All You Need is Kill

Lots of people have been comparing Edge of Tomorrow to Groundhog's Day, The Matrix, I would venture a little bit of Saving Private Ryan, and some old-school Mech-Warrior, a feel of Aliens thrown in with last year's Oblivion. It's really a new spin on the science fiction genre, and it's definitely the best sci-fi film in recent memory; maybe since Looper. It is the second best film of 2014 (Lone Survivor), and it is two hours of sheer Hollywood entertainment.

Based on the Japanese novel All You Need is Kill, Christopher McQuarrie (Usual Suspects) and Jez Butterworth pen a great sci-fi time travel loop story that is both original, and thoroughly entertaining. Say what you will about Tom Cruise, but he's still the best action star in Hollywood, even at 52 years old. He's found the fountain of youth. Maybe it's Scientology, maybe it's using twenty-something women as beards, or maybe he's just that good at his craft. I don't care, but he's in his element in this film for sure.

Cruise's Major Bill Cage is a military PR guy who is thrown into the front lines, actually Shanghai'd, for the D-Day of the alien invasion. Europe has been taken over by the "mimics", an alien race that look like metallic spiders, or the sentinels from The Matrix. They move faster than humans can follow, and as a result, the humans have turned to a sort of hydraulic exo-skeletal suit. It increases their strength, has loads of weapons attached, and may be a bit cumbersome, but are actually pretty cool. The all-out assault on the French coast is the human's last chance to defeat the alien invaders, and Cage finds himself living the day over, and over, and over again until he gets it right. He starts out as a combat coward, but builds confidence each time he faces them, and through a few twists and turns, he meets a warrior nicknamed "full metal bitch" played by Emily Blunt. She's the hero of Verdun, a battle in which she slew over a hundred of the mimics. Turns out, she was trapped in a time loop just like Cage is, and she helps him learn how to fight and learn how to attempt to defeat the alien horde.

Emily Blunt is great as the full metal bitch, Rita Vrataski, a symbol of hope and courage to the men and women who are fighting across Europe. Her poster is plastered all over the operating bases, and she carries a sword as opposed to the various projectile options chosen by the other fighters. She makes a pretty mean action star, although the traces of sexual chemistry seem forced with the elderly Cruise (21 years older). She is convincing in her toughness, which isn't always the case with female leads in these types of films, but I was impressed, and she was clearly up for the challenge.

Doug Limon is an experienced action director, having been behind the original Bourne trilogy (directing, producing) as well as the brilliant Mr. and Mrs. Smith. He's had a couple of duds lately, but he does an outstanding job with this film. It's the story, with its sharpness, not too serious but not too light that makes it so entertaining.

Bill Paxton steps into the supporting role as the Master Sergeant who drills Cage, and he clearly enjoys the role. Maybe it's his presence that reminded me of Aliens, or maybe it was the meaningless banter before the fight. The tough-talking troops who you know minutes later will be alien fodder. There's something fun and sadistic about rooting for the demise of the annoying supporting characters. Whatever the case, Paxton is a great choice for the third member of the cast. There are a handful of other supporting figures, but they aren't very relevant.

The aliens are very well done. Usually it's the creature that makes or breaks a film of this nature, and most of the time it's the latter. Although the close-ups are a bit cheesy, the idea of their composition and hive mentality is frightening. So often there is a lack of fear of the invading species, and that leads to a bit of a disillusioned letdown, but these ones inspire a heightened tension. They are fast, spidery, and merciless. There is no apparent weakness without giving away a main point of the plot, but they make the Germans look like chumps as the mechanized troops storm the French beach. It gives off an eery WWII vibe, but a clearly futuristic approach. Limon does it with a building suspense, but without taking it too far. The deaths are done tastefully, and Cruise goes through the motions time and time again with a building confidence like the great actor he is.

The exo-skeleton suits are probably the scene-stealers of the film. Clearly a lot of thought went into their role within the story, and the combination of special effects and costume designers do a fantastic job. Think Pacific Rim robots, then shrink it down. Then think about Avatar robots, then shrink it down. Think about the hydraulic lift suit from Aliens, and you're on the right track. The cool thing about them is that they are these clunky, slow moving metallic bodies, but once the user has mastered them, they are incredibly effective. I wish there was just a tad more time spent with the various weapons and ways in which they could be used. Cruise's Cage starts off not knowing how to take the safety off, to literally running circles around the enemy. The suits are cool, and although there is some realistic applications, they won't be like this in the future.

Living the same day over and over bothers me in one regard - you would have to remember exactly what you said, did, etc. and each time you go farther and die, you need to start over. I kept thinking that it is like a video game from the 80's, before there were save points along the way. He always goes back to the beginning. It's great because it raises the stakes each time through. The farther you get, the more you have to lose, but it also gets a little help from the time travel angle because the story gets to decide if he's "been there before" or if it's a fresh experience.

This is the type of movie-going experience that will satisfy your thirst for a fresh sci-fi action film. It's not perfect, but for the genre, it's pretty close. If only they had stuck with the original title, Edge of Tomorrow is too boring for this film. Great way to kick off the summer after a slightly disappointing spring. 9/10.