27 Oct 2014

Edge of Tomorrow



Hot on the success of 2013's Oblivion,  Tom Cruise returns with a new Sci Fi action feature  Edge of Tomorrow.  Based on the Japanese novel All you need is Kill (which I am sure sounds better in Japanese) Cruise joins Emily Blunt in saving the world.

Synopsis:

Europe is being invaded by a seemingly unstoppable swarm of alien life. The world unites as the entire continent is swiftly over run.  Finally, Earth wins a victory over the invaders, and with renewed hope Earth launches a massive invasion into France from the United Kingdom. Cage (Tom Cruise) is a recruitment marketing specialist who finds himself reassigned to the front line. Unsurprisingly he dies, but then awakes to discover he has developed the strange ability to relive the same day over and over.

Ensue repetition.

The movie looks great. The action scenes on the beach are reminiscent of Saving Private Ryan, in their scale and feel. Emily Blunt is surprisingly good as the battle hardened soldier. She is resolute, but still conveys the intelligence and empathy she is known for. Also a hot girl smashing Aliens with a giant sword is pretty freaking awesome. Still, besides showing her athletic capability, the film didn't showcase her abilities too much.


But for me this cross between  Starship Troopers  and Groundhog Day missed the mark. Yes they had those Groundhog Day humorous moments, and as I said the action was good but the story just seemed to lack something tangible. Not bad, but the story lacked that little tweak to make it special. The ending was a bit trite too.  At least the director and writers managed to restrain the requirement for a blatant Hollywood love story thankfully.

If you like action films, especially Scifi movies then you will probably like this. I don't think you will love it though. Better than Battle Los Angeles,  but apart from Emily Blunt killing Aliens with a giant sword, nothing special.

5 Monkeys

No comments:

Post a Comment