clichéd setup of the first 20 minutes. It's a film that really needs its concept to begin until it can work. After a second-rate Pacific Rim style background montage, it can't decide whether to take itself seriously or not and it ends up treading a fine line of cringeworthy silliness. However, as always with Liman, he's fortunate to work with great writers that know the best place to take it.
It's a film that has fun with its concept, and then takes it to the next level. It's not a new idea, most famously used in Groundhog Day and most recently in Source Code. Perhaps its closer to the video-game style respawn ability in films such as the terrible 2008 Wanted. Fortunately, despite this fundamental handicap, Edge Of Tomorrow still has its stakes that it smartly raises. It even takes us to the grind of trial and error, something very uncinematic that Liman and Tom Cruise make work. As it hits the target it spends half the film aiming for, it pushes it further and is more fulfilling for exploring more ideas. It's a tight film, yet loose enough to play around. It would be a flaw in any other film, but not here. That does lead us to becoming disconnected and frustrated with supporting characters and hitting checkpoints, but it doesn't make it any less entertaining.
It's been great to see Tom Cruise make a slight comeback after an underwhelming second half of the last decade. Mission Impossible 4 was the best of the series and Oblivion was a compelling surprise. It's odd to see him subvert his reputation and begin his character arc as a coward and then naturally evolve into the Cruise from the rest of the action movies we know. While initially unsympathetic during the flat first 20 minutes, when he is then put into the situation of being able to relive the day it shows that it was the best choice for us to sink into his shoes. I do like Emily Blunt but I disliked her representation in the trailer. It was the main reason it turned me off. However, in the film she's ideal, and her steely sense of humour works. There's a subtle tenderness in their chemistry that does the writing justice, especially for the moral dilemma in the film's best moment at its centre. That's the point where the film won me over.
It's a shame that the supporting cast are incredibly tedious. They're caricatures of soldiers. They're not supposed to get a chance to shine but when their moments are forever repeated, you hope for them to grow on you eventually just like Cruise and Blunt. It's why the film always feels flawed yet always entertaining, with not everything exactly working while one thing is executed brilliantly. But that tone that's initially clunky becomes consistent and eventually part of its charm. I have to say that I liked its bittersweet ending whereas others didn't. In that second half Edge Of Tomorrow takes it to a scale where it feels like an epic, and I'm very impressed with Liman for reigning it in and writers McQuarrie and Butterworth's for finding the emotional core. These gritty special effects certainly beat any Transformers movie though special suits like the one in District 9 will never engage me. It's a fun, occasionally emotional, utterly grossing, but ultimately imperfect blockbuster to make the summer complete.
7/10