Tomorrow Always Dies

Rating: 8/10 (7 June 2014)

I know the sad truth that Tom Cruise isn't a box office draw and hasn't been for a good decade or so. It is sad because he consistently brings his A-game and above average films to the screen. Last year was the enjoyable Oblivion and before that, I thoroughly enjoyed his fourth Mission: Impossible film and romantic-action Knight and Day.
Even with that said, I was hesitant – actually a tad more than that, on seeing Edge of Tomorrow, a movie that I already pegged as Groundhog Day 2: Source Codes and I thought he was stuck on the futuristic, heavy metal genre that I was getting tired of. Mercifully, a friend briefly tempted me to go see it with him and I abruptly made the correct choice to join him.
Immediately into the feature, I felt Director Doug Liman's presence and was pleased. Of course, I am a huge fan of his films, mainly The Bourne Identity, Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Go, but to me, even the best directors rarely hit home runs the majority of the time. Hereyeah, even with knowing the very basic concept of the film, I knew I was in a quality made film and one I would enjoy even when the "big reveal" came to fruition that was completely foretold in both the trailers and posters.
And since it was not hidden, it's no spoiler for me to say, the film's about a cowardly, non-soldier military officer who keeps waking up the same day-before-battle (once he dies) only to attempt to both figure out why it's happening and how to deal with the literal day-in/day-out monotony.
Luckily for him, he all-but immediately finds his biggest clue with super soldier, Rita, and together they'll work on the winless battle they are in against unfriendly alien invaders.
The performances were pretty good, mainly with Emily Blunt as Rita, and I always favor Cruise in his films. The action was fun and the side jokes, or mostly one-liners from Cruise, were often hilarious. And as much as CGI, big Sci-Fi alien action and blow'em up! films aren't a draw for me, this one worked for me and reminded me of a much better version of The Matrix Revolutions.
Now, the only real downsides were the unimaginative alien race (again, SEE: The Matrix films) and the script wasn't fully there yet. Normally, I would mark down on the initial and somewhat unoriginal concept, but this did its own take on that and added more than enough to get past my preliminary fears of seeing Groundhog Day/Source Code all over again.
Overall, it's a definite recommendation with a largely fun, funny and enjoyable first two acts and a completely satisfying and refreshing conclusion – one we rarely see any more and I mostly yearn for.
* * *
Final thoughts: Once again, Liemax and 3D has disappointed me. First off, we all know, or should, that the majority of "IMAX" screens are mini-versions of the true IMAX experience. AMC is notorious for these. I accept that since there are only two (that I know of) true IMAX screens in the state I live in and the closest doesn't usually play motion pictures as well as it's kinda far. In the case of Edge of Tomorrow, it didn't even fit the full Liemax screen causing a hilarious, but disappointing, letterboxed version on the big screen. Secondary, the 3D was eh, as usual.
I truly wish there was an alternative IMAX, ah-hem, even Liemax screen, that showed the 2D version. I could just go see them in the normal screen, but even with these problems, it's still slightly better than normal.
My plea is that they show some standards and not settle for this mediocre attempt just to get a couple of extra dollars out of us. And, with the low box office so far – even on day 2 of release, hopefully, they'll try and do better because this is not encouraging me to give any positive word of mouth for the Liemax "experience."