Directed by: Doug Liman
Screenplay: Christopher McQuarrie, Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth,
Based on novel by Hiroshi Sakurazaka “All You Need Is Kill”
Cast: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Brendan Gleeson, Bill Paxton, Jonas Armstrong, Tony Way, Kick Gurry, Franz Drameh, Dragomir Mrsic, Charlotte Riley, Terence Maynard
It would be incredible, if these days, someone had the power to “restart the day”. Whoever owned this power would have the ability to control the future; to predict anything and everything.
In the film “Edge of Tomorrow” based on Hiroshi Sikurazaka`s novel “All You Need is Kill”, Major William Cage (Tom Cruise) is an officer who has never seen a day of combat in his life, but for some unknown reason, is chosen to cover the conflict on the beaches of France. On this suicide mission, Cage somehow manages to kill an unusually large Mimic, but is doused with its blood and dies. Right after this happens; Cage wakes up the previous morning at Heathrow, and is debriefed as before. He realizes that something is not right, and quickly figures out he is stuck in a time loop. He realizes that every time he dies in the brutal fight with the Mimic, he “resets” to the day prior the invasion. Now all he needs to do is to use this ability to win the war and save the human race.
Tom Cruise is one of those actors that doesn`t need a special introduction. With so many different, and extremely entertaining films under his belt, Tom Cruise has earned the reputation of an actor whose films are usually “good” or excellent”, but never “bad”. I would easily consider the film “Edge of Tomorrow to be a “good film” if not for one simple fact; the person that makes this film great- Emily Blunt. The chemistry of these two actors makes this film worth watching over and over again.
Tom Cruise plays Major William Cage, who is an officer in the United States Military. Cage has never seen a day of combat in his life which will make his future mission impossible. But wait, this film is not the film “Mission Impossible’. Cage is summoned to London to meet with General Brigham (Brendan Gleeson). In order to relieve pressure on Russian and Chinese forces, the UDF (‘United Defense Forces’ created by NATO) intends to launch ‘Operation Downfall’, a multi-front invasion of Mimic-controlled Europe. Major William Cage is pleased to know that the UDF respects him and trusts him enough to send him right to the combat zone. However, Cage refuses to go, saying that he is not a soldier. Cage is arrested after he attempts to blackmail the General. He is then sent to a base at Heathrow Airport.
Omega has the ability to reset time and control the alien species- Alpha Mimics. This allows them to know in advance all of the enemies moves to defeat them. When Cage manages to kill an unusual Mimic, his blood mixes with the blood of the killed Mimic; he then gains the same ability to reset time. In one of his “travel-back-in-time” missions, he saves the life of Rita Vratarski, the “Angel of Verdun”, who is the hope of Humanity. He tells her about his ability and asks her to find a way to get him off the beach. When Rita Vratarski (Emily Blunt) finds out about his ability, she asks him to find her when he wakes up again. With his ability for “resetting time”, the inexperienced officer is able to engage the adversaries with increasing skill. As Cage and Vratarski fight the aliens, each repeated encounter gets them closer to defeating the enemy.
“Edge of Tomorrow” directed by Doug Liman (Mr. and Mrs. Smith, The Bourne Identity, Fair Game”) brings us as an amazing combination of Groundhog Day, Starship Troopers, Source Code, and The Butterfly Effect, but still holds its own without confusing the viewer. Doug Linman does not attempt to make Cage or Rita Vrataski into a hero. Nowadays movies are short on originality, but in this case, you will not give it a second thought. “Edge of Tomorrow” is a thoroughly entertaining film. In my opinion, it`s not “just” a summer movie, but it’s a smart, fun and exciting summer movie. This can easily be called the year`s most surprising blockbuster movie so far.