Edge of Tomorrow

 

I was skeptical about this movie after watching the trailers. I was excited about another Tom Cruise movie, Oblivion, a couple of years ago. However, it received poor reviews and I never came around to actually watch it. I expected Edge of Tomorrow to be a similar disappointment. However, it received great reviews and praise prior to its release. As such, I cautiously went to see this movie hoping for the best but still keeping my expectations modest. I am happy to say that the Edge of Tomorrow is a brilliant, science-fiction movie and significantly exceeded all my expectations. I left the theater completely satisfied and had no criticisms. It is the best unique concept for a film since Inception. Its idea with time travel, resetting the day, is thought provoking and thoroughly developed during the film. My greatest fear with this concept is that it could get tedious or difficult to follow. However, Director Doug Liman does a flawless job with it. There is no reset that does not add to a great story. In addition, the movie is very smart in utilizing a few funny deaths that provide comic relief. Combined with an alien invasion, the time traveling concept is an unbelievably intriguing story. For a person that loves to study history, I also like that the film features a human invasion of Europe through France to counterattack the aliens. It is a clever acknowledgement of the invasion of the beaches of Normandy during World War II since the movie is released on June 6, 2014, which is exactly 70 years since D-Day. Moreover, Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt provide great performances as the main protagonists, Major William Cage and Sergeant Rita Vrataski. Even after Cruise’s recent movie duds, he proves that he can still be a great leading actor in an action film. Blunt is brilliant as the beautiful, bold, and tough “Full Metal Bitch”. The two also have great chemistry in the film. While the ending is nothing special and relatively simple, I appreciate that it wraps up a complex story and ties out all the loose ends. More impressively, Director Doug Liman delivers an intricate science fiction plot, compelling human story, good action, and humor in a tidy film of less than two hours. While I would still not classify this film as a must see in the movie theaters, I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a great movie this summer that does not include comic book characters or giant monsters. It is definitely worth watching for all moviegoers so put it on your list of movies to watch even if you do not go to the movie theaters to see it..

Growing up with video games, I am very familiar with resetting the level and game when I died so I could erase the damage and correct my mistakes. The tactic comes in handy when playing games with a high difficulty. Edge of Tomorrow applies the same concept to war, aliens, and time travel. On D-Day, a critical factor in the success of the Allied invasion is that the Germans guessed wrong on the location of the landing. Adolf Hitler actually thought the invasion would occur in Normandy. However, the other military leaders rationalized that the target that makes the most sense is Calais since it is the location that is shortest distance between England and France. Accordingly, they positioned their best troops at Calais to repel the Allied invasion. Fortunately, it is a rare time that Hitler did not get his way. If Hitler could go back in time, he would obviously position his forces at Normandy to ambush the Allies. The invasion would have been repelled and a complete disaster. Outflanking and outmaneuvering enemy forces is a key to war. If one side can remove the fog of war and knows what the enemy will do, it has an overwhelming advantage for its opponent to overcome. If that same side also has the ability to reset the battle as many times as it needs to correct mistakes made, it becomes unbeatable. In the Edge of Tomorrow, aliens arrive via meteors impacting in Germany. The world refers to the aliens as “Mimics”. They route the human military forces and quickly conquer continental Europe similar to Nazi Germany during World War II. Of course, the world has no idea that the aliens have the ability to time travel that allows them to restart and fight battles over and over again until they win lopsidedly. Accordingly, the aliens appear unbeatable but they are actually just cheating. The film is thorough in explaining how powerful the time travel ability is for the aliens. The movie also does well demonstrating it with Major William Cage (Tom Cruise) stealing the power and using it to change the tide. The movie has countless resets. While it could have been very confusing or exhausting to watch, Doug Liman does a brilliant job directing because not one reset is wasted. The resets either build on the story or provide some comical relief with some lighthearted deaths since you know it will just reset anyway. I also like the complicated yet perfectly understandable explanation of how the power works for the aliens as well as how it fits in with the anatomy and structure of their society. Like I said earlier, it is the best unique concept for a film I have seen in awhile. More importantly, the complex plot is flawlessly developed in the movie. It makes it even more impressive that everything is efficiently accomplished in less than two hours. There are no wasted or dull moments.

