The Super Network

Having never read the graphic novel ‘All You Need Is Kill’ and generally knowing very little about it, hearing that a film was being made and the little bit of synopsis certainly sounded interesting. This was announced a few years back, and the film version is finally here under the title EDGE OF TOMORROW. Purposely I made sure to stay in the dark about the synopsis, the film’s trailer wasn’t overly revealing either, I just wanted to go in and be surprised. And surprised I was, to put it simply EDGE OF TOMORROW is one of the best recent sci-fi action films. It hits all the right marks, it is genuinely entertaining, epic and extremely funny.

Our film begins with a recap of the recent events that have devastated the planet. From what we are told it seems aliens have invaded and humans are struggling to fight back, that is until new armour for soliders was invented, giving us the chance we need for this new war. We then meet Officer William Cage (Tom Cruise), a public relations man, whose aim is to keep the public in a positive mind set over the war and get in new recruits. He winds up getting caught in the firing line as General Brigham (Brenden Gleeson), decides to put him right in the middle of the invasion. Cage starts off as a coward, he doesn’t want to fight, he isn’t trained for it. But with no choice he gets thrown into the action, even coming across the poster woman for the war Rita (Emily Blunt). But it doesn’t take long before he dies, but his death doesn’t stick, he’s caught in a time loop, which might just be the answer to ending the war.

I shall leave it at that, this is the GROUNDHOG DAY of sci-fi action, well sort of! Both are funny, and about time loops, but that is where it ends. The basic idea of living the day over and over again is used very well in EDGE OF TOMORROW. It sees our character of William Cage grow as a character, and learn the skills he needs, he’s a changed man after resetting the day so many times. This device is used as a great tool in the story telling, it doesn’t overly repeat things, and it shows just how frustrating that ability can be as well. Audience you will get to see Tom Cruise die, again and again, and some of the death’s are very funny, and serve as a great learning tool for the character.

A great aspect as well the film does not treat it’s audience as being stupid, things are not spelled out for us. We have to put the pieces together and work things out, just as Cage is. This is something I really appreciated, and the scenes of exposition are well handled too, they are there to catch us up along with Cage on what is going on. Essentially the audience is Cage, we see what he sees, and we experience everything along with him. He’s an interesting character, starting off as a huge coward but through the looping he finally finds the courage and the will power to get through things. He begins to understand the importance of this gift. The character is very well written, as is the one of Rita, the warrior woman who helps Cage along the way. The film at its core is about these two, and their mission within the war. The film would not have worked without these two characters being well written and perfectly suited to their actors.

That said, yes the performances are excellent. As a Tom Cruise fan I do like to see him taking on strong roles. He still has it as an action star, and this is one of his finest outings. He really makes Cage a stronger character, he is very credible with all the stages of development that Cage goes through. In the end, he felt so well suited to the role, I really wouldn’t want to see anyone else there. Emily Blunt is excellent here, again she proves her versatility as an actress. She transforms herself into action heroine, she becomes Rita and she is a character you don’t want to cross. After seeing her as Rita, I am convinced she can play a superhero, a strong female lead of a superhero, this does need to happen. The side characters are very well handled, from the a-hole General with Brenden Gleeson who ate the role up, to Bill Paxton’s Master Sargent Farrrell the man who gives Cage a hard time every time loop!

EDGE OF TOMORROW looks and feels like a big blockbuster film, it also has the smarts and the wit to really engage the audience on a higher level. Along with GODZILLA, this makes 2014’s Blockbuster season a very strong one. LIVE.DIE.REPEAT. See this film right now!

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