Tomorrow, you will forget "Edge of Tomorrow"

Rating: 5/10 (28 May 2014)

If you've seen the trailers for "Edge of Tomorrow," you are familiar with the basic concept. Tom Cruise's character is sent into a battle against aliens and gains the ability to re-live that day every time he dies. This quick description covers approximately 90% of what you see in "Edge of Tomorrow."
As some kind of recruiting agent, the military decides that it's a good idea to dump Tom on the front lines because...um, well that's never explained (maybe this is why humanity is losing?). Quite a lot is not explained in this movie, but let's forget about that for now, and talk about what you're supposed to concentrate on: the explosions. Over and over again, we get to see Tom run through the battlefield with Blondie McSoldier, his somewhat romantic interest and mentor in this affair. They kill aliens, he dies, and then...they kill aliens some more.
Over and over and over and over, explosions, shooting and Tom dying. A couple of these deaths are done in a humorous way, but overall it becomes a tiresome mechanic that long overstays its welcome. Somewhere along the way, we're told how they might possibly beat the aliens by, you guessed it, explosions, shooting and dying. Also, with the deus ex machina that they eventually use, which could have been used at any point along the way, because the film has to end eventually.
I don't know what else there is to say about this movie. None of the characters are developed beyond "soldier," "girl," drill sergeant," "scientist," and the action becomes repetitious and boring about halfway through. To its credit, the aliens, mech armor, and battles all look very impressive. But with no background to the events, characters, or anything that's happening, I had a very difficult time becoming invested in any of it.
The "Groundhog Day" concept is not even the problem, as films such as "Source Code" have demonstrated. You can have action, repeating timelines, AND character development. "Edge of Tomorrow" falls into the usual Hollywood trap of simply throwing lots of CGI at the screen and hoping that it will be enough to carry the film. It's not. Audiences are more intelligent than this, and deserve better films.