Edge Of Tomorrow

Tom Cruise stars as Major Cage – a U.S. Army public relations flack at a time when aliens have invaded the planet and have been kicking human booty for 5 years. These aliens, Mimics, are storming across Europe, and the leader of human military forces, General Brigham (Brendon Gleeson), feels we might have some hope for victory after a new piece of military hardware helped Rita (Emily Blunt) defeat the Mimics for the first time.

Now, Brigham wants Cage and a film crew to head to the front lines to produce a promotional film about the next day’s massive invasion to show our new hero in action. Cage, who only ended up in the Army because his public relations agency went belly up before the war and the military needed a good spinmeister, isn’t a big fan of heading into the middle of danger, and raises his objections in the most vociferous of ways.

The next day, Cage finds himself in the middle of the battle, and realizes that something strange has happened in his life. Each time he dies, he wakes up to relive the same day of this epic battle over and over and over again (I just hope he doesn’t drive angry).

Will Cage be able to take advantage of this strange new power to win the war for humankind?

Why is it happening?

Tom Cruise might be the only great action movie hero left in this business (I wanted to put The Rock in this category. Then, I remembered The Tooth Fairy). While others might be bigger, tougher and more macho, Cruise picks the right scripts to take advantage of his strengths and entertain us over and over again.

While reading the script, Cruise probably came to the same conclusion I did. Edge Of Tomorrow is a very good, action-packed Sci-Fi movie. While the three person writing team (working from a novel by Hiroshi Sakurazaka) give us some strange, illogical reasons why Cage ends up where he does, and the story could use a bit more explanation why the aliens want to take over Earth (and why Europe? Why don’t they decimate us in the first 10 minutes instead of getting into a prolonged 5-year long ground war?), the rest of the movie rolls along with all of the action and drama we need.

Yes, Edge Of Tomorrow is a Sci-Fi Groundhog Day following much the same structure and themes (side-by-side, I have a feeling you would see scenes with the same tone running at almost the exact same time in the movies), but in a good way. Director Doug Liman delivers a quick pace, thrilling action, some fun moments in the right places, and Cruise proving he is a great action hero! He has the perfect mix of being an everyman out of his element and in way over his head, balanced with being a dude who can kick some booty when it is needed.

Edge Of Tomorrow might even compel me to buy a ticket and relive it all over again.

Edge Of Tomorrow is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, language and brief suggestive material.