Edge of Tomorrow
Tom Cruise stars in the sci-fi time loop action film Edge of Tomorrow. For five years, humanity have been engulfed in a war with an alien race, known as Mimics, which seemingly have the ability to predict battles before they happen. Major William Cage (Cruise) is a spokesperson for the United Defense Forces, who finds himself stripped of rank and unwittingly deployed to fight in an upcoming battle in France, despite Cage not having been trained for combat. Cage is killed in the resulting ambush, but also inherits the Mimics’ ability to reset the current day. With the help of Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt), a soldier who previously had a similar ability, Cage repeats the same day countless times, while at the same time training to become a better fighter and finding a way to defeat the Mimics. The concept of the time loop is far from a new trope. This method of storytelling was most famously utilized in 1993’s Groundhog Day and was also previously used, in a science fiction context, in 2011’s Source Code. However, even though it’s far from a new concept, it is still fun seeing it utilized in Edge of Tomorrow. No matter what people think of Tom Cruise’s personal life, he still has one hell of a screen presence and I am not sure if Edge of Tomorrow would have worked as well without someone of Cruise’s charisma. Emily Blunt also stands out in the film with her performance as the tough-as-nails Rita, who humorously does not hesitate to hit the reset button (with her sidearm) when things don’t go so well for Cage. Like most films involving time loops, part of the fun of Edge of Tomorrow involves William Cage learning to become a better fighter through much trial and error. It isn’t even hinted how many times Cage has to relive the same day, however it is enough for him to be practically a superhero in combat and know every possible outcome to every situation he’s in. It could be argued that Edge of Tomorrow overdoes the time loop premise a little bit, especially towards the end, but it is still a very fun and enjoyable film to watch. While the bulk of the screen time belongs to Cruise and Blunt, some other familiar faces show up in the film. These include Bill Paxton and Brendan Gleeson as Cage’s superior officers and Noah Taylor playing a scientist, who just happens to known practically everything about the Mimics. There are also a number of soldiers that make up the unit that Cage is assigned to, even though they are mostly faceless characters, who you watch die countless times in the battle scenes. All together, Edge of Tomorrow was a quite enjoyable time twister.8 | LIKED IT
