An officer finds himself caught in a time loop in a war with an alien race. His skills increase as he faces the same brutal combat scenarios, and his union with a Special Forces warrior gets him closer and closer to defeating the enemy.
I was lucky enough to catch one of the first screenings. I’d only seen movie posters of Emily Blunt and Tom Cruise, thinking that’d be a pretty interesting combo. Trailers often ruin so much about a film so going in blind made it more fun. I know the public has generally soured a bit on Cruise due to his Scientology beliefs, but as far as his acting and films are concerned he’s still more than capable of great work and this movie is proof in the pudding. I give him props for still insisting on doing most of his own stunts. He is definitely more physical than your average 51-year-old and he is a believable hero. I liked that his character wasn’t one-dimensional. He had to work to make you like him. I don’t recall seeing Emily Blunt in this type of role in the past (she is normally in dramas), but it looks good on her. Their chemistry is great platonically but I wasn’t really feeling it romantically which is okay. This movie is sci-fi first and foremost.
I loved the action sequences and how they changed from one scenario to the next. The audience was caught off guard in a good way and seemed to enjoy the plot a great deal. There was a lot of humor here and it’s all intentional. The plot was fairly interesting and allows for repeat viewing to find clues that help the ending make a bit more sense.
Yes, some elements aren’t the most original. The film is pretty much an adaptation of the Japanese manga, All You Need is Kill. Their suits reminded me a bit of Matt Damon’s suit in Elysium. The aliens look like they are straight out of The Matrix (though I thought they were scarier than the sentinels; maybe it’s because they required more hand to hand combat to be defeated), and the daily looping element will make you immediately think of the classic Groundhog Day, but it also doesn’t give you the impression that it’s trying to be something it’s not. I thought it was well edited in that the pace didn’t seem to drag. I can imagine that would be extremely challenging considering how much the events repeat.
All You Need is to know that Edge of Tomorrow is a great film of today. It doesn’t surprise me that the film got lost in the shuffle with other blockbusters and established franchises, but this was the most refreshing surprise for me this year so far. It’s probably my second favorite movie of the year, right behind Captain America. I’ve never read the manga but after this film I plan to check it out at some point.
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