Review: Edge Of Tomorrow Doesn't Shy Away From Its Predecessors
- Jul 30, 2017
- 2 min read
Edge Of Tomorrow may not have been directly inspired by Groundhog Day or Source Code, but to deny their influence on this type of film is folly. Luckily, the filmmakers didn't do this, instead recognising what makes these films good and using it to tell a genuinely engrossing story.
A meteorite crashes in Germany carrying a horde of aliens who spread across Europe, anticipating every attack from the humans. Major William Cage (Tom Cruise), a public affairs officer, attempts to avoid having to go to the front for filming, and wakes up at an army base after blackmailing a general. When he wakes up after dying, he decides to use this new ability to end the war with the help of someone else who had the same ability, Sgt. Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt).
Edge Of Tomorrow is a truly great science-fiction film, but it's still an action blockbuster with star power for the sake of star power. While Tom Cruise's smug face won't let you forget that, the incredible writing just might.
After a pretty great newsreel summary introduces the key points of the war, then William Cage, the movie goes through the beats of a time loop movie. But then rather than showing every single learning experience Cage goes through, and how he learns from it, the movie demonstrates how it works before letting it just happen. Instead of showing Cage waking up again every time he dies, they continue from where they left off, allowing the action to keep rolling uninterrupted. It's wonderful for setting the pace, and there are some great moments when you realise just how much this character goes through that we don't see.
One key scene has Cage trying to convince Vrataski to stay at a house overnight, and when Vrataski suggests what we think is a new plan to escape, Cage reveals that he's tried it. In fact, he's tried every way out of this scenario and died every time. It's an emotional moment, and it features some of the best acting I've seen out of either Cruise or Blunt.
Other aspects of the film are exactly what you'd expect from a summer blockbuster. The visuals are pretty nice for a sci-fi war movie, the cinematography certainly has its moments, and the visual effects - which are important in futuristic sci-fi war movies - are fantastic.
I don't really have much more to say about Edge Of Tomorrow - it's better than I expected, and better than it has any right to be. If you want a sci-fi summer blockbuster that challenges the poor quality of sci-fi summer blockbusters, or if you really enjoyed Source Code, I highly recommend this one.
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