The Edge Of Tomorrow

3.5 Stars (out of four)

Boy, I love it when I am proved wrong this way with films.  I go in with low expectations and come out totally blown away.  This is the biggest reason I love movies to this day, the surprise and fun that is possible each time.  Now, I may have gotten a little carried away by the score above because I am still on a high about this film a week later; but I am sticking by it.  When I saw the previews for this film, I thought it was entirely missable, despite my fandom of Tom Cruise.  It promised some fun effects but little else. It looked like a bad version of Saving Private Ryan meets Groundhog Day.  And you know what?  That is exactly what The Edge of Tomorrow is, but it is told with such aplomb and panache, it clamors for, and deserves your full attention.  The low expectations I went into the theater with were totally smashed by the expertise of the storytelling and the totally unexpected humorous undertones that propel this movie to greatness.  Sometimes faith is rewarded.

Tom Cruise plays Cage, a soldier a few years from now, after Europe has been ravaged by an alien invasion.  The world has united against a singular threat, the Mimics.  Scientists have devised a combat exoskeleton that makes a soldier into a badass killing machine.  Emily Blunt plays Rita, the hero from the Battle of Verdun, our first real victory against the Mimics.  We are planning a massive D-Day-style invasion of France to take our world back.  But the Mimics know we're coming and are preparing a massacre.  Cage is killed in the thick of battle and finds himself repeating the day over and over again, each time learning and becoming a more proficient soldier in order to beat the Mimics.

This movie has been been done such a disservice with its awful ad campaign.  Just look at the poster below:  Live/Die/Repeat?  How stupid is that?  There are no original ideas anymore.  Everything has to be reduced to an insulting catchphrase or else these inept dumbasses in movie studios don't know how to handle it.  This is also why they are petrified of new ideas, so brace yourself:  Paramount alone has at least 10(!) sequels or remakes/reboots scheduled over the next two years.  The whole ad department should be fired for their ineptitude in handling this movie.  They have managed to make an incredibly fun experience seem totally missable.  It's almost as if they were deliberately sabotaging the entire movie, it's that inept.  

If you have seen the Bill Murray flick Groundhog Day, you will notice a lot of similarities to it and The Edge Of Tomorrow.  The basis of the humor is the same.  He is indestructible because he will be back the next day, and we see all the reality-bending scenarios that result.  But The Edge Of Tomorrow is more than a one-trick pony.  It uses the plot device of time travel adroitly and never gets caught up in its own logic, creating one of the most paradigm-shifting experiences you will ever witness.  The movie never trips on itself, and despite the complex variables, is quite easy to follow, resulting in an entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable experience.  Go see it.  You may be as surprised as I was at how much fun you will have.