I love a
good time travel movie.
Wait,
didn’t I already say that in a previous review?
“Edge Of
Tomorrow” sounds like a daytime soap opera, but it’s actually a rollicking fun
science fiction about a cowardly military officer (Tom Cruise, at his better),
who’s forced to participate in a battle against aliens taking over Europe.
After saying the wrong thing to a general, Major Cage finds himself a private
in a techno battle suit, crossing the English Channel to invade, yes, Normandy.
(The movie
was released on the 70th anniversary of D-Day, the Allied invasion
of Normandy during World War II. Coincidence? Duh.)
Soldiers
expecting a cakewalk instead are ambushed and massacred, in a thankfully not
too gory but plenty scary scene. Cage has just enough time to glimpse a female
soldier wielding a huge sword before a spinning, tentacle alien … kills him.
Wait … huge
sword? Techno battle suits? Yep, “Edge Of Tomorrow” is based on a Japanese
manga, with Normandy filling in for Tokyo. (“All You Need Is Kill”, by Hiroshi
Sakarazaka.)
But a last
second encounter gives Cage a do-over—I did mention this was SF, right? He wakes
up the previous morning, and finds himself going through the same crap all over
again, with the same outcome. Then he wakes up again. And again.
After a
while, he gets better at fighting through sheer repetition. Then he discovers
exactly one other person who believes his story, because it happened to her—and
she just happens to carry a big honkin’ sword. Now all they have to do is make
it a little further off the beach, time after time, until they track down the
Big Bad alien and kill it before the human race is wiped out. No pressure.
Time
travel’s hard to pull off well, and it’s especially hard not to bore the
audience to death with “Groundhog Day” style repetition. Taking a cue from the
Bill Murray, this warlike version plays funny, or as funny as it can
considering Cage only resets when he dies. Cage is at first confused and
terrified, then messes with people, then gives in to despair before his
increased skill and caring for the warrior Rita (Emily Blunt) leads to
determination.
Blunt, by
the way, gets to shoot Tom Cruise in the head repeatedly, and who hasn’t wanted
to do that?
Despite its
subject matter—it’s basically another movie about the apocalypse—“Edge Of
Tomorrow” is great fun and certainly action packed. Cruise, who I’m no fan of,
is perfect for the role and proves he really can act. Of course, you’d act
scared too, if you knew you were about to die—again. Blunt does well, the
effects are great, and I loved the supporting cast—especially Bill Paxton, who
I actually didn’t recognize. He’s a tough and sometimes befuddled Master
Sergeant who delivers one of my favorite lines … although maybe you have to be
from the Bluegrass State to truly appreciate it.
Entertainment
Value: 3 ¾ out of 4 M&M’s. Being too easily entertained, I’m trying to
avoid giving out too many perfect ratings.
 |
| Sword does matter. |
Good review, Mark!
ReplyDeleteAs fond as I am of Emily Blunt, I just can't put up with Tom Cruise.
For most actors I don't get that at all -- I think Cruise does just fine on screen. However, I still understand how you feel: I feel the same way about Alec Baldwin.
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