Director: Doug Liman
Writers: Christopher McQuarrie, Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth
Cast: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Brendan Gleeson, Bill Paxton and Noah Taylor
Studio: Warner Brothers
“Edge of Tomorrow” showcases one of the things that I love about Tom Cruise. No matter what movie he’s in, this guy gives it everything he possesses. So many actors phone in roles, but the level of commitment that Cruise displays borders on legendary. The film plays like Heinlein or somebody trying to take on “Saving Private Ryan”. A group of creatures called Mimics have started to invade the planet. Surprisingly, Europe is lost first and it becomes the thrust of global military action. Emily Blunt plays a cool character that is spearheading PR and the united push into Verdun. Tom
The comparisons to “Groundhog Day” is getting old. But, I can see where it is inviting to make comparisons. The difference being is that Bill Murray started out faintly likeable. Cruise is pretty useless when we first meet him. It’s only when he finds purpose via the time loop that we begin to see something in his character. The same is true for how Rita perceives him and how they go about turning him from J-Squad cannon fodder and into a soldier. That being said, the usual character tropes of most Tom Cruise movies starts appearing.
Sci-Fi War films are always fun, if you’re a fan of the ins and outs of the subgenre. However, I can’t help but shake that “War of the Worlds” feeling about the ending. Without going into details, I wanted a downer. What I got was a forced happy ending that seemed like Doug Liman was trying to subvert the original novel in a way that would appeal to Western audiences. In that sense, I feel that we lost important closure to Tom Cruise’s character’s arc. Oh well, it’s still going to make insane money.
RELEASE DATE: 06/06/2014