Credible Credits
Year: 2014
Director: Doug Liman
Starring: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, and Brendan Gleeson
Tagline: Live. Die. Repeat.
Synopsis: During a war with an invading alien race, an officer finds himself trapped in a time loop, reliving the same two days over and over and over.
Synopsis: During a war with an invading alien race, an officer finds himself trapped in a time loop, reliving the same two days over and over and over.
Review
I don't remember when I first saw the trailer for Edge of Tomorrow. I do remember being moderately intrigued by what appeared to be Groundhog Day meets an alien invasion war movie. So I let it stay on my radar, waiting to see what sort of reviews it would get. I started getting a little excited when I saw it was getting good reviews. And the more the good reviews piled up, the more excited I became to see it. It currently is at 90% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Go see this movie.
Why? Because it's terrific. Is it the best movie ever? No. But it is smart, clever, well-made, well-acted, humorous, and a whole lot of fun. And in a world of sequels, remakes, and reboots, Edge of Tomorrow is refreshingly original (though I should point out it is based on a Japanese novella).
My only qualm with the movie is the language. I don't remember Cage or Rita (Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt, i.e., the main characters) swearing much. But the other soldiers around them swear quite a bit when they are on screen. Oh, and the bum shot. Could've done without that too.
With my qualms out there, let's get into why this film is so much fun.
For starters, the movie is simply funny. There were lots of humorous moments in the film, mostly revolving around the fact that Cage is killed over and over and over again and he (unsurprisingly) gets a bit tired of it from time to time. There was one point when the entire audience -- myself included -- laughed out loud at a particularly unexpected death (and the subsequent look of complete befuddlement on another character's face).
It seems pointless to avoid comparison with Groundhog Day. The 1993 movie may very well have inspired the novella's time loop idea. It doesn't seem coincidental that the female protagonist is named Rita in both. Both movies use and play off the time loop concept well. Even though we are in some sense watching the same scenes being played out repeatedly, they stay fresh. Why? Because we get to watch Cage change and adapt. We seem him confused, then hopeless, then accepting, then frustrated and impatient, then completely in control. And Cruise does a great job selling it, especially when you realize he has started to truly care about Rita and is finding it increasingly difficult to watch her die day after day.
For a movie based on the premise that the main character gets killed again and again, Edge of Tomorrow was surprisingly (and refreshingly) restrained in terms of violence. Aside from the killing of the aliens, the violence is kept primarily off screen and implied. I was truly surprised how conscientiously restrained it was. That's not what I would ever expect from an alien invasion war movie. For instance, there's a scene where Rita is wounded and Cage must inspect and then treat her wound. All we see is Cage's concerned reaction. No gratuitous blood or gore. Thank you.
In a way, the experience for Cage is probably what it would be like to live out a video game. He gets as far as he can, then dies, resets, and tries again to "complete the level" as it were. Each time he makes it a little farther. It's the ultimate practice of trial and error. And it's enjoyable to watch the payoff as Cage starts to move along with choreographed precision, with Rita in tow just trying to keep up. The setup also allows for a nice character arc for Cage. It isn't quite as dramatic as Phil's in Groundhog Day. But it is a good arc nonetheless, because Cage starts out as anything but heroic or selfless. By the end, he's willing to do what needs to be done, and not just for himself.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Edge of Tomorrow. It's clever and fun and just what a summer blockbuster ought to be. So beat the heat for a while in a nice air conditioned theater and go see it. Show Hollywood that quality trumps mindless plots, endless rehashes, hollow characters, senseless violence, and gratuitous anything.
***Spoiler Section***
If you look at the message boards of IMDB or Rotten Tomatoes (something I almost never do I might add), you'll find a fair amount of discussion regarding how the movie ends. Basically there are those who don't like it and think it is a Hollywood happy ending cop-out. There are those who dismiss the reality of it and ascribe it to being a dream or an afterlife. And there are those who have worked immensely hard to work out all the internal logic for it to make sense (which is quite impressive actually).
As for me, I loved the ending just as it was. Yes, I'm a sucker for a good happy ending. But I've learned that whenever you have a film (or book) that deals with any sort of time travel, at some point you just have to suspend your disbelief and accept whatever narrative unfolds (within reason). Trying to hash out the logic will primarily make your head hurt and possibly dampen your enjoyment of the film. Still, I hope the film doesn't completely abandon its own internal logic (I'm looking at you Frequency). When I left the theater, I felt satisfied with the ending, whether it made complete sense or not. I guess it was the ending I wanted. And having just read (okay, skimmed [it was really, really detailed]) a few people's logical breakdowns, I'm still satisfied the ending does work.
