MANILA, Philippines - Most of us may have at one point experienced déjà vu, but we don’t really get to appreciate or make use of that one freakish moment in time just like the way Tom Cruise does with "Edge of Tomorrow".
Adapted from the light novel "All You Need Is Kill" by Hiroshi Sakurazaka, Edge of Tomorrow’s story takes place in the near future when an alien race (called Mimics) has nearly overtaken the world and the unwitting Major William Cage (Cruise) is sent to the front-lines of the battle where the probability of survival is nil.
Just a quick background on Mimics: Mimics are alien life forms who absorb people or animals and inherit their traits. They are an aggressive alien race and their primary goal is to conquer Earth’s dominant species—Humans.
And the Mimics are succeeding.
However, Earth’s mightiest warriors have taken arms to attempt to repel the alien invasion. Thanks to exo-suits — weaponized suits, the militaries of Earth now have the means to fight back. Aside from that, people of Earth have their own heroine to look up to: Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt).
Or do they?
Right from the start the military’s plan to finish off the Mimics in a major offensive called “Operation: Downfall†is doomed, and the aliens know this. It’s up to Cage to foil the plans of the enemy and the only way to do it is to get killed by a certain woman.
LIVE. DIE.REPEAT. "Edge of Tomorrow" is a story about time loops, and it is obvious 15 minutes into the story. Moviegoers will immediately see the coward in Cruise’s character William Cage and how he tries to smooth talk his way out of military duty from General Brigham (played by Brendan Gleeson). Cage is busted to private and is sent on his way to the front lines where he dies barely minutes after landing.
And then Cage wakes up, one day in the past, and he is fully aware of what happened to him. From there, Cage plays out different scenarios on his goal to save his life and the lives of the soldiers around him, and the only way to do it is to get the help of Vratasky.
It’s fairly easy to point out EoT’s plot as predictable, but the approach made by director Doug Liman says otherwise. Every loop experienced by Cage is the same, but it lends the best twists to engage moviegoers into wanting to see more of Cage’s deaths.
The Twilight Zone element embedded into a sci-fi action fits perfectly to the plot and its characters. It’s a rarity to mix up war, aliens, and humor into one movie but Liman and his writers did it seamlessly thanks not only to Cruise but to the wonderful cast with likes of Blunt and Bill Paxton.
Ah, Bill Paxton. People may not recognize him immediately but he’s Master Sergeant Farrell Bartolome. Paxton immediately steals the scenes from Cruise with his wit and sarcasm. Paxton delivers the funniest lines to this movie and it’s never tiring whenever he and Cruise “repeat†a scene. I’ll never get tired of seeing those two banter.
Blunt dumps the damsel-in-distress image for the kick-ass role in Rita Vratasky. Blunt exerts an image of authority in Vratasky and she’s the main reason for William Cage’s evolution from cowardly to heroic. Blunt knows how to carry herself as an actress and it shows with her scenes with Cruise. Seeing the two of them in action and in dialogue is never boring, but there is a lack in emotional connection as a bond that should’ve been built up early in the movie was sacrificed for continuity’s sake.
The same can be said for the people of J Squad, the ragtag group of soldiers that teams up with Cage and Vratasky. There’s uniqueness and character in each of them but they are shunned away at the early part just to be pitted at the most definitive part of the story. I just wished the supporting characters were given more time for development.
The battle scenes are gripping yet they can be at times, look bland. The main battle reminded me of films from World War II’s D-Day landings in Normandy, but with less carnage. Not much can be appreciated for this, but it solidifies its role as an integral part of the movie’s progression.
The special effects in Edge of Tomorrow are jaw-dropping, from the exo-suits to the Mimics terrifying looks to William Cage’s first death scene. Everything looks natural and it’s worth watching in 3-D. Kudos as well to the editors as they did a fantastic job in piecing together a film about repetitions without being too…repetitive.
Overall, this is the movie to watch for this summer. I wouldn’t mind waking up again suddenly yesterday or tomorrow or in the future to watch this film.
Watch. Leave. Repeat.