Edge of Tomorrow, English Hollywood Film movie review, Johnson Thomas, Rating: * * *

Edge of Tomorrow(3D/Imax/English) Rating: *  *  * Doug Liman’s propulsive action packed Groundhog Day rewind offers cheap loopy thrills, but the edge of the seat tension and hyperkinetic bursts of action can get you on edge!

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English film review

Johnson Thomas

Cheap thrills but high on tension

Film: Edge of Tomorrow

 Cast: Tom cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Jonas Armstrong, Tony Way, Kick Gurry, Franz Drameh, Dragomir Mrsic, Charlotte Riley

Director: Doug Liman

Rating: *  *   *

 

Synopsis: Tom Cruise stars as a soldier who lives out the last day of his life over and over again in this Warner Bros. sci-fi production from driector Doug Liman.

 

Review

Edge of Tomorrow" is an experience. It has time travel sci-fi as it’s basis, storyline absorbed from Hiroshi Sikurazaka's novel "All You Need is Kill."  It’s true to the sci-fi ideal- driven by concept and set in the aftermath of an alien invasion. The fierce, octopod-looking beasties known as Mimics who are controlled by a creature that seems able to peer through time, or rupture it. The script basically takes the concept of a video game and incorporates it into a futuristic world domination alien monster movie, a 3-D action flick that appears as stupid as it is expensive.

But appearances can be deceptive. Granted the resurrection with pre-death knowledge has been seen in ‘Source Code’ while the expanding alien population could well be a scene from ‘World War Z’ albeit after substituting the Zombies with the Mimics. The film also has a feel of ‘Groundhog day’ and ‘Starship Troopers’ to it. So overall it does seem heavily borrowed. But that’s all extraneous. What’s integral to the plot is the idea of an untrained soldier reliving the same day over and over again, expiring violently each time- until he finds the key to defeating the alien marauders who have taken earth hostage.

Major William Cage(Tom Cruise), an Army public relations officer has never seen combat yet inexplicably finds himself thrown into the middle of a ferocious battle that will decide the outcome of the war. Cage en route to European command headquarters in London, wakes up in the belly of a transport chopper. The world is wracked by war. Millions have died. Cage meets the general in charge is being sent right into battle. Cage sees himself as unfit for the assignment but no amount of protest can halt this assignment. Soon enough, he learns how to wear combat gear, enters the battle zone and promptly gets killed. Then he wakes up and starts all over. Then he dies again and starts over again. Cage's only allies are a scientist (Noah Taylor) who believes the creatures are beating humanity through their mastery of time, and Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt), an exceptionally gifted killer. Rita has experienced the same temporal dislocation that Cage is now experiencing, but at a certain point it stopped. She recognizes his maddening condition but can no longer share in it. She can, however, offer guidance.

It’s a futuristic universe governed by rules that defy logic. The trio have to aid each other in finding the ‘loop’ hole and ending the resurrection cycle once and for all by destroying the mimics.

Liman uses elaborately choreographed tracking shots and unglamorously visualized European hellscapes to evoke the hell on earth devastation.  The brutality in visuals is astounding. The violence is skull crushing in it’s pervasiveness.

The script—which is credited to Christopher McQuarrie and Jez and John Henry Butterworth—is smart in the fact that it starts keeping us in the dark just when we get a hold on what’s going on. As a result you have to exercise those brain cells to understand what’s going on thereafter. Though the sequences may appear repetitive, there’s certain new clues that get added on to every repetitive cycle. James Herbert and Laura Jennings’ fast track, intuitive editing allows for smooth reveals and a deft, playful and continually involving viewing experience. Structure and setup are seamless. Deft pacing accentuates the experience. The ending diverges from Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s source novel to deliver an audience pleasing climax. The logic is of course suspect , especially if you allow yourself time to think and search for motivations. The film also has a clunkily designed first twenty minutes that could get you stepping out for a break. But once the game rules become clearer, things start to get interesting and then there’s no stopping the p[ropulsive flow of action and engagement!

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