And can I just add that I love how the film actually closes. It's understated and brilliant. A similar ending that comes to mind is from Monsters Inc. Even though Rita at this point in a new timeline has no idea who Cage is, he knows her. He knows everything they've been through together. He cares for her. But instead of some confused, overly sentimental scene, all we see is Cage's face as he sees her. He's so relieved and happy to see her alive that he doesn't even know what to say. He just smiles. Cut to black. Perfect.
Go see this movie.
Why? Because it's terrific. Is it the best movie ever? No. But it is smart, clever, well-made, well-acted, humorous, and a whole lot of fun. And in a world of sequels, remakes, and reboots, Edge of Tomorrow is refreshingly original (though I should point out it is based on a Japanese novella).
My only qualm with the movie is the language. I don't remember Cage or Rita (Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt, i.e., the main characters) swearing much. But the other soldiers around them swear quite a bit when they are on screen. Oh, and the bum shot. Could've done without that too.
With my qualms out there, let's get into why this film is so much fun.
For starters, the movie is simply funny. There were lots of humorous moments in the film, mostly revolving around the fact that Cage is killed over and over and over again and he (unsurprisingly) gets a bit tired of it from time to time. There was one point when the entire audience -- myself included -- laughed out loud at a particularly unexpected death (and the subsequent look of complete befuddlement on another character's face).
It seems pointless to avoid comparison with Groundhog Day. The 1993 movie may very well have inspired the novella's time loop idea. It doesn't seem coincidental that the female protagonist is named Rita in both. Both movies use and play off the time loop concept well. Even though we are in some sense watching the same scenes being played out repeatedly, they stay fresh. Why? Because we get to watch Cage change and adapt. We seem him confused, then hopeless, then accepting, then frustrated and impatient, then completely in control. And Cruise does a great job selling it, especially when you realize he has started to truly care about Rita and is finding it increasingly difficult to watch her die day after day.
For a movie based on the premise that the main character gets killed again and again, Edge of Tomorrow was surprisingly (and refreshingly) restrained in terms of violence. Aside from the killing of the aliens, the violence is kept primarily off screen and implied. I was truly surprised how conscientiously restrained it was. That's not what I would ever expect from an alien invasion war movie. For instance, there's a scene where Rita is wounded and Cage must inspect and then treat her wound. All we see is Cage's concerned reaction. No gratuitous blood or gore. Thank you.
In a way, the experience for Cage is probably what it would be like to live out a video game. He gets as far as he can, then dies, resets, and tries again to "complete the level" as it were. Each time he makes it a little farther. It's the ultimate practice of trial and error. And it's enjoyable to watch the payoff as Cage starts to move along with choreographed precision, with Rita in tow just trying to keep up. The setup also allows for a nice character arc for Cage. It isn't quite as dramatic as Phil's in Groundhog Day. But it is a good arc nonetheless, because Cage starts out as anything but heroic or selfless. By the end, he's willing to do what needs to be done, and not just for himself.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Edge of Tomorrow. It's clever and fun and just what a summer blockbuster ought to be. So beat the heat for a while in a nice air conditioned theater and go see it. Show Hollywood that quality trumps mindless plots, endless rehashes, hollow characters, senseless violence, and gratuitous anything.
***Spoiler Section***
If you look at the message boards of IMDB or Rotten Tomatoes (something I almost never do I might add), you'll find a fair amount of discussion regarding how the movie ends. Basically there are those who don't like it and think it is a Hollywood happy ending cop-out. There are those who dismiss the reality of it and ascribe it to being a dream or an afterlife. And there are those who have worked immensely hard to work out all the internal logic for it to make sense (which is quite impressive actually).
As for me, I loved the ending just as it was. Yes, I'm a sucker for a good happy ending. But I've learned that whenever you have a film (or book) that deals with any sort of time travel, at some point you just have to suspend your disbelief and accept whatever narrative unfolds (within reason). Trying to hash out the logic will primarily make your head hurt and possibly dampen your enjoyment of the film. Still, I hope the film doesn't completely abandon its own internal logic (I'm looking at you Frequency). When I left the theater, I felt satisfied with the ending, whether it made complete sense or not. I guess it was the ending I wanted. And having just read (okay, skimmed [it was really, really detailed]) a few people's logical breakdowns, I'm still satisfied the ending does work.
And can I just add that I love how the film actually closes. It's understated and brilliant. A similar ending that comes to mind is from Monsters Inc. Even though Rita at this point in a new timeline has no idea who Cage is, he knows her. He knows everything they've been through together. He cares for her. But instead of some confused, overly sentimental scene, all we see is Cage's face as he sees her. He's so relieved and happy to see her alive that he doesn't even know what to say. He just smiles. Cut to black. Perfect.
Quotable Quotes
- "Come find me when you wake up!" -- Rita
- "Who gave you permission to talk to me?" "You did ... tomorrow." -- Rita and Cage
- "What do we do now?" "I don't know; we've never made it this far before." -- Rita and Cage
- "What do you want?" -- Rita
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