Edge of Tomorrow

It shouldn’t work. A human-versus-aliens film that keeps repeating the same part over and over again like the comic angle of “Groundhog Day” had become suddenly dangerous. However, “Edge of Tomorrow,” released in 2014, will keep your attention. Guaranteed.

Peter Travers said in his review, “Tom Cruise had me at hello, playing Maj. William Cage, a glorified PR guy in uniform. During an interview with hawklike Gen. Brigham (Brendan Gleeson, chewing hungrily on a tasty role), Cage is condescending as heck, offering to help the general with his image in a war that seems unwinnable. Instead, the general sends the combat-unready Cage into battle. Effective immediately.”

This is great to watch the usual heroic Cruise lose himself, sweating and panicking at the idea of getting really close and personal with an alien race called Mimics. Cage, stuck in combat armor and given weapons no one has trained him to use, goes kicking and screaming into the alien fight, swearing at his commanding officer, played by Bill Paxton. However, there he is on a beach in France, dodging CGI creatures that look really terrifying and looking in fear as Rita Vrataski, played by Emily Blunt, a military beauty, is murdered. Cage dies next.

Travers said, “You heard me. He dies. Until director Doug Liman, channeling the cinematic pizazz he brought to The Bourne Identity, hits the reset button.” Cage is forced to relive that same day until he gets it right. That means getting to Rita before the fight he has to face, persuading her to train him for combat and then, you guessed it, falling in love. Travers noted, “The cornball stuff never gets in the way, thanks to Blunt’s grit and grace.” She’s a force of nature.

Travers ended his review by saying, “Working from an exuberantly clever script that Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects) and Jez and John-Henry Butterworth adapted from Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s 2004 novel All You Need Is Kill, Liman keeps the action and surprises coming nonstop. OK, the end is a head-scratcher. Until then, Cruise and Blunt make dying a hugely entertaining game of chance.”

I didn’t see this in the theaters. However, I had heard from a few YouTube reviewers that this movie was one of the best movies of 2014. I checked it out as a rental from the library, and I was surprised at how it took the “Groundhog Day” scenario of a day repeating continuously until you get it right, and made it into an alien fight was fascinating. If you haven’t seen this yet, you should. I’m not a Tom Cruise fan, but I can’t deny he has made great movies. This one is no exception. You should check this out because this one will keep you engaged from start to finish. Wherever you find it, watch it and see for yourself.

Next week, I will be ending “Bill Paxton Month” with another movie that was released in 2014 that is probably a crazy one.