All the fun of a good video game without the grind

Rating: 8/10 (3 June 2014)

Edge of Tomorrow is a ton of fun in both expected and refreshing ways. Of course, if you pay to watch a film that stars Tom Cruise as an exoskeleton-clad soldier fighting aliens in a time loop that resets the same battle over and over again; you'll surely expect to enjoy a fair amount of quality action and big explosions. You'll get tons of that, but you'll also get some pretty satisfactory intrigue and a generous side of delightfully dark humor.
It's no secret that this cinematic adaptation of the Japanese light novel All You Need Is Kill draws inspiration from video games, not only in its concept of "Live, Die, Repeat", but also in its style. If you have played first person shooters the likes of Call of Duty you'll feel right at home with the immersive camera work that pulls you right into the battlefield (pun not intended). To be fair, I was also reminded of the legendary Normandy scene from Saving Private Ryan which in turn inspired Call of Duty back in the day (as much as I love video games, must give credit where credit is due).
The genius of director Doug Liman is how he takes only good things from these video games, while carefully avoiding all the bad bits. Only Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt (who plays a very Warhammer Space Marine-like badass, sword and everything) suffer the worst parts of replaying a level: unskippable intro cutscenes, excruciating trial an error to inch through overly difficult areas, and grinding to unlock better skills.
The audience, meanwhile, gets to enjoy the highlight reel of it all: spectacular set pieces and gripping revelations sandwiched with a healthy dose of humor that usually has to do with Tom Cruise resetting the time loop by dying. Even those who don't like the actor will probably enjoy Edge of Tomorrow if only because they'll get to see him die in several violent ways. All in all Tom Cruise carries the film effortlessly (he's almost 52 now, if he keeps going at this level he won't be old enough for the Expendables until he hits 90) and Emily Blunt gives a good performance too.
The movie is very well paced and never gets dull, but it does end up being a little disappointing in the plot department, with a couple of weak and extremely convenient plot devices and some underwhelming revelations. However, you'll more than likely forgive these problems when you get caught in the midst of Edge of Tomorrow's action-packed and surprisingly hilarious cycle of life and death.
7.5/10