EDGE OF TOMORROW .. LIVE, DIE, REPEAT.. 3.2***
When an
alien race ( big & bigger spidery things with a bunch of tentacles that
move super-fast) attacks Earth, a cowardly military officer, Major Cage, (Tom
Cruise) is put on the front line in order to participate in a futuristic
end-of-days, Normandy-like battle. And to top it off, after he dies on the
battlefield he awakens to discover that he is being allowed to live that
same day over and over again. An interesting, science-fiction,
explanation is given for the reason for the daily recycling. It has something
to do with his blood--that's all I can say. With each restart of the day, his
character becomes stronger and more equipped to vanquish the aliens. He teams
up with Rita ( Emily Blunt), the poster soldier (literally) who is a heroine
for killing aliens, and who had once shared the same capability as Cage.
Basically, "Edge of Tomorrow" is an action genre version of
"Groundhog Day", set in a catastrophic future.
The most surprisingly pleasant aspect about "Edge of Tomorrow" is the dark humor throughout. In fact, with all the humor this film has to offer and a plot which loosely mimics one of Bill Murray's most beloved comedies (Groundhog Day), some may question casting Cruise as the lead. Yet, those who saw him in “Tropic of Thunder" know that he has a sense of humor. And the fact that he displays a more than competent level of comedic timing, without coming off as annoying, desperate or forced, does deserve kudos .But Cruise's performance isn't the only reason why the movie works as well as it does. Some stand-out supporting work from Emily Blunt and Bill Paxton and the smartly constructed script help as well. But above all, it's the fantastic direction from Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Mr.& Mrs. Smith) which allows this movie to be far better than it had any right to be. In fact, he single-handedly transforms the repetitive nature of the story structure, which (in lesser hands) could have come off as excruciatingly boring, into something that is edge-of-your-seat entertainment..
The most surprisingly pleasant aspect about "Edge of Tomorrow" is the dark humor throughout. In fact, with all the humor this film has to offer and a plot which loosely mimics one of Bill Murray's most beloved comedies (Groundhog Day), some may question casting Cruise as the lead. Yet, those who saw him in “Tropic of Thunder" know that he has a sense of humor. And the fact that he displays a more than competent level of comedic timing, without coming off as annoying, desperate or forced, does deserve kudos .But Cruise's performance isn't the only reason why the movie works as well as it does. Some stand-out supporting work from Emily Blunt and Bill Paxton and the smartly constructed script help as well. But above all, it's the fantastic direction from Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Mr.& Mrs. Smith) which allows this movie to be far better than it had any right to be. In fact, he single-handedly transforms the repetitive nature of the story structure, which (in lesser hands) could have come off as excruciatingly boring, into something that is edge-of-your-seat entertainment..
"Edge
of Tomorrow" is quite entertaining on most every level with an originality
which should play well with today's audiences much the same way "Groundhog
Day" played to audiences in 1993.
RATED PG13
it has plenty of action without the heavy violence and gore.
Clark
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