Movie Review: Edge of Tomorrow

Edge of Tomorrow (2014): An officer finds himself caught in a time loop in a war with an alien race. His skills increase as he faces the same brutal combat scenarios, and his union with a Special Forces warrior gets him closer and closer to defeating the enemy.

You know, say what you want about Tom Cruise nowadays, but you cannot deny that he is a movie star. And he's a movie star because he's good at what he does. And while you can say he's starting to play it very safe with his selections, unlike last year's Oblivion, he actually involves himself in a pretty good movie here! Be weary of that fact and holding Edge of Tomorrow to it: Oblivion sucked. It was a well below average sci-fi movie. However, Edge of Tomorrow creates an interesting (even though it is in a million other sci-fi movies) dynamic with time travel, and then executes it in an enjoyable manner. While it is far from perfect, and the ending is very shallow and feels like a cop-out, the journey there is a a very, almost surprisingly, enjoyable one.

So this concept is overused. Right? Right. We all know it, the movie knows it, everyone knows it! However Edge of Tomorrow does a fantastic job of making the concept of reliving a day over and over feel fresh and unknown to us, the viewer. How? Through some absolutely fantastic editing. The editing throughout the 113 minute movie is about as good as it gets, and is the best part of this movie. Edge of Tomorrow uses short clips of the day to zip through it until we get to the part that's worth seeing. So, the viewer does not feel lost at any point as they jump from day to day. Ultimately, the movie stops showing days altogether, introducing an interesting aspect of whether or not Tom Cruise has actually lived through the scene before or not. This creates an interesting and fun journey, despite what is ultimately a very lackluster ending. While the ending really removes any chance of this movie being memorable, I still had a good time. I can't say anything about the ending because obviously because it would be a spoiler, I'll just say be weary of what is ultimately a very shallow and unsatisfying ending.

There's really only one person in this movie other than Tom Cruise. Tom Cruise is his usual Tom Cruise self, by the way. Nothing really to say about him other than the fact that he is a movie star. But let's talk about Emily Blunt. Emily Blunt is one of my favorite underground actresses in Hollywood, thanks to incredibly solid performances in movies like The Adjustment Bureau and Looper. She holds her own opposite Tom Cruise in Edge of Tomorrow, just as she did Joseph Gordon Levitt in Looper and Matt Damon in The Adjustment Bureau. Oh ya, and she had a great role in The Devil Wears Prada too. This girl is good! And she was once again good here, providing the only other memorable performance besides that of Tom Cruise. I really hope she continues gaining more and more respect in Hollywood and continues to find herself in bigger movies. Oh, and Game of Thrones fans will be surprised at the random appearance from Noah Taylor, but he provides very little other than recognizability.

So, there really aren't many bad things to say about the movie other than the ending. It just doesn't have that punch that a great movie has. It was fun, no doubt, and the aliens are scary and well-done, and there's a lot of blood and violence for a PG-13, but at the end of the day, it's still a just a good movie. That's it. Worth the watch if you're a sci-fi fan, but other than that? You're time is better spent elsewhere if you want something reat. Go watch Back to the Future. Again.

The Critique: A fun and enjoyable sci-fi movie. While it likes the punch needed to make it memorable, I still had a good time.

The Recommendation: Sci-fi fans, Tom Cruise fans, and Emily Blunt fans should definitely check this out, however there isn't much else to sell here if you aren't in any of those categories.

Rewatchability: Moderate

The Verdict: 7/10 Good


Photo Credit
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