The good: Action is way off the charts with this one! It’s hard not to have fun with Edge of Tomorrow. Also, Emily Blunt. Need we say more?
The bad: They could have fleshed out some other key characters but it’s not real deal-breaker.
The ugly: The Mimics. The smaller ones reminded me of the “squiddies” from the Matrix. The Alpha Mimic is just bad-ass!
LIVE. FIGHT. DIE. REPEAT.
That’s basically the premise of Edge of Tomorrow, an amazing sci-fi flick by Doug Liman (Bourne Series, Jumper, Mr. & Mrs. Smith) that’s loosely based on the Japanese light novel All You Need Is Kill. Edge has the makings of being a great film but even if it sacrifices some of the nuance and the writing to make it into the league of Alien/s, Edge is the type of film that you wouldn’t mind watching again and again and again for its sheer film novelty.
Edge of Tomorrow opens in a world ravaged by an alien race called the Mimics who have taken over most of Central to Western Europe. Humanity has fought long and hard to reclaim their land to no avail until Special Forces Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt) started gaining some small victories at Verdun and inadvertently becomes a symbol for the war.
Tom Cruise plays Major William Cage, a PR specialist for the United Defense Force (UDF) advancing the war’s cause by publicizing on Rita Vrataski’s victories and the technology that helped her defeat the Mimics, the battle jackets – a highly advanced exoskeleton gear suited up to army recruits.
In the height of the war, General Brigham (Brendan Gleeson) orders Major Cage to the beaches of France for their last great push against the Mimics. Not seeing battle…ever, Major Cage opts to weasel his way out of going to the frontlines to the point of blackmailing Brigham. In the end the General gets what he wants and ships Cage off to a base stationed in Heathrow. There he is entrusted to Master Sergeant Farell (Bill Paxton) and thrown into the J-Squad, an infantry unit composed of very colorful characters.
On the day of the UDF’s invasion, Major Cage dies along with everyone else; but then something happens. He awakens back to the time he arrived at Heathrow and meeting Master Sergent Farell for the first time but with the memories of the failed invasion still intact. He goes through the motions of joining J-Squad again, being shipped off base and dying in the fields, until he awakens again in Heathrow. This happens again and again and again every time he dies and in one instance he saves Rita Vrastaski. When Rita realizes what’s happening to Major Cage, she instructs him to find her when he wakes up. An explosion later obliterates the two and Cage, once again, awakens in Heathrow.
Finding Rita, the two must work together to find a way to end the war once and for all. And every time Cage dies and lives again he gains new knowledge on the attack of the enemy putting them one tiny step ahead of the enemy every single day.
The beautiful thing about Edge is that this is a film that knows exactly what it wants to achieve. Even as the narrative and the action unfold, the film never loses focus on the two main lead. This does not mean to say that the supporting cast was negligible as Bill Paxton creates a wonderful performance as a hard-boiled almost masochistically cliché of a drill Sergeant.
The acting is equally brilliant as well. Cruise and Blunt played their characters to a T that there is no point in the movie where their magic waned off. It’s fun to see Cruise infuse a whole slew of characteristic changes to Cage throughout the movie. As much as this is a story-driven movie, it’s great to know that the actors put a lot of thought in their own character development.
With Cruise’s portrayal of Cage, we are lead to believe that this is a man ill-equipped to be in the frontlines and would conveniently be more comfortable and powerful behind the desk…until reality breaks him and he finds himself anew. And yet, even while transitioning, the actor never loses the underlying context of his character. In one scene, during a crucial moment where Rita and Dr. Carter (Noah Taylor) were discussing battle tactics and strategy, Cage breaks the discussion and commends the presentation – much like an ad guy would. I’m sure not a lot of viewer’s were able to pick that up but these little nuanced details make the whole film feel so much fuller—and more delectable. 😉
The action is something to marvel at as well. The director knew that action would be integral to the movie and weaved each action set-piece as a narrative rather than a separate action sequence which a lot of CGI-laden movies are doing. This makes the action interesting rather than messy and chaotic. As the light novel version had a manga and western comic adaptation, we couldn’t help but wonder if some of the action framing were inspired by the comic panels. I haven’t read any of the manga, mind-you, but saw some screen-grabs from the net.
All-in-all, Edge of Tomorrow simply exudes fun. While the film doesn’t necessarily take themselves too seriously, it also doesn’t force its scientific expositions down the audience’s throats. The script would mention the premise and maybe one or two scientific theory and moves on quickly to focus on the cinematic narrative.
With Edge of Tomorrow opening alongside Fault in Our Stars and only a week after Maleficent, here’s hoping this lovely little science-fiction film gets the views and ticket sales it truly deserves.
Edge of Tomorrow opens Nationwide this June 5, 2014 in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D.
P.S. Some people are claiming that watching this in 3D is totally worth it. – We’ll be weighing in on that soon.
