Edge of Tomorrow Review
By Casey Douglass
Edge of Tomorrow
is another one of those Groundhog Day style movies. Not in so
far as the humour but someone doomed to live the same day over and
over and over. It is to Edge of Tomorrow’s credit that this
doesn’t get boring.
The film follows PR
soldier man Major William Cage (Tom Cruise). He is forced into what
should be the final victorious battle against alien invaders that
arrived on Earth via an asteroid some time ago. He is the man who
‘sold’ the war effort to the masses, gaining the army new
recruits on the basis of their newly designed combat ‘jackets’
(ExoSuits). These half-pint mech-like body add-ons are purported to
make any soldier a deadly killing machine, even if they have had next
to no training.
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| Image © Warner Bros. Pictures |
Unfortunately the
aliens know they are coming. The aliens are referred to as Mimics due
to their ability to mimic human military behaviour which makes them
very hard to beat. The final assault on the shores of France doesn’t
go well, and through some ‘good’ fortune, Cage ends up with the
ability to start the day over again if he dies. And die he does.
This is where the
occasional humour of the film comes in, seeing Cage gradually learn
what happens if he does this or that and then fall afoul of something
totally mundane like being hit by a truck. He always wakes up in the
same place with an angry soldier standing over him shouting at him to
get on his feet.
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| Image © Warner Bros. Pictures |
As the story
progresses, Cage meets Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt) a Special Forces
soldier and poster girl for the whole war effort after her victory in
previous battle Verdun. The two become entwined (not that way filthy
people) and revelations abound at what is going on and how much they
share the same burden. There are other characters too of course, the
one that stands out the most being Bill Paxton’s Master Sergeant
Farrell Bartolome who is always on Cage’s back and has a wry couple
of lines that just made me chuckle.
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| Image © Warner Bros. Pictures |
I went to see Edge
of Tomorrow with no real expectations. I don’t mind Tom Cruise
as an actor and his performance in this, and his fall from grace at
the start of the story all make a nice coherent whole. Emily Blunt
plays Rita in a convincing way and it is truly a nice thing to see
their friendship blossom as each day plays out in different ways.
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| Image © Warner Bros. Pictures |
The Mimics are scary
multi-limbed adversaries that put me in mind of The Sentinels from
The Matrix. They are brutal and quick and really gave the
impression of something humanity would struggle to overcome.
The action on screen
was frenetic and added to the impression of a chaotic massacre for
Cage to run through really well. Even as a viewer, the day repeating
gives you a chance to see things more and more clearly, on the
battlefield at least.
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| Image © Warner Bros. Pictures |
The film doesn’t
outstay its welcome at just under two hours and I really didn’t
notice that amount of time passing, which is another thumbs up from
me.
I would rate it 4/5
because it exceeded my expectations and I am struggling to find
anything negative to say about it. It's a 4 because it wasn’t a
perfect movie by any means, just highly likeable.
Edge of Tomorrow on IMDb.
