Verdict
Summary
Despite feeling like a war version of Groundhog Day, Edge of Tomorrow is easily the best movie of the summer so far with thrilling action, a mind-bending story and cast who are all on top form.
Plot: 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.
Review: If you are wondering what movie to see in the theatre this week, might I suggest Edge of Tomorrow? It is quite simply jaw dropping stuff and one of Tom Cruise’s best films. It’s a blockbuster in every sense of the word and proves that Cruise still has what it takes to be a leading man.
Cage is a very different kind of character for Tom Cruise; he starts off as a complete coward who will literally try to blackmail other officers in order to avoid combat. As the story progresses though he transforms into a bad ass warrior.
The acting by the entire cast is excellent and must have been a nightmare in terms of attention to detail; with all of the same scenes being repeated, but slightly different each time, it is quite mind boggling how they pulled it off so well.
The writing was first rate and despite being derivative of Groundhog Day, Battle: Los Angeles and Source Code, it had enough insanity and originality to keep me glued to the screen.
It is literally an adrenaline rush with some of the best constructed action scenes I’ve seen in a big budget Hollywood movie for quite some time.
I think the best scene for me was when they first “drop” on to the beach. Cage and his squad jump out of their craft as it explodes around them and they hurtle towards Earth, trying to avoid being killed.
It’s heart in mouth stuff with a feeling of threat and impending death every second. Once they land on the beach it becomes a full-on war movie and was reminiscent of The Normandy Landings with a chaotic battle; chaotic is actually the perfect word to describe this movie and it doesn’t slow down for a minute.
You still manage to care about the characters though with Emily Blunt also nearly stealing the movie, playing against type as a battle hardened “Full Metal Bitch”. Her scenes with Cruise are brilliant and she has such an expressive face that you root for her immediately.
I must give a special mention to the Mech Suits which are the coolest thing I’ve seen for a long time. They have twin shoulder canons (kinda like the Predator) and provide some of the best moments of the film.
The aliens themselves managed to be utterly terrifying simply due to their speed; the way you see them approaching from the distance really amped up the tension and made them even scarier.
The score wasn’t very memorable going for the Inception-esque “DURRRMM” and lacked any real tune; it provided enough excitement though and worked well with the action and wasn’t overly intrusive.
I don’t think I mentioned that The Paxton is in this movie as a Drill Sergeant and he provides some nice moments of humour throughout. Bill Paxton just plain rules in every movie though.
Overall, despite feeling like a war version of Groundhog Day, Edge of Tomorrow is easily the best movie of the summer so far with thrilling action, a mind-bending story and cast who are all on top form. For the love of God go see this and not some movie about teens with cancer; that’s far too much reality for a Saturday night!