Edge of Tomorrow

Starring: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Brendan Gleeson, Bill Paxton, Jonas Armstrong, Tony Way, Kick Gurry, Noah Taylor
Directed by: Doug Liman
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Science Fiction
2014

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: A military officer (Tom Cruise) gets thrown into the midst of a violent battle with an alien menace. When he's killed, he suddenly wakes up, discovering that he lives the same day over and over again.

Review:

Tim: When I heard that Edge of Tomorrow was basically a science fiction Groundhog Day, I was immediately intrigued and worried. I was intrigued because the idea was excellent, but worried because the line between awesome and terrible would certainly be razor thin. Luckily, director Doug Liman and the cast pull it off. This might not be great, but man, it gets awfully close. This was an exciting, enjoyable sci-fi film and I had great fun watching it.

The movie does a good job of explaining how our protagonist could be in a time-travel loop. While it certainly requires some suspension of disbelief, I bought the explanation. Around that, the movie spins this interesting story about an alien menace on earth. This creates a very frightening, vivid threat and gets us emotionally invested in the story. The other big positive was the redemption arc for our main character. He starts out as a worthless coward, and slowly changes as the movie goes on. Comparing him at the beginning of the film with who he is at the end of the film is quite stunning. I loved how this movie pulled off that transformation. That makes you feel like a lot happened in a relatively short amount of time.

The cast is really good, but it's the two stars- Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt- that really make the movie. Cruise is in nearly every scene of the film. While he's been hit-or-miss lately, he's still one of the biggest movie stars in the world and he delivers a very convincing performance. He has a ton of screen time, but I never got sick of him. He played the role with expertise based on his past experience. He was the right actor for the part. Emily Blunt may be even more impressive, because she more than holds her own against the accomplished Cruise. Blunt is strong and memorable in the coolest role of the entire film. If you had to pick a best member of the cast, Blunt wins easily. She and Cruise work surprisingly well together, and some of the best moments of the film involved the two of them interacting.

Brendan Gleeson is always a welcome addition to the cast. While his role is small and a bit unlikeable, he plays it very well. I also liked seeing Bill Paxton in a bit of a humorous role. The other cast members are fine, but again, the vast majority of this movie is about Cruise and Blunt. Everyone else has just very small supporting roles.

The special effects are very strong. You have some incredible moments of intense, violent, dangerous battles. The sci-fi battle scenes here are among the best in recent memory. When paired with the time loop, it was great fun seeing the same battle over and over, but with little differences based on Cruise's character's actions. The movie offers a compelling, interesting story that moves at a very brisk pace.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the film, there were a few issues I had. The first is that while the movie has some incredible moments, there are others that aren't quite as good. There were a few rough lulls in the film. The other issue is the repetition. Now, some of this is absolutely essential to portray the time loop, but there were a few moments when it just got to be a bit much- we've seen this before! The conclusion of the film felt a little forced and a little too convenient. I would have loved the movie even more had the conclusion been something unexpected or truly exciting and memorable. Instead, the movie feels like it lost steam towards the end.

While it does have some flaws, Edge of Tomorrow proved to be far better than many people expected it to be. It's an intelligent, exciting, thought-provoking and fun science fiction film. If you have any doubt going into it, put it aside- you should really enjoy this movie. Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Independence Day, Groundhog Day, Starship Troopers, Oblivion