Movie Review: Edge of Tomorrow - any sense of deja vu is probably intentional...

Tom Cruise has become something of a divisive figure lately - despite a solid level of acclaim for his films and performances, there are more than a few people who can't discern between his movie-star persona and his private life, and level a lot of criticism at him; at the same time, some of his recent films haven't quite been the Box Office successes he's had in the past.  Strangely, this is a film which should appeal to both camps.

On the one hand, you have Cruise taking the lead in a Sci-fi action movie, a genre he's proven time and again that he has the chops to handle and carry an entire film.  But the twist is that as Major Bill Cage, he gets stuck in a time loop which sees him reliving the same final two days each time he dies fighting an alien invasion; so if you're a Tom Cruise detractor, you get the satisfaction of seeing him die - again, and again, and again...

Standing apart from almost every other Blockbuster offering this summer, 'Edge of Tomorrow' is unique in the sense that it's not a sequel, prequel or reboot/remake.  Having said that, it is still an adaptation of a Japanese Manga (known as 'All You Need is Kill'), and has a premise which is immediately familiar - the time loop elements of Groundhog Day and Source Code, and the plethora of action-heavy Sci-fi alien combat movies, such as Aliens or Starship Troopers.  What makes a change is that this is a film which realises these similarities, and wears them like a badge of honour - see, for example, the casting of Bill Paxton as a grizzled Sergeant.

The set-up sees humanity struggling to repel an invasion of aliens known as 'Mimics', so called because they are able to adapt to the tactics the humans have attempted to use against them.  But having won a first major victory against the aliens in Verdun, the military forces of humanity are about to launch a major counter offensive on all fronts.  Press-ganged in to this is Cruise's character, a military press/media officer who has never seen a day of combat.  In his first day on the front line, at the spearhead of the assault on the beaches of Normandy, Cage witnesses a massacre of the human forces - it's as though the aliens knew they were coming.  Within minutes Cage is killed by one of the Mimics, but then he wakes up the day before the attack.  Somehow he has hi-jacked the aliens' ability to 'reset time', and must figure out how to halt the invasion.  He discovers he has an ally, veteran soldier (and poster-girl for the military's efforts) Rita Vrataski (played by Emily Blunt) - who is the only person able to understand what is happening to Cage.

Tom Cruise's Bill Cage goes from coward to Alien-fighting, Exo-suit wearing bad-ass...

Initially, this film isn't easy to like - after being betrayed by a senior officer, thrown in with dis-likable soldiers who heartlessly joke about Cage getting killed, it's easy to think that if this is what humanity's final defenders are like, then maybe we deserve to be wiped out by these aliens!  However, as Cage replays the same day over again he grows from something of a coward, to trying to save the lives of his squad-mates.  Once Cage has met up with Vrataski and realised what they must do to stop the invasion, the film hits it's stride - just as well, as there are points that it feels like the film threatens to become a repetitive training montage.

As an action Sci-fi Blockbuster, this film hits the right marks - the battle scenes are suitably intense and pretty brutal, and feature some cool military tech in the form of the Exo-suits.  These are particularly well realised pieces of kit, a nice use of some practical effects in this CGI-led age.  Also, despite the potential bleakness of the story and setting, this film has a surprising amount of fun - the film relishes in a cheerfully black sense of humour in some of the deaths that it subjects Cage to!  IT occasionally allows for some fun with the narrative, as scenes are played through before it is clear that this isn't the first time Cage has been through that moment...

The film wears its action, military Sci-fi inspirations and influences on its sleeve with pride...

Having said that, it's a shame that, unlike some of the films which it is evoking, it doesn't use the premise to explore the potential philosophical implications of the time-loop premise - especially in relation to the war setting; there could have been the opportunity to examine the futility of war, that the cycle of killing can only end in mutual annihilation - no one can truly win.

But ultimately this film knows what it is - an entertaining Sci-fi action blockbuster, that has fun with the premise of the time-loop, and the potential for some impressive battle sequences.  It could have been more - but in a Summer loaded with sequels, prequels, remakes and reboots, this is a film which not only stands out, but should be embraced by audiences looking for something relatively original.