Edge of Tomorrow Review

Cruise control.

Film review by Isaac Handelman

Tom Cruise’s newest action vehicle Edge of Tomorrow, despite its prominently featured robotic suits, is anything but mechanical. Directed by Doug Liman of Bourne Identity fame, this sci-fi action blockbuster showcases surprising ingenuity alongside its less surprising, though still impressive, action spectacle. Driven by one of Tom Cruise’s most memorable performances in years, Tomorrow may just be the best movie to yet emerge from 2014’s summer season.

Cruise plays against type as Captain Cage, an advocate of a recently developed brand of super-armor outfitting Earth Defense soldiers who are attempting to ward off the assault of a terrifying alien species called Mimics. Cage, not a soldier, is inadvertently thrusted into a pivotal battle against the Mimics: an all-out assault by mankind that’s effectively humanity’s last hope to emerge victorious against the alien scourge. Cage is not the battle-hardened, unkillable veteran that Cruise typically plays. In fact, Cage dies continually in the film after discovering that, by some mysterious mechanism, he wakes up at the start of the day each time he meets his supposed end.

The veteran actor has visible fun in a role that is, by its very nature, more vulnerable than what he’s typically seen in. The uncertain Cage is bumbling and clueless for the first part of the film, and gradually becomes more learnt and confident as the narrative progresses. Cruise, and by extension Cage, projects real growth as a character, and though by the climax he’s settled back into much the role you’d have originally expected Cruise to play, Cage’s arc is still far more engaging than that of a typical action protagonist.

His co-star Emily Blunt, who plays lethal super-soldier Rita, settles into a more conventional stone-cold-killer role early on, but then emerges from her shell later in the film and showcases considerable chemistry with her co-star by the film’s end. Thankfully, their romantic sub-plot goes against the norm and doesn’t come together as predictably as one might expect.

Despite its repetitive premise, Edge of Tomorrow manages not to grow tiresome. A few great twists help to spice up the proceedings, and Liman’s stylish direction highlights the film’s visual splendor. The mech suits worn by Earth’s soldiers move with a wonderful fluidity and seem like true extensions of their pilots’ bodies. The creepy, jittery movements of the antagonistic Mimics are delightfully unsettling, showcasing Tomorrow’s creative, off-kilter creature design. In conjunction, most of the film transpires during the daytime, which lends energy to the on-screen mayhem and stands in stark contrast to the bland, dark settings of many modern action films.

The action itself is hard-hitting and unpredictable since the setup dictates that the protagonists could meet their grisly demise at a moment’s notice. The screenwriters ensure that the film never takes itself too seriously, peppering in plenty of moments of comic relief that help Edge of Tomorrow develop a colorful character, further separating it from much of today’s drab action spectacle. Unfortunately, Tomorrow’s finale, though explosive, succumbs to more typical action cliches than the rest of the film and isn’t anywhere near as inventive as most of what precedes it. Similarly, the ending is rather nonsensical; the rules of Edge of Tomorrow’s time travel are shaky to begin with, and ending seems to contradict itself in more ways than one. Purely in terms of narrative, though, the film makes its way to a satisfying, fittingly unconventional close.

Ultimately, Edge of Tomorrow is proof that, though Tom Cruise’s public image may have fallen from grace in recent years, his ability to anchor adrenaline-fueled entertainment stands higher than ever.