Edge of Tomorrow

Last summer, Oblivion took me by surprise and currently stands as one of my favourite movies (of the past few years, at least). So seeing previews of Edge of Tomorrow brought about an anticipation and excitement for another Tom Cruise sci-fi adventure that was ultimately - and pleasantly - fulfilled earlier this week. There was a fleeting moment of anxiety as the theatre dimmed that the movie would not meet the expectations I had, or that it wouldn't impress me in the same way that Oblivion did last year (a fair comparison). Edge of Tomorrow does not disappoint; if anything, it exceeded my expectations and proves itself as a solid sci-fi action movie.

I spent entirely too much time talking about Cruise in my previous entry about Oblivion, giving very little insight into my enjoyment of the movie. It was a film that took many elements of my other, favourite sci-fi films and seemingly blended it into one satisfying vision of the future, and that's all I could say about it. Right now, that's all I could say about it too. In browsing the web the other day, I saw a blurb about Oblivion: how it was all surface, with no depth - and how this isn't actually a bad thing. Yes, it feels great to enjoy a movie on many different levels, but it's also possible to enjoy a movie that is, for lack of a better term, flat. There is no hidden meaning in Oblivion, no subtle context or commentary. What you see is what you get, and in that, it excels. They could have thrown elements of environmentalism to us (how we will inevitably destroy our own planet) or even hint at the brashness of humanity when we clash with aliens. They could have, but it's all been done before, so why not focus on a simple, perfectly executed story line that is universally comprehensible. The movie moves at a perfect pace, characters are well rounded, the music ties it all together (thanks M83) and visuals, along with the special effects, are understated and beautiful.

Edge of Tomorrow could be seen as a second story in the building that Oblivion has laid the groundwork on: a building whose initial purpose is to deliver to us an approachable, successful science fiction film. If not, the two movies go practically hand in hand if for no other reason than having Tom Cruise playing the same character to bring us forward. Edge of Tomorrow raises the stakes though, by introducing a time travel mechanism that will inevitable confuse movie goers. This is a fact: time travel is confusing, as when anybody who puts any thought into it can attest. You could spend more time talking about the time travel mechanics in Looper than you would any other element of the film, and in the end, it seems that it can only detract from the experience. People would be too quick to point out fallacies. Others don't want to put the brain power into it. So it's important to make the rules of your science fiction mechanic very clear in the movie; it should teach you, sell you on it and put it on the backburner for the rest of the film. This is exactly what Edge of Tomorrow does perfectly.

Just like Oblivion borrows heavily from other films within the genre, Edge of Tomorrow's main mechanic has been seen before in the movie Groundhog Day, which should be immediately recognizable to most audiences. In Groundhog Day, Bill Murray's character is forced to live the same day over again, until he "gets things right." It's a comedy that turns romantic, that could have became incredibly grim - when you spend time thinking of it, and put yourself in his shoes, the suicide montage that plays off comedically in the film is the depressing and dismally inevitable result of living the same day thousands of times. It's not a stretch to believe Phil was travelling through a level of hell in this movie; luckily, the film expertly guides us away from the grim reality of Phil's phenomenon. In Edge of Tomorrow, Tom Cruise's character, Cage, is stuck in a similar loop of living the same day over again - an ability that the aliens themselves possessed and have presumably used to all but conquer the planet. Every time he dies, he wakes up the previous day and has to relive it again. The premise, of course, being that he gets better every time he cycles, become a great warrior. Can he make a difference though?

We're treated to a couple of "death montages" that actually play out with some dark comedy, but it doesn't take long for the film to really get underway. We're introduced to Emily Blunt's character, who adds more weight to the film - she does a great job, and the story takes the right direction. I thought initially it would become fairly predictable, but I'm happy to have experienced a couple of satisfying turns, and some clever ways to develop these characters while still retaining focus on the end mission. The special effects are - as expected - amazing. While the "Live. Die. Repeat." tagline is front and centre, we're treated to some neat exoskeleton combat suits, mind-bending action sequences and a world that manages to convey a realistic future. The director, Doug Liman, keeps things tight and moves things along well. I'm not left with many criticisms. We're also not left with questionable paradoxes: the movie instructs us, doesn't break its own rules and delivers on all front. I'm not convinced there is much more than the surface here, and that's not a bad thing. I'll be sure to check this film out again, and I look forward to it.