Directed by: Doug Liman
Starring: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson
I've had it with alien invasions. These life forms have the technology and the capacity to travel millions of light years to try and take over our planet, only to be brought down by a minor detail which throws their whole scheme out of whack. You would think that before they went through all of the trouble that they would at least have everything idiot-proofed. I'm sure the head muckety-mucks on these planets aren't into wasting valuable time and resources on something that will ultimately fail because their species can't handle our common cold.
And you would also think that they would head for the hills at the sight of Tom Cruise, who has spent more time recently saving the world than any actor I know. Like Tommy Lee Jones is to fugitive tracking, Tom Cruise is to alien-busting. He does it well enough, but he should really stretch himself now that he is in his early 50's. Edge Of Tomorrow is a perfect example of a well-made, dumb film. This is the first alien invasion film I've seen in which the aliens contribute so easily to their own demise.
I will do my best not to present spoilers. If you have seen the ads, you know that Tom Cruise is forced to relive the day of his battlefield death over and over again, a la Groundhog Day but without the laughs. Tom Cruise plays Major Bill Cage, who appears on CNN talk shows as it covers an alien invasion that has taken over most of Europe and part of Asia. He has never seen combat, but this doesn't stop his superior (Gleeson) from ordering him to report to a unit that will storm a beach for a surprise invasion a la D-Day. Unlike the aliens in War Of The Worlds and Independence Day, these aliens work slowly, giving the humans enough time to fight back. Why Cruise's character is made a Major who has never seen combat plays no part in the story whatsoever.
Once Cruise and his comrades are on the beach, they are promptly slaughtered. However, when Cruise dies, he immediately wakes up to the beginning of the day of the invasion, which allows him to tell his story to superiors that don't believe him anyway and try and do better this time. I liked Bill Murray's take on his plight in Groundhog Day better. ("I'm a god, I'm not the God") On the beach, Cage also witnesses the death of a hottie named Rita Vratski (Blunt), who is famous for her heroic actions in another battle. It seems she knows more about Cage's plight than Cage realizes as he instructs him, "Come find me tomorrow when you wake up."
Why Cruise repeats his last day again and again is explained by Blunt, although I won't reveal how this phenomenon happens, it is one of those minor details the aliens overlooked when they planned Earth's demise. Somehow Cruise's killing of a rare alien type made it easier for him to be able to relive the same day and thus plan the mission better in order to thwart the aliens. Why didn't the head cheeses at alien headquarters keep these rare aliens home?
Edge Of Tomorrow is ultimately just a high-concept video game. The tagline for the movie, "Live. Die. Repeat." is what happens here. A character dies and gets another life to try and defeat the evil aliens. The aliens themselves are ugly thingies that look like a cross between the alien in Alien and a Rastafarian. I did wish, however, that like in video games a character can pass a certain point and then when he dies could be sent back to that point instead of the beginning. It would save a lot of time for us and the characters.
This is a silly movie with a concept that doesn't add much to the proceedings except to stretch them out to unbearable length. One other thing: Shouldn't it be a bit harder to destroy the alien "brain" than by dropping a few grenades on it?
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