'Edge of Tomorrow' Review

Edge of Tomorrow Movie Review:

Probably the Best Original Sci-Fi Action Movie of the Year

BY IAN TAN

Edge of Tomorrow sees Major William Cage, head of the military’s public relations campaign being thrust into a battle for mankind that involves him suiting up in Elysium-like suits and beating the crap out of a vicious alien race intent on claiming the Earth as their own - your usual sci-fi fare. However, director Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Mr. & Mrs. Smith) manages to give his every-sci-fi-action-movie-meets-Groundhog Day summer flick a great sense of fun, originality, and a good dose of humour.

Tom Cruise, even at 51, still proves that he’s more than capable at carrying an action-heavy blockbuster like this on his shoulders with no trouble whatsoever (You can add him to the list of celebrities that don’t seem to age). Cruise does a fine job at portraying his character’s evolution from corporate smug to noble hero, with each repetition of the day progressing his character more and more into becoming a true, experienced soldier (or ‘weapon’, as Emily Blunt’s Rita Vrataski puts it). Blunt too is edgy, slick, and tough as the movie’s female protagonist, channeling the best of every science-fiction female lead. The two leads share good chemistry with one another, helping elevate some of the film’s more emotional aspects, even if there aren’t many to have. Cruise and Blunt definitely sell this film and are ultimately what makes it work so well.

The whole ‘Live. Die. Repeat.’ concept the film is going for never feels too repetitive, but instead thoroughly engaging and at times, pretty funny. Bill Paxton as Master Sergeant Farell has some of the most memorable and humourous lines in the movie, made funny because of the repetition of the day. Director Doug Liman really knows how to use the Groundhog Day element of the film to his advantage, making every new visit to the same day more intense and intriguing each time, as characters try and try again to foil the Mimics' (the alien invaders) plot.

The visuals in the film are pretty spectacular and feel very much like a video game come to life. Some first-person P.O.V. shots with William Cage (Tom Cruise) firing ammunition at the Mimics are nice odes to FPS video games. The Mimics themselves have quite unique designs, sporting multiple tentacles and very, very frenetic movements that make you really wonder how these humans are going to take these creatures out, unlike a number of other alien invasion movies where the alien threat felt, well, not very threatening (we’re looking at you, Battle: Los Angeles). A 3D viewing of the film is not a necessity, but it does help envelope audiences in the entire beach battle the movie so frequently visits.  The scene where Cage and the other soldiers fall from the air after their ship explodes (as seen in the trailers) definitely benefits from the third dimension, especially in IMAX 3D, but if you’re a cautious cinema spender, an IMAX 3D or standard 3D viewing of this film can be a miss. Save that money up for Transformers: Age of Extinction, which was made specifically for 3D.

Some downsides of the film include a slight lack of character development not only between Cage (Cruise) and Vrataski (Blunt), but between other supporting characters that lend their hands in the climactic battle towards the end. Again, like X-Men: Days of Future Past, this may be due to editing choices in order to fit studios’ running time preference of about 2 hours, which may cause certain character moments to be removed for the sake of a faster paced action flick. Also, because the set pieces on the beach battle look as spectacular as they do, one hopes that the film would have showcased more sweeping, cinematic shots of such epic set pieces the producers undoubtedly spent loads of money on, instead of the few shots we get of the overall sense of hugeness of said scenes.

All in all, Edge of Tomorrow provides 2014 with one of its most fun, non-franchise based summer movie experiences that many sci-fi action fans, as well as casual moviegoers, will love, despite a few minor flaws. This is what summer popcorn flicks are made of.

7.9 out of 10 stars