‘Edge of Tomorrow’ Review: Believable action

Paul John Caña

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‘Edge of Tomorrow’ Review: Believable action
The film manages to keep it fresh, even though the premise borrows elements from classics like 'Groundhog Day'

Reliving the same day over and over again until you get things right – the cinematic concept is nothing new. Groundhog Day, starring the inimitable Bill Murray, practically invented the genre and is perhaps still the standard by which all other similar films is measured. Source Code with Jake Gyllenhaal followed the basic premise, only with more bombs and explosions. Tweaking a few things here and there, Edge of Tomorrow is the latest to join the list.

Starring Tom Cruise in yet another attempt to prove he’s still got what it takes to be an action hero, the film is a sci-fi extravaganza based on a Japanese novel originally entitled All You Need is Kill. The film begins with news footage of the planet being overrun by hostile aliens. There is a concerted effort to fight back, of course, but it takes a while before the tide turns and Team Earth begins scoring victories.

ACTION STAR. At 51, Cruise can still punch, kick, and run with the best of them

The 51-year-old Cruise plays Major William Cage, a smooth-talking former advertising exec who has zero combat skills. General Brigham, the commander of the consolidated armed forces of Earth, played by Brendan Gleeson (Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody in the Harry Potter films), sends him to the frontlines and to certain death, but not before he kills one of the aliens, called an Alpha, and gets soaked in its blood.

Cage wakes up and realizes he is reliving the same day he arrives at the army camp in London. Later he finds out that the Alpha’s blood causes him to possess time-controlling powers, which the aliens are using to ensure their victory over the human race. He realizes that every time he is killed he goes back to that same moment, repeating the exact same day over and over again.

Cage soon meets Rita Vrataski (played by Emily Blunt), a Special Forces soldier who once possessed the same powers but lost it after a blood transfusion. She now coaches him on how to use it to defeat the enemy once and for all.

EMILY BLUNT. The actress holds her own opposite Tom Cruise in this big-budget action flick

The film is directed by Doug Liman, who has built a career out of helming action movies with brains, including hits like Mr. and Mrs. Smith and The Bourne Identity, as well as little-seen cult classics like Swingers and Go. Edge of Tomorrow is no different. The trailer may have sold it as some kind of alien invasion epic in the style of Starship Troopers or Cruise’s own War Of The Worlds, but it doesn’t take long for audiences to realize that there is more to all the blood and gore. 

In less skilled hands, the time-traveling schtick may have gotten really old and tedious really fast, especially in this case where they have to show Cruise going through the exact same scenes and hearing the exact same dialogue multiple times. But using clever writing and editing, the filmmakers presented it in a way that was efficient and sharp. It actually became fodder for a few laughs.

Cruise inhabited his characters as expected, transitioning believably from being cocky to confused, desperate to determined. Blunt is a revelation; the actress who first gained attention as the snooty assistant in The Devil Wears Prada is almost unrecognizable here as a female action star who is a cross between Lara Croft and GI Jane. 

TENSE MOMENT. Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt) trains William Cage (Tom Cruise) to adjust to his unusual situation

Some kudos must also be extended to the film’s production designer and cinematographer for the war-torn landscapes of some of the world’s most recognizable cities, including London and Paris. The likelihood is that much of what we see was generated on a computer and that the actors were “green screen-ing” it, but the images were still pretty impressive.

My biggest and only complaint though is the unabashedly Hollywood ending. After spending an hour and half building up on the smarts and thrills, the feeling you get during the resolution is not unlike getting a satisfying but ultimately unimaginative dessert after an above-average meal.

Still, the film does manage to capture audience interest and sustain the entertainment element. It may not be revolutionary in any way, but Cruise at least proves he’s still the consummate movie star and can run, jump and fight with the best of them. It’s less funny than Groundhog Day and more action-packed than Source Code, and if you have a hankering for some serious alien butt-kicking, there are worse ways to spend two hours than watching Edge of Tomorrow at the movies. – Rappler.com

Paul John Caña is the managing editor of Lifestyle Asia magazine and is a live music geek. Email him at pjcana@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @pauljohncana

 

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