Edge of Tomorrow
Dir: Doug Liman
Starring: Tom
Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, and Brendan Gleeson
Tom
Cruise knows how to make an entertaining film and director Doug Liman
understands action film storytelling. Combine these two consistent artists in a
film and you are bound to have one entertaining experience. "Edge of Tomorrow" is a smartly designed and skillfully constructed science fiction thriller, with
good performances from the two leads.
Major
William Cage (Tom Cruise) is a high level recruiter for the military and the
new war against alien invaders known as mimics, who have the ability to reset time,
giving them the advantage of being a step ahead in warfare. Cage, a non-combat
officer, is stripped of his rank by an overzealous General (Brendan Gleeson)
and placed in a ragtag group known as “J Company” for frontline defense in the
impending first assault. Cage doesn’t make it very far on the battlefield,
dying within minutes but in the process killing a mimic that bleeds on him and
gives him the ability to reset time. On a learning curve with his new power,
Cage enlists the help of a respected soldier named Rita (Emily Blunt) in an
effort to defeat the mimics.
Cruise
was good throughout the film, starting the story as a privileged officer in the
military who had an aversion to blood and had never used the weapons he
promoted. But by the end he was a hardened expert of combat, motivated by the
needs of humanity over his personal fears. It was a shift that Cruise handled
with ease. Emily Blunt was enjoyable to watch, wielding a massive combat sword
with an attitude that challenged most manly military stereotypes. She was best
when paired with Cruise; mostly kicking him around during training sessions and
repeatedly killing him so she could reset the day, it became fairly humorous
after awhile.
The
narrative was complicated, but not confusing. Liman kept the story nicely paced
up to the final act, which changed tone and unfolded too predictably. The
battle sequences were in the style of Liman’s past films, a mix of frenzied
handheld perspectives awash with a grey color palette. Liman constructed a maze-like
battlefield with explosions from nearly every direction that was an impressive
display even with the unneeded 3-D gimmickry. The initial battle, that would
again be replayed more than few times, was dizzying and exciting.
The
CG aliens were in a constant state of hyper movement, reminiscent of the
chaotic transition seen with the conversion from machine to robot in the
“Transformers” series, and it became cluttered when mixed with Liman’s distinct
action design in some parts. The artistic design of the futuristic weaponry was
reminiscent of the first person shooter game "Unreal Tournament", though
the gore was much less. The restraint, in regards to violence and the many
deaths of the lead character, were handled subtly with a camera pan or an intentional
edit.
While
the movie incorporated elements from some familiar sources, most
notably "Source Code" and "Groundhog Day", director Doug Liman
kept the story easy to follow and the action exciting to watch, making "Edge of Tomorrow" an unexpected summer surprise.
4.00 out of
5.00
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