Edge of Tomorrow: Live Die Repeat

Cast: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Jonas Armstrong and Brendan Gleeson.

Director: Doug Liman

Release Date: 2014

Running Time: 1hr 53 minutes

Genre: Science Fiction

Rating: 12

Format: Blu-Ray

Synopsis:

Cage finds himself in a war with aliens and reliving the same day over and over again, each day restarting everytime that he dies.

Based on the Japanese novel "All you need is kill" by Hiroshi Sakurazaka. Earth is at war with aliens. William Cage (Tom Cruise) who has never seen a day of combat, finds himself fighting in a suicide mission. Killed in seconds, Cage finds himself in a time-loop living out the same day over and over again, however for every day that he dies, he is able to encourage the troops to take a different route, alongside Special Forces officer Rita (Emily Blunt), for everyday that they both relive again, they find themselves getting closer and closer to winning the war against aliens.

Starring Tom Cruise as Private William Cage. A man who soon finds himself at the bottom of the food chain with everybody else going to far with the aliens. Picked on by Master Sergeant Farell (Paxton), for his previous role as Major. Cage must do everything within his power to convince Rita that he is reliving the same day over and over again and that he potentially knows a way to win the war. It's a little bit "Groundhog Day" meets "Independence Day" with some pretty awesome looking suits thrown in for good measure. Cruise delivers a very good performance with an unusual amount of humour. Watching him relive each day begins to get rather amusing. Timing it just right every single time, to make sure he survives, to the point where he must finally go looking for Special Forces officer Rita played magnificently by Emily Blunt. A fierce woman who a long time ago was just like Cage, although now she finds herself unable to relive each day.

The late Bill Paxton is terrific as Master Sergeant Farell, almost going back to his "Aliens" roots in terms of character personality. Not the biggest of roles, but fantastic none the less. Brendan Gleeson too shares a small role as General Brigham. The one man in control of Cage, who ends up sending him into the war zone. A good performance, although a little bit more characterization would have been nice. The storyline itself is a very interesting concept. Author Hiroshi Sakurazaka got the idea from playing video games and resetting it over and over until he found a winning strategy. Director Doug Liman has executed the story perfectly. A terrific balance of action, adventure and humour. Something that came as a pleasant surprise to myself. An alien movie without the use of cheesy looking green men.

Shot in and around London, it adds a different touch to the story which I'd imagine would of originally been shot in Japan? Wonderful cinematography with tremendous looking special effects. The time-loop scenes are also superbly shot. Incredible production design, fantastically thought out. A constant feeling of wanting to know what happens next. Do they win the war? A highly entertaining film, one that is sure to keep still keep you on the edge of your seat tomorrow!

4.5/5 stars