The movie also has a good cast that delivers excellent performances. Tom Cruise stars as the protagonist, Major William Cage. He arrives in England at the beginning of the movie to speak to General Brigham (Brendan Gleeson). The human forces have recently won their first battle against the Mimics at Verdun. They also believe that the new battle suits they have developed were the key to the victory and will allow them to now route the enemy forces. As such, they are confident and believe the invasion of Europe through France will be an overwhelming success. Cage has been very successful selling propaganda to drum up support for the war. He boasts that he recruited a million men to fight. For these reasons, Brigham wants Cage to join the invasion with a film crew to tape the victory and create a video to gain even more support and create more optimism for the war. Although Cage is a Major, he has never seen combat. Consequently, he dreads going to the battlefield even if he will be in minimal danger. He does not want to be in any danger or see soldiers die. While Brigham insists and says it is an order, Cage resorts to blackmailing Brigham to reconsider. The scene is clearly criticizing the attitude of war mongers who have the cavalier attitude of sending young men to war since it is playing with someone else’s life instead of their own. Since Brigham is stubborn and does not get pushed around, he has Cage arrested and falsely convicts Cage for being a deserter that pretended to be an officer to avoid duty. In addition, he has Cage inserted in the invasion forces as a Private who will fight on the front lines of the battle. Naturally, the invasion is a disaster since the Mimics knew it was coming and exactly how to crush it because of their time traveling powers. However, Cage accidentally steals their power during the melee and uses it against them. Cruise does an excellent job playing Cage and his progression as a character during the film. At the beginning, he does well playing the smug Major that cowers when asked to witness the battle first hand but from a safe distance even though he has convinced many men to die for the cause. Afterwards, he is a lot more likeable. He accepts his responsibilities and fulfills his duty to help mankind win the war once he understands the power he acquires. Of course, the power can be maddening. While it is a huge advantage for anyone who can use it because it basically gives him an infinite amount of attempts to get something correct, they can be driven insane by the countless attempts before they figure out how to advance past every little step in an event. It can feel like an eternity. Cruise does a good job of making the audience understand that torment and the difficulty Cage has in dealing with the burden and frustration of repeated failure. Overall, he definitely proves that he can still carry a blockbuster. The best supporting character in the film is Master Sergeant Farrell. Fans of Bill Paxton, who plays the character, will enjoy the performance. For fans of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Paxton plays Agent John Garrett in case you think he looks familiar. Farrell hates Cage. He believes Cage is a coward and deserter. He is also a disciplinarian and tough. Paxton has presence playing these aspects of the character. Paxton has some of the best lines in the movie and he delivers them perfectly. He is also good at adding some humor to the character. There are funny scenes where Cage is trying to convince Farrell of the truth with overwhelming knowledge that supports it. However, Farrell still refuses to believe Cage since he completely distrusts him.

Cruise’s co-star, Emily Blunt, does an excellent job playing Rita Vrataski. In my opinion, she is the star of the movie. Of course, Blunt is a beautiful woman which never hurts. The character is no nonsense. She is a fierce, fearless warrior. Vrataski is a war hero because of her significant contributions during the victory at Verdun. She has become a symbol and is known as the “Full Metal Bitch” and Angel of Verdun. Cage meets her in one of his resets of the battle. She is crucial to the story. Due to her military training, she teaches Cage how to fight. She is also one of the few people that know about the time travel power of their alien enemy. She also understands how the power works. Accordingly, she is able to guide Cage. She has a cold exterior that has been only hardened by war. She has no problem shooting and killing Cage without hesitation to reset the day as soon as there is any kind of setback. It is one of the repeated and clever jokes in the movie. I like that Vrataski is a strong female character. She has a complete sense of duty and honor. She is unconditional in her commitment to fighting and winning the war. On the other hand, Cage often wavers in his devotion to fighting. The contrast definitely enhances Vrataski’s image as a strong character. It also shows how Cage needs and leans on Vrataski for support and encouragement. Nevertheless, Cage experiences resets over and over again. As such, he gets to know Vrataski and naturally builds affection for her because he spends so much time with her. On the other hand, Vrataski has no recollection of the different timelines. She would not even feel anything for him even if she did. She understands that having personal attachments can be a weakness in war since you witness the death of your peers all the time. However, I like how this idea is integrated into the story and the time travel aspect. Cage has to watch Vrataski countless times. It must be a sickening experience. It is similar to the reason why someone would not want to live forever since he will be forced to watch all their friends and family die. Tom Cruise does well in his performance to demonstrate the emotional strain. Vrataski also knows how Cage can lose the power. It is an important aspect of the story. If Cage has an unlimited number of resets, it would be impossible for him to die or allow anyone he cares for to die. It would have taken away any drama or suspense in the film.

I definitely recommend this film. It is a complex, thought provoking, and unique plot that is fully developed and explained. It also wastes no scene and makes each moment count in telling the story in an efficient length of less than two hours. In addition, it makes sure to keep it fun and entertaining with plenty of humor. It also has a good cast. Tom Cruise proves he can still carry a blockbuster as the lead character. Emily Blunt delivers a great performance and is the star of the movie.

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