One of the most risky film projects of the year has to be Warner Bros’ “Edge of Tomorrow”, a futuristic science fiction from director Doug Liman and starring Tom Cruise. Adapted from the well-received Japanese graphic novel “All You Need is Kill”, the movie sets in the near future when an alien race with highly mechanic properties invaded the Earth and the humanity’s last hope rest upon an international troops with exoskeleton ala Full Metal Gear. But for one particular soldier, his death does not mean it is all over – but he will need to kill the marauders and find Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt), again and again when he wakes up.
Despite having a familiar science fiction concept, “Edge of Tomorrow” pits Major William Cage (Tom Cruise) in one of those unexplainable situations ever. Not even the science can explain this down to the core but the movie seems to have figured it out how this happens. For Cage, his day on the battlefield that reminiscence the World War II’s event of D-Day (Normandy landings) is a case of déjà vu but soon enough, you will noticed how this movie is made from the composites of “Groundhog Day”, “Déjà vu”, “Starship Troopers” and “Source Code”. Even with the face of this amalgamation, “Edge of Tomorrow” delivers a great dose of shear-tension and smartly driven story that mixes with careful execution all round.
All thanks to the man who drafted “The Usual Suspects” some two decades ago, Christopher McQuarrie makes a big return into form in arguably one of the most fluid specs he delivered in many years. Along with other scribers like Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth, the plot really sells the marketing concept of “Live. Die. Repeat” to an effective use. Of course, director Doug Liman translates them into a fine piece of moving pictures that is well-balanced. Surprisingly, the time loop nature is not as tedious as previously thought. Rather than sticking it out on the same time frame, the movie constantly evolves and diverges into a bigger picture. Top that up with the right amount of intended humour and joke on Cage’s déjà vu experience, “Edge of Tomorrow” is clearly the winner.
But if there are things that may prove otherwise, the faults are on these two aspects. First, for the majority of the movie where gambles, risks and lucks sound like a rhyme, the ending is done with extreme pretentious to avoid major sacrificial risk and to reward with a bigger mysterious twist. And secondly, the lack of emotional depth is now propounding on the true motivation of our heroes.
Ultimately though, “Edge of Tomorrow” is the year’s most unexpected winner which benefits from sharp and smart screenplay that never fails to tire or to thrill us.
Despite having a familiar science fiction concept, “Edge of Tomorrow” pits Major William Cage (Tom Cruise) in one of those unexplainable situations ever. Not even the science can explain this down to the core but the movie seems to have figured it out how this happens. For Cage, his day on the battlefield that reminiscence the World War II’s event of D-Day (Normandy landings) is a case of déjà vu but soon enough, you will noticed how this movie is made from the composites of “Groundhog Day”, “Déjà vu”, “Starship Troopers” and “Source Code”. Even with the face of this amalgamation, “Edge of Tomorrow” delivers a great dose of shear-tension and smartly driven story that mixes with careful execution all round.
All thanks to the man who drafted “The Usual Suspects” some two decades ago, Christopher McQuarrie makes a big return into form in arguably one of the most fluid specs he delivered in many years. Along with other scribers like Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth, the plot really sells the marketing concept of “Live. Die. Repeat” to an effective use. Of course, director Doug Liman translates them into a fine piece of moving pictures that is well-balanced. Surprisingly, the time loop nature is not as tedious as previously thought. Rather than sticking it out on the same time frame, the movie constantly evolves and diverges into a bigger picture. Top that up with the right amount of intended humour and joke on Cage’s déjà vu experience, “Edge of Tomorrow” is clearly the winner.
But if there are things that may prove otherwise, the faults are on these two aspects. First, for the majority of the movie where gambles, risks and lucks sound like a rhyme, the ending is done with extreme pretentious to avoid major sacrificial risk and to reward with a bigger mysterious twist. And secondly, the lack of emotional depth is now propounding on the true motivation of our heroes.
Ultimately though, “Edge of Tomorrow” is the year’s most unexpected winner which benefits from sharp and smart screenplay that never fails to tire or to thrill us.
MY RATING:
Story: 4.0
Casts: 4.5
Cinematography: 5.0
Effects: 5.0
GREEN-TEA-O-METER: 17.1/20.0
"Edge of Tomorrow" stars Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton and Brendan Gleeson; presented by Warner Bros. Pictures; directed by Doug Liman from the screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie, Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth. The movie is rated P13 and is released in Malaysia since May 29, 2014. The movie runs about 113 minutes.
