4.9/5
Edge of Tomorrow is one of the smartest action movies I've seen in a very long time. Tom Cruise stars as an unwilling businessman-turned-foot soldier in the midst of a global battle against an alien invasion. He gets killed quickly in the trenches, only to discover that he must relive that fateful day over and over again. He finds out that this same phenomenon happened to another soldier (Blunt) earlier in the war, so he seeks her out in the hopes that they can join forces and defeat the aliens.
Battle scenes have a jarring, chaotic feel, reminiscent of Saving Private Ryan during the beachfront invasion. In the midst of the violence, the cinematography remains smooth and crisp, with sharp editing and clear shots. But director Doug Liman also does a lot with the repeating day premise. The day resets sometimes quickly, for comic effect, sometimes slowly, for an agonizing emotional hit. Despite the repetition, every time feels interesting and exciting, new and worthwhile. It builds on the Groundhog Day framework instead of stealing from it.
There is an unexpected chemistry on screen between Cruise and Blunt, adding a tender human element to the exciting sci-fi backstory. It's not particularly fresh, but it feels genuine. And it makes watching the movie so much more rewarding. I highly recommend Edge of Tomorrow: it's genre-defying in the best way possible, straddling diverse moods expertly, appealing to the comic, romantic, action junkie, time travel nerd in all of us.
IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1631867/