Review of Edge of Tomorrow (2014) by Clint S — 15 May 2016

Take the Groundhog Day plot, Tom Cruise, and a futuristic landscape; that's Edge of Tomorrow... or Live Die Repeat? Listen, whatever its title is its a great film.

Edge of Tomorrow tells the story of Major William Cage (Tom Cruise), a public affairs officer who, although he works for the military, doesn't have any combat experience himself. The human race has been at war for a number of years with an alien race known as Mimics. The humans are heavily down on their luck and are failing in their attempts to overcome the Mimics. When plans are put forward to Cage and he declines to participate, he is arrested. Whilst trying to escape, he is knocked out. When he awakes he finds himself at Heathrow Airport, still apprehended, with a demotion and a charge of desertion set on him. He is forced into battle...

This is an action film. An action film starring Tom Cruise. To be honest with just that you can probably decide whether this is for you or not. Edge of Tomorrow understands its action-loving audience and caters to those people; adding a few extras for those who perhaps don't love black-and-white action films. The film gloriously basks in clichés and steadily morphs into a great science fiction and (lesser so) war film. Echoing the greatness of older action films; staying afloat in the cesspool of present day Hollywood blockbuster action films. This is dumb action with a little bit more brain, but is by no means a cerebral affair. It is charming in its self recognition, and in that, it becomes a very entertaining film. Serving a plateful of action with cutlery of fire. Even the most critical minds cannot deny that this is fun, and that is really all you need from an action film. The thing is that this film gives you more. The core plot point is something we have seen before. It is used here in a clever way though, as it directly connects to the sentiments of video-games. This isn't just a gimmick. Watching the main character slowly realize his situation, with the help of Sergeant Rita Rose Vrataski (Emily Blunt), makes for an all the more interesting watch. Once you accept that this film and its concepts may or may not be feasible it becomes even more enjoyable. Nobody is saying that this film is a classic. Not even of the action genre. It is great though. That's all you need sometimes.

To talk about some of the weaker aspects of this film. This film is very much about Cruise's character. There perhaps could have been some more fleshing out of surrounding characters. Many of the characters are run of the mill, stereotypical film characters, and that's a shame. There is a specific sequence where the film tries to give you more about Blunt's character, but in the end it makes the film unnecessarily stagnant. This is the same for the setting of the film.. We are told hardly anything about this future world that has been ravished by aliens and the circumstances surrounding the situation. That story could be a worthwhile prequel, for once. The truth is, this didn't really need to be a heavily sci-fi film. The sci-fi points of the film are actually the weakest parts of the film. Simply because I feel nothing for this world and most of the people on it, apart from the two leads. Nothing in this film detracts from the final product too much though. CGI that glitches every now and then can slightly pull one out of the experience, but those moments become "oh well"s in an otherwise well-made and matte-flourished, however clichéd, future world.

Casting Tom Cruise in an action film sets the filmmakers on the right track. With the Mission: Impossible series of films behind him, he has established himself as one of the front runners for a great action performance. The fact that Tom Cruise is also a great dramatic actor is useful in this film. He is never over-the-top, which is something some others struggle to deal with in action films. His comedic chirps are also on view here, which simply put the icing on an already delicious cake. Full-blooded and well-rounded, Tom Cruise makes this film all the more worth watching. Cruise's co-star Emily Blunt also exhibits herself as a player in the action field. Something I don't think I have seen from her. A rock hard character who won't take the slightest bit of bother from anyone, excellently played by an excellent actress. Blunt parries the comedic lines sent from Cruise in a terrific, deadpan fashion, on many occasions and every now and then slips in her own punchlines in that hard and stony way. She plays the mentor in both the main character's physical training and the mental strains he is under. Both dance formulated and strongly together which only makes the film a deeper pleasure than perhaps it would have been if others had been cast.

Edge of Tomorrow is a solid sci-fi film. Clever when it needs to be and dumb when it is called for; it becomes not just a pacifying, but also an interesting showing. You'll watch this once, twice and maybe a few more times. As mentioned before, this will never be a classic and isn't awfully original, but it is a top-notch film for sitting back and enjoying. A popcorn popper that gives more than it needed to its audience. In my opinion this is one of the best actions films that has been released in recent years. If that is saying much.