Edge of Tomorrow is Tom Cruise’s latest summer blockbuster. However, this one is near the top of his recent forays in cinema. Edge of Tomorrow uses the premise of Groundhog Day and merges it with the premise of Independence Day to create a fun sci-fi story. Plus Emily Blunt gets to be a badass heroine.
In the future, aliens invaded Europe and quickly start winning the war, with the exception of the battle of Verdun won by Rita (Emily Blunt), the hero of the battle. As a last ditch effort, humanity launches a massive assault under the command of General Brigham (Brendan Gleeson). Brigham assigns Sergeant Cage (Tom Cruise) to the front lines to document the offensive. Cage, underprepared, dies quickly, but suddenly wakes up back near the front lines, where he wakes up every time he dies in battle. Cage eventually seeks out Rita, who shockingly understands his story and works with him to figure out how to win the war.
Groundhog day wisely didn’t repeat the same sequences over and over again; it picked a similar spot to highlight the minor differences day to day. Edge of Tomorrow uses this technique to great effect. Many sequences are cut for humor: Cruise gets impatient at many people since he knows how they will react, or when Blunt coldly shoots him in the head repeatedly due to broken bones. Sparingly, the technique will highlight a dramatic quandary that Cruise has to deal with. Other times the technique keeps the plot moving with minimal macguffins. The editing and writing keeps Edge of Tomorrow from stalling in momentum.
Also helping is the CGI. The opening battle is like a futuristic D-Day: lots of explosions, the beach setting, chaotic fighting but with armored suits against intergalactic beasts. The beasts themselves are pretty terrifying combinations of dog and snake much like the sentinels in the Matrix. Cruise is famous for doing the action sequences himself, and Edge of Tomorrow benefits from every time he gets thrown, stabbed, exploded, shot, etc. Only in the dark third act does the CGI feel strained, but at that point the story has swept you up it doesn’t really matter.
Tom Cruise feels like he is playing out his career in Edge of Tomorrow. Many conversations in the media about him are repeated ad nauseam, and here Cruise gets to easily manifest that frustration onscreen. In addition, he is very funny, serious, and buff enough to easily carry any scene he is in. Emily Blunt gets a chance to play a real action hero here, clearly enjoying it. She’s essentially the straightforward no-nonsense warrior whose determination gives Edge of Tomorrow the requisite urgency. Bill Paxton and Brendan Gleeson have a lot of fun playing military officers in the dark as well.
Edge of Tomorrow isn’t going to win any awards, unless they make something like a Summer Blockbuster Checklist award. Is it fun? Check. Does it have aliens? Check. Kick-ass hero? Check. Super-duperstar? Check. Destruction of a major city? Check. Repeatedly killing Tom Cruise? Uhh, I guess that’s going to be a new staple to add to the list.