If you never thought that Tom Cruise would die in a film, Edge of Tomorrow will surprise you.
Instead of being the bullet-proof action man, Tom Cruise dies a countless number of times in this high-concept action picture.
Edge of Tomorrow is based on Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s novel All You Need is Kill. It’s like playing a video game. When getting stuck on a level, the player keeps reliving the same battle over and over again. Each time the player spawns, that person becomes much more efficient and skilled at the game.
Edge of Tomorrow is based largely on this idea.
This film kicks off with a series of news reports that put together the film’s backstory. This is effective in informing the viewer what happened without dragging down the plot of the story. Aliens have invaded the planet and are destroying the human race. The Mimics, the aliens in the film, have the ability to copy and anticipate our actions, giving them a great advantage.
Not only can they know our plans before they happen, they are also fast, deadly, and unpredictable.
The Mimics are winning the war, which inspires the planet to form the United Defense Force, which attempts one last great push against them.
The Mimics are very unique creatures that are highly original. They look and act as something that I have never seen before. Through the different battle scenes, the film does an excellent job in showing the Mimics’ power and threat to humanity.
Major William Cage, played by Tom Cruise, is ordered to join the first wave of combatants. Cage takes on a huge militarized suit and is dropped off on the beaches of France to fight the deadly Mimics. He manages to take down a Mimic before being abruptly killed within the first ten minutes. Cruise has difficulty learning one of these large weapons of destruction, but manages to get a hold of it after he dies a couple of times. The militarized suit can best be compared to something out of other science fiction films, such as District 9 or Elysium. In all three films, they are capable of inflicting severe damage.
Cruise immediately wakes up on that fateful day, but he is a little faster on his feet. Nevertheless, he dies once more and begins to start the day over and over again. Right away, it becomes clear that Cage is caught in a time loop.
Each time Cruise dies, the repetition is unpredictable. He, along with the audience, is fed more information about his dilemma and how it connects to the outcome of the war. Re-watching the scenes nevers become dull due to the fact that it starts right where we see him die.
Cage is assisted in his efforts by Rita Vrataski, played by Emily Blunt. After once experiencing a time loop herself, Rita tells Cage to find her once he wakes up again and begins to train Cage as the super-soldier that he is meant to be. Emily Blunt does a great job in her supporting role as a trained and experienced solider. She and Cruise immediately work together on screen and their cooperation is entertaining. Rita also introduces Dr. Carter. The majority of Dr. Carter’s lines are so exposition heavy that it is as if they only included him to enforce the rules of the film.
While Cruise is regularly getting killed in increasingly violent ways, the film is exciting and new. Each time Rita feels the need to press the reset button, she literally shoots Cruise in the face. As this happens, each reset begins to feel much more like a videogame than a film. Gamers can relate to Cage’s frustration at being unable to beat certain scenarios making this film more like a videogame movie that isn’t actually based on one.
Edge of Tomorrow is a science fiction film that exceeds in its ingenuity and concept. Although it didn’t do well in the box office, this should not detract viewers from seeing this intriguing and original film.
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