Films > DVD Reviews

Edge of Tomorrow

20/11/14

Tom Cruise has made a habit of starring in high-concept sci-fi flicks. ‘Minority Report’, ‘War of the Worlds’, and, more recently, ‘Oblivion’ have all benefitted from his unquestionably charismatic presence. Having said that, he believes that humanity is descended from the banished souls of aliens, sent here 75 million years ago by an intergalactic ruler called Xenu and dropped into volcanoes from big DC8 airplanes with rockets instead of propellers, so maybe he thinks he’s making documentaries. Who knows? I, for one, don’t think that creation myth is any less batshit crazy than being dreamed up by a lonely talking cloud. But I’m a film guy, not a theology guy, so on with the review!

‘Edge of Tomorrow’ is very much like ‘Groundhog Day’, but instead of punching Ned Ryerson, Tom punches invading aliens that look a bit like the squidy ships in the Matrix films, getting better at it with every rebirth until he’s a sort of omniscient super-soldier saviour of humanity guy. It’s pretty good, actually.

I know what you’re thinking: “Yeah, Jay, this, like, ‘Groundhog Day’ is another cinematic exploration of the Nietzschean concept of Eternal Return”, and you’d be right. Also, like ‘Groundhog Day’, it’s a lot of fun. The mistake it makes, which GD never does, is to try and explain the details of the temporal shenanigans, and it ends up looking a bit silly. Also, some of the dialogue is laugh-out-loud, face-slapping twattery.

No matter though. The fun concept and shiny execution were more than enough to keep me on board. Then again, my thetan levels are pretty low at the moment.