'Edge Of Tomorrow' review by Captain Raptor
Edge Of Tomorrow is all about repeating the past (as Tom Cruise always seems to be trying to do) and learning from your mistakes (as the producers and marketers seem to have done with the title change from the clunky 'All You Need Is Kill'). Well, strictly speaking it's about a soldier fighting a war against aliens who gets stuck in a loop of dying in battle and waking up on the day before. But come on, it's nice to take away a lesson.
Edge Of Tomorrow is a hodge-podge of great science-fiction movies that have come before: most obviously Aliens and Groundhog Day, but the fingerprints of The Matrix, The War Of The Worlds and many others are all very evident. While it takes inspiration liberally from across the board, the trial-and-error approach to warfare and high octane action sequences give the film a more distinctive, video game type quality. Any staleness is further prevented by the addition of a good sense of humour, some of which is a little darker than one might expect. Fast-paced montages of William Cage's various demises set to his cries of irritation are well met by some witty dialogue and great reactions from the supporting cast when confronted with Cage's apparent craziness. The concept is well carried out, as Cage learns day by day (and death by death) how to fight better and the safest routes to take, although things do get more clichéd by the end of the film, which bends all sorts of logic to give a happy ending.
While they're not astoundingly original, the film's humour, plot and action would make it eminently watchable, and the intelligence with which these elements are carried out is only a further bonus. What elevates the film to even higher levels is strong performances from the cast. Tom Cruise is at his charming and likeable best, quite possibly because he's playing a more flawed and interesting character than his typical two-bit action heroes. There's strong support from Emily Blunt's cold and collected war hero and from Jonas Armstrong's (BBC Robin Hood? Anybody?) confrontational grunt, but by far the best is Bill Paxton, managing to maintain a dryly funny air of subtlety as he bellows put-downs. The crew definitely know what they're doing too - it's a very nicely shot film, and the special effects are absolutely fantastic.
Edge Of Tomorrow is derivative but highly enjoyable, both in premise and in execution. It's got the wits and charisma to more than get away with it, and while I was mildly reluctant to see it at first I was much more reluctant for it to finish. A disappointing ending and needless succumbing to cliché (still, at least we've moved on from 'pointless romance subplot' to 'pointless implication of romantic feelings') are minor but not insubstantial flaws in what is otherwise an entertaining and well-crafted sci-fi shoot 'em up with brains in roughly equal measure to bullets.
Edge Of Tomorrow is all about repeating the past (as Tom Cruise always seems to be trying to do) and learning from your mistakes (as the producers and marketers seem to have done with the title change from the clunky 'All You Need Is Kill'). Well, strictly speaking it's about a soldier fighting a war against aliens who gets stuck in a loop of dying in battle and waking up on the day before. But come on, it's nice to take away a lesson.
Edge Of Tomorrow is a hodge-podge of great science-fiction movies that have come before: most obviously Aliens and Groundhog Day, but the fingerprints of The Matrix, The War Of The Worlds and many others are all very evident. While it takes inspiration liberally from across the board, the trial-and-error approach to warfare and high octane action sequences give the film a more distinctive, video game type quality. Any staleness is further prevented by the addition of a good sense of humour, some of which is a little darker than one might expect. Fast-paced montages of William Cage's various demises set to his cries of irritation are well met by some witty dialogue and great reactions from the supporting cast when confronted with Cage's apparent craziness. The concept is well carried out, as Cage learns day by day (and death by death) how to fight better and the safest routes to take, although things do get more clichéd by the end of the film, which bends all sorts of logic to give a happy ending.
While they're not astoundingly original, the film's humour, plot and action would make it eminently watchable, and the intelligence with which these elements are carried out is only a further bonus. What elevates the film to even higher levels is strong performances from the cast. Tom Cruise is at his charming and likeable best, quite possibly because he's playing a more flawed and interesting character than his typical two-bit action heroes. There's strong support from Emily Blunt's cold and collected war hero and from Jonas Armstrong's (BBC Robin Hood? Anybody?) confrontational grunt, but by far the best is Bill Paxton, managing to maintain a dryly funny air of subtlety as he bellows put-downs. The crew definitely know what they're doing too - it's a very nicely shot film, and the special effects are absolutely fantastic.
Edge Of Tomorrow is derivative but highly enjoyable, both in premise and in execution. It's got the wits and charisma to more than get away with it, and while I was mildly reluctant to see it at first I was much more reluctant for it to finish. A disappointing ending and needless succumbing to cliché (still, at least we've moved on from 'pointless romance subplot' to 'pointless implication of romantic feelings') are minor but not insubstantial flaws in what is otherwise an entertaining and well-crafted sci-fi shoot 'em up with brains in roughly equal measure to bullets.
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