Although that's an
actual line from yesterday's Mad Max: Fury Road, it fits the
tag line to Edge of Tomorrow almost perfectly: Live. Die.
Repeat.
If you are familiar
with Groundhog Day and Source Code, then add war and
aliens and you get this movie. You have to be very, very careful with
this as well. Basically, Tom Cruise is an inexperienced (yeah, that's
a first) officer who is afraid of blood, and he gets thrust onto the
front lines. It's supposed to be a great victory, even having the
name Operation: Downfall. Instead, the Mimics set it up for the world
to throw all their soldiers right into an ambush. Then Cruise ends up
getting an Alpha's blood mixed in him, granting him its
time-manipulating powers. It becomes his job to relive every day, and
slowly learn how to defeat the enemies. He meets Emily Blunt, the
only person that will believe his situation, and she trains him to be
able to defeat the aliens. Since the whole movie has the same day,
same scenarios repeated, it's crucial to show enough to the audience
without it looking repetitive. And I think this video game-like movie
succeeds tremendously.
Hardly ever has an
editor's job been more important or difficult. The result is very
humorous at first at all of Cruise's deaths, but as he grows closer
to Blunt and witnesses death every single day with little ability to
make a significant impact, the dreading of having to do this again
with no escape hits really hard.
If you're
unfamiliar with Tom Cruise films, I may shun you at first; but do not
worry, for I will gradually show more and more of his films (and so
many are quite good). It's much more understandable to not know of
Emily Blunt. And that is a shame, for she is a talented actress in
some great films like The Adjustment Bureau and Looper
(okay, she's probably known most for The Devil Wears Prada).
Sadly, outside of these characters, there's nothing to cheer over
with the supporting cast. But the focus is on the 2 stars, and that's
the way it should be.
A cool addition to
this sci-fi action flick is the exoskeletons worn by the soldiers.
Resembling what was seen in Aliens, for the most part, the
actors are actually doing stunts and wearing these. There's enough to
figure out that it takes a couple of resets to be familiar with how
to operate them.
One scene I
particularly remember in Groundhog Day is Bill Murray at the
bar, and slowly he finds the right words to say to make the
conversation work; similarly, Cruise suffers many deaths only to be
more aware for the next shot where he gets past the obstacle. The
pacing is quick, but it also settles down for pondering the dire
situation at hand. It's a combination of emotions that I think works
very well. All in all, it's just such a fun and smart film that I'm
really pleased to see made right.
In conclude
In conclusion, this
is a good film.
In conclusion, this
is a film that blends a hearty amount of action, comedy, and drama. I
look forward to seeing more films from both Tom Cruise and Emily
Blunt.
We'll be having
plenty of fun for next week. We will review our first Pixar film, and
my older brother (blogger of Coffee Cup by the Lamplight) will be my
first guest reviewer!
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