"Edge of Tomorrow" Review

Title: Edge of Tomorrow

Directed by: Doug Liman

Screenplay by: Christopher McQuarrie, Jez Butterworth, and John-Henry Butterworth

Year: 2014


Like many people, after watching the trailers for Edge of Tomorrow I didn't expect it to be good at all. I believed it would be another mindless, action flick. Oh how the trailers misrepresented this film. Edge of Tomorrow is a creative and refreshing science fiction, action film that will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout its entire runtime.

Edge of Tomorrow tells the story of Major William Cage, a man who advertises the on going war between the humans and the alien race known as the mimics. Cage is ordered to go into combat, something he has not been trained for and on his first day he kills a mimic whose blood falls on him and due to its acidic quality, it also kills him. However, Cage wakes up again on his first day of combat training, repeating the same day over and over again each time he dies. This story is based on the manga All You Need is Kill.

This film stars Tom Cruise as the aforementioned Cage and Emily Blunt as Rita Vrataski (also known as The Angel of Verdun and Full Metal Bitch), the most famous soldier of the army. Tom Cruise proves that he is still a terrific actor in this film. He balances comedy, drama, and action scenes really well, especially the latter, as he really commits to the role and performs many of his own stunts, adding a sense of realism to the character. That is very admirable. Something I did not expect was what type of character Cage really is. Cage actually has a very nice character arc in this film. Emily Blunt pulls off the "tough woman" character extremely well and she is truly a talented actress. The chemistry that Cruise and Blunt share is extremely good and makes for an engaging watch. Bill Paxton is also in this movie and he plays his character really well, providing for some good laughs.

That is something I did not expect from this film; humor. Every action flick has a couple funny lines in it but Edge of Tomorrow has its fair share of really good humor. Most of the humor revolves around Cage's situation of having to repeat the same day endlessly, which adds a good comedic vibe to the film. The comedy never feels shoe-horned into the movie or unnecessary. It's a welcome element.

The story is also surprisingly good (everything in this film except for the excellent performances from the cast and visual effects was a surprise for me). The plot is neither simple nor too complex. It expands gradually and at a very good pace. Each time Cage dies (or every few times) we are given a little more information about either the story or the aliens themselves or the characters, etc. The story also never becomes boring or repetitive even with the time loop element. It just constantly progresses and evolves and keeps the audience engaged from start to finish. Doug Liman's direction perfectly captures the action and scope of the movie. He makes some great use of long takes and Liman is truly a talent when it comes to filming action. The cinematography is also to be commended. Overall, this film looks amazing. The visual effects are very good and the aliens are a very original creation.

However, if I had to pick the best aspect of the film, I would choose its editing, without hesitation. My god! The editing for Edge of Tomorrow is brilliant. That's what really makes this movie work. The way it uses montages is effective and efficient and maintains a fast pacing. The way some scenes are edited to make us believe that Cage has never experienced a moment before only to be shown that he actually has is fantastic. It allows for a bit of suspense as well as for an easily explained way out of a certain situation. This is some of the best editing I have seen in a film for some time. The way this film is shot and edited is similar to how a video game is played. You die a lot at first but with each trial you become wiser and know what comes up ahead. Cage must use this method of trial and error in order to defeat the mimics, which is brilliant.

As for the action, it's great. We don't get to see as much mimics versus humans as I initially thought but that's not necessarily a bad thing, seeing as how the portions of the film without action are still interesting and often very tense. The action is satisfying though. You won't leave the theatre thinking "Oh, I wish it had more." Edge of Tomorrow has plenty of action sequences and they are all great. The score of the film is not really noticed but that is a credit to the music, as it blends in with the background rather well. I can only think of one issue with Edge of Tomorrow. There are some characters that play a rather important role towards the end of the film, but they have had no real development. These characters have been acted well, but when they are put in a dire situation near the end, you don't really feel for them. This is a minor complaint but it needs to be addressed.

Tom Cruise proves that he is still one of the best actors working today and Emily Blunt is definitely one of the top actresses in the business. If there is a single credit I can give to this film, it is that it is fresh. Not a sequel, not a prequel, not a reboot. Sure, it's based on a manga, but the film just feels so refreshing. This is certainly one of the best science-fiction action movies in a long time, perhaps ever. Edge of Tomorrow can best be described as a mixture of Groundhog Day and Aliens. And mixing these two phenomenal films has produced another phenomenal film.

Grade: A