577. Edge Of Tomorrow (2014)

Starring: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton

Director: Doug Liman

Running Time: 113 mins

Edge Of Tomorrow is an American film about a soldier fighting in an apocalyptic war against alien invaders who finds himself caught in a time loop, living the last day of the war again and again, but he must use this power to learn how he can win the war.

For a film that starts off as a hulking, predictable blockbuster, this really does improve. The opening stages were so generic and boring, however if you give this film 15 minutes, it does improve significantly, becoming an exciting and intriguing story that engrosses you right up until the end.

However, starting with the beginning of the film, I was quite disappointed. Tom Cruise arrives on screen, and begins to be a normal Tom Cruise. Although Tom Cruise is occasionally a little out of his element, and therefore not so Tom Cruise, Tom Cruise does stay as the usual indestructible blockbuster Tom Cruise for a lot of the opening period.

The other thing that was a little disappointing was how the concept of the time loop was brought into play. The first time it happened, it was pretty cool and exciting, but the fact that it keeps going right the way back to the beginning made me fear the fact that I’m going to have to sit through this story again and again and again and again.

Luckily, in a similar move to Groundhog Day, the film doesn’t constantly return to the very beginning, and occasionally moves through 3 or 4 loops in a few seconds, and once the pace begins to pick up, it becomes a lot more entertaining and exciting to watch.

Also, the way the opening was constructed meant that any story lines, which were potentially interesting, were dropped as soon as this man returned to the beginning of his time loop. However, as the film went on, it took on a much smoother approach to the story, which allowed for more coherent and intriguing plot lines to unfold, rather than distracting with constant resets.

This film is a little preposterous, but the fact that there are so many things so unbelievable about it made me just dispel my disbelief, and just enjoy what became a hugely enjoyable sci-fi action film.

In fact, this is almost just like watching someone play a computer game. If they die, they start again, and every time you reset, you learn how to avoid the next hurdle and etc., so it is actually as enjoyable as a computer game, and ultimately not as repetitive as you might think, so because of that, this gets a 7.7.