Edge of Tomorrow movie review

Groundhog’s Day… and D-Day… with an alien invasion… and Tom Cruise…. How is this not worth seeing this at least once? Also, the D-Day-esque movie comes out on the 70th anniversary of D-Day. Huh.

If my previous description didn’t enlighten you as to what this film is about, then allow me to explain as spoiler free as I can. Basically… it’s Groundhog’s Day and D-Day with an alien invasion and Tom Cruise. Tom Cruise plays a guy that’s not much of a fighter, but gets sent into an attack with no hope of winning. Aliens are the enemy, and they have taken over a large portion of Europe. The battle plan is to storm a beach (Just like Normandy) and destroy the aliens. As soon as the military arrives, the plan all turns to crap, and everyone gets screwed over. As seen in the trailer, Tom Cruise gets killed… only to wake up the day before the attack.

It’s a neverending cycle. Cruise dies, and dies, and dies, and dies, and dies, and dies. Guess what he does next? He dies. Then he proceeds to die some more. Then eats some death with a side of doom fries and annihilation nuggets.

One thing people are kinda weary about with the whole ‘Groundhog’s Day’ thing this movie has is that it could start to be repetitive after a while. Admittedly, I was worried about that too. But, fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised. Each time Cruise restarted, it never felt too redundant. Each day was fresh and new. It felt like he was actually making a difference. Everything he went through, he used it as experience to get through the day farther and better than before. He almost masters it! He gets so much closer to victory… only to be set back. Again.

Really, this should have been called ‘Trial and Error: The Movie’, because that’s what it is. And since he has to explain to everyone over and over about what’s going on, it makes it all the more frustrating for him. You feel that frustration with him, so I got to give the movie points for that.

This movie is reminiscent of all those rage games on the internet. You know, the ones that gamers make videos on and scream and yell at the game because it’s so hard. On some of those games, if you die, the game resets you at the very beginning. Perfect example: Unfair Mario. Look it up on Youtube.

Whenever Tom Cruise has to restart and says “Really? Come on!” it sounds exactly like the gamers playing rage games. I love it. Those videos are hilarious, and the film captures that feeling extremely well. I can relate to all this, since I have played my fair share of hard games myself. that. I also like that the film still has fun, and doesn’t fall into the category of Christopher Nolan serious. The main character cannot stay dead, so they took advantage of it in two ways. One: to bring some laughs, and two: help the story. The comedic timing throughout is fantastic. It's funnier than I've heard some comedies are this year.

The story was well executed overall. It was engaging and rather tense at the end. There is an explanation as to why Tom Cruise keeps restarting, but this is a spoiler free review. Go somewhere else. The action throughout was cool as well. Plenty of explosions, gunfights, and some moments made me jump. What made me and everyone else in the theater jump? The aliens. Those are the freakiest things I’ve seen in a while. I don’t know how to describe them. There might be some video game enemies somewhere like them, but none that come to mind at the moment.

The characters are also pretty good. I don’t remember half their names, the exception being the Fullmetal B!tch. Even then, that was a nickname. Anyway, they were still enjoyable. Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt are great. They have good chemistry together, and work well as a team. You know, a team that has to be reformed 800 million times.

In conclusion, Edge of Tomorrow is a great, fun, solid movie. The strongest element is the story, which is not so focused on in some recent action films. It delivers good characters, good fights, good CG, and a lot of enjoyment. I would say to catch this at least once in theaters. You will not be disappointed.

FINAL RATING: 44 / 50

STORY: 5 / 5

ACTING: 5 / 5

CHARACTERS: 5 / 5

CG EFFECTS: 4 / 5

ACTION: 5 / 5

SOUNDTRACK: 3 / 5

TONE: 4 / 5

ENJOYABILITY: 5 / 5

REWATCH VALUE: 4 / 5

OWNING VALUE: 4 / 5

Not a bad start to the month of June. Next weekend, we have two movies that I plan on checking out and reviewing. How to Train Your Dragon 2, and 22 Jump Street. But first, I need to review the first How to Train Your Dragon and 21 Jump Street. Check back for a review on How to Train Your Dragon on Sunday.