Edge of Tomorrow

Very well executed concept known from Groundhog Day, Source Code and probably every sci-fi series ever made. At the beginning, the hero is introduced without any heroic attributes and the pandemonium of war that follows during the landing in Normandy sets the bar very high. And it holds there damn long. Edge of Tomorrow only stumbles a little by the end, where the thus far relatively reaistic battles (to the extent than a battle between people in exoskeletons and giant tentacled aliens can be described as “realistic”) abandon the realism and now they are falling from huge heights without any injuries and the entire final fight goes too smoothly, especially considering how important it is and how it goes straight down to business. That said, it’s an excellent action sci-fi blockbuster of the kind that has been missing in cinemas for a long time. The action is spectacular, Cruise and Blunt have good chemistry and the script also has a couple of nice moments. (30/05/2014)

So what did I like? That there was a sense of Japanese sparseness in the narration and portrayal of the characters. The action/drama was subtly diluted with humor, or a little romance, but nothing that made you roll your eyes. I didn't see a single American flag, didn't hear the American national anthem, and there wasn't even anyone giving stupid patriotic obnoxiously cliched speeches about how important it was to man up and go out and fight and that we're going to show these aliens what for and blah blah blah. It just wasn't there, and I cheered. Plus the characters were portrayed as people, with their own problems, their own histories, so they weren't just flat characters with a gun in their hands and some catchphrase. But what I liked best was the interplay between Cruise and Blunt, just a joy to watch. Granted, it did lose momentum towards the end and it felt like the film was squeezing out the last drops (but maybe I was squeezing out the last drops because the theater was sweltering), but it ended well and I left very satisfied in the end. This is exactly the blockbuster I wanted – an unpretentious film, and yet it has an engaging story, a quality cast, a decent OST, and action that wasn't shot with a shaky camera, so the viewer could see something and enjoy it too. Nice, and I have no choice but to say – keep it up. (05/06/2014)

I’m fascinated that the American viewer (the sponsor of the American filmmaking industry) prefers a commercial mishmash called Transformers to an imaginative sci-fi called Edge of Tomorrow, where the name essentially does not reveal anything and the movie can only surprise. The Japanese are known for always having great storylines in their stories and comic books, and I’m glad that finally one of those got this kind of interpretation with Tom Cruise in the leading role. For me, he will probably always be the actor who has signed up for sci-fi movies. Considering he’s a Scientologist, I’m not even surprised that he makes such films. I’m actually very happy that he’s the one to do it, because it fits him the most. As a result, after watching the film, I thought hard about whether to give it five stars. I had a slight issue with the camera, which blurred my vision in a similar way a decent 5 km run can. But that is Doug Liman for you. However, if not for his directing, I might not have seen such an amazing change in Tom’s role. So I can only add that this film has its pros and cons, but even so, it is probably my favorite one from this year’s movies. (20/06/2014)

Already a classic that you will gladly reach for when you’re feeling down. A great screenplay which borrows just enough, combines what we like from Aliens, Starship Trooper (more faithful to Heinlein’s book than the movie) or Groundhog Day. Amazing production design (reminds me of the Crysis videogame), it’s dirty as the sand on the beaches in Normandy (70th anniversary, hip-hip). Tom manages to get round both the yellow-bellied coward and the killer machine and Emily Blunt plays a tom-boy women’s hero in Ripley style, Paxton was pleasing. Clever, funny and mainly an entertaining blockbuster which suited me the most this season so far. Get up, you worm! (05/06/2014)

A magnificently filmed entertaining summer sci-fi blockbuster about the war between human and alien civilizations, in which the most affected person is a failed advertising manager who is condemned by the war situation to the role of a military propagandist and an unmanageable conflict with his superior to the position of an ordinary soldier. He is most affected because his fate is not to die once and for all, as soldiers die in battles, but thanks to a time loop he experiences the same day over and over again with the same bungled battle, which ends in a horrifying massacre, and he repeatedly dies in the most painful and bizarre ways. The morbid concept, however, thanks to irony, black humor, exaggeration, likable cast, and detachment, is easily digestible, and when I think about it, I can't find a reason why it shouldn't have the highest rating out of the original 4 stars. Tom Cruise is in his element as a blockbuster hero, and by being a coward and a guy who wants anything but to save the world, he is more likable than usual. But yes, criticism of the illogicality of the initial situation and the whole story is certainly appropriate, but honestly, who would want to dissect inconsistencies in the playfulness with a time paradox in such a relaxing genre? Some scenes definitely remind me of The Matrix or related genre productions, but that's just the way it goes in the crowded world of cinema, and I certainly wouldn't accuse Liman of cheap plagiarism. Overall impression: 90%. (03/07/2014)