If there happened to be an alien invasion, a bout of time travel hijinks or just something slightly in the realm of science fiction, it seems that filmmakers would want Emily Blunt on the front lines. If there was a scenario that saw a movie star killed over and over again, it would be safe to say that most audiences wouldn’t mind seeing Tom Cruise repeatedly lose his life. In bringing Japanese novel All You Need Is Kill to the screen as Edge of Tomorrow, director Doug Liman (Fair Game) has come across the perfect combination of both. The former plays with sci-fi action once more, and the latter toils with the limits of fictional mortality, yet the film’s successes range beyond simply giving people what they want.
After Earth is overtaken by an aggressive species of extra-terrestrials, all hopes rest on the final wave of resistance, dubbed Operation Downfall. Public relations expert Major William Cage (Cruise, Oblivion) has watched the combat from safety, but his spin doctoring soon sees him mobilised to sell the carnage on the ground. When he opposes the orders of General Brigham (Brendan Gleeson, The Company You Keep) to join the troops, he is branded a deserter and thrust into the fray without any experience; however his first death at the hands of an intergalactic enemy doesn’t take. Cage awakens on the previous day, doomed to relive the same events with savvy Special Forces soldier Rita Vrataski (Blunt, Looper) until they find a way forward for the human race.
Complete with a steely colour palette courtesy of cinematographer Dion Beebe (Gangster Squad), all the obvious film comparisons bear recalling in Edge of Tomorrow, but like its basic building blocks of casting, there is more to the feature than echoing its leads most recent work or replicating the format of the inherently conceptually analogous Groundhog Day or Source Code. Liman and writers Christopher McQuarrie (Jack Reacher), Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth (Fair Game) show an obvious awareness of what makes each element work, be it the actors in their roles, or the premise and associated genre parts. Their offering embraces its components, celebrates their strengths, and refuses to squander its potential by remaining too familiar or rote.
Indeed, there’s more to the movie than a cycle of living, dying, learning from mistakes and attempting the same feats over and over again, as surprisingly entertaining as that proves. Edge of Tomorrow may not be a ponderous or even particularly thoughtful sci-fi effort, but it is propulsive, energetic and perceptive in eliciting tension as well as emotional investment. Wringing thrills out of the situation and building relatable relationships is done, of course, by repetition, and also by humour. Laughing at Cage struggle with his sudden trouble inspires warmth for his unlikely underdog status. Watching the cycle of his labours to succeed sparks the sharing in the recurrent pressure. Seeing the quirks of his witty interactions with Vrataski evokes enjoyment of their gradual respect as it blooms.
With an eye for the scope of battle and the intimacy of training, Liman just as fruitfully stages the vivid action and interweaves the impressive special effects, both keys to the film presenting a visual spectacle as much as an engaging narrative. Again, evidence of similar fare rears its head, with both the Alien series and Starship Troopers evident influences; again, the part mimicry, part reimagining, part homage doesn’t detract from the feature’s effectiveness. A late stalling of story does threaten to do just that; however the film’s captivating bulk carries the momentum through until the very end. Big, bold and brash, Edge of Tomorrow may deliver exactly what’s expected, but it does so in the best manner possible.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Edge of Tomorrow
Director: Doug Liman
US / Australia, 2014, 113 mins
Release date: June 5
Distributor: Roadshow
Rated: M
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