Edge of Tomorrow

Throughout the last decade I enjoyed writing about many of Tom Cruise's action movies but there was one missing in my discussion which needed correcting and that was Edge of Tomorrow, directed by Doug Liman and released in 2014. The images prior to release showed Tom Cruise running from an explosion while dressed in a mech suit. It caught my interest right from the moment I saw this but it somehow passed me by until just recently.

In the near future, the world is at war with strange alien technology that's engulfed much of Europe and soon the threat will arrive on the coast of England. However, the British and Americans are preparing a beach invasion, very similar to WW2, and repel the unknown forces. Cruise stars as Major William Cage, a smarmy desk based member of the force, who is reluctantly pressured into joining the late Bill Paxton's unit. The battle in France begins but something strange happens and Cruise finds himself repeating the same day of the attack again and again.

Liman's filmography is certainly entertaining but not all of his films have had much in the way of substance to make them memorable. The Bourne Identity is perhaps his best which escaped troubling reshoots but the likes of Jumper, Mr. & Mrs. Smith and to an extent American Made are fine yet lack that special touch to help the film excel. Edge of Tomorrow begins with a sense of familiarity with Paxton mimicking his patriotic gung-ho charisma from Aliens before the inciting incident and then the film really comes to life. Action sci-fi movies aren't everyone's cup of tea but Liman and Cruise make for a great team in this inventive race-against-time experience, which is boosted by a witty screenplay and Emily Blunt's strong turn as Sergeant Rita Vrataski.

The end result is a highly entertaining and creative action adventure while giving Cruise a chance to dabble some more in the sci-fi genre. My only gripe would be the jarring pop song smashed in right at the end but even this kind of works given some of the film's themes. For fans of Cruise and the genre as a whole, this is an easy film to recommend.