Edge of Tomorrow is Doug Liman’s (
The Bourne Identity, Mr and Mrs Smith)
Groundhog Day meets
Aliens, and
it is a successful and thoroughly entertaining collaboration of these
genre classics. Jake Gyllenhaal’s repeated attempts to find a bomber on a
Chicago commuter train in Duncan Jones’
Source Code also bears
a resemblance to the loop Tom Cruise’s character finds himself in as he
attempts to win a war against a destructive alien invader.
Dante Harper’s early version of the script, an adaptation of
All You Need Is Kill by
Hiroshi Sakurazaka, was listed on the 2010 edition of The Black List,
but went through several collaborated revisions by Jez and John-Henry
Butterworth and Christopher McQuarrie (
The Usual Suspects) on
the way to the screen. Despite the aforementioned derivations, this is
one of the few big budget projects so far this year to feel fresh and
possess the potential to surprise. Liman knows the ingredients of the
summer blockbuster, and his thoughtful film strikes a compelling balance
of high-stakes action spectacle, character-driven drama and timely
injections of humour to ensure that its clever concept never wears out
its welcome.
An alien race, nicknamed “Mimics” for their ability to replicate and
respond to military combat strategies, has invaded the Earth and has
taken over most of Western Europe. Humanity has begun to turn the tide
of the struggle, with the creation of advanced combat suits and
weaponry, and are driven by the inspiring victories led by Special
Forces soldier Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt). An assault has been planned
for the coast of France, with a successful result expected. General
Brigham (Brendan Gleeson) orders Major William Cage (Tom Cruise), a
paper-pushing high-level military media consultant, to be at the front.
But having never been trained for combat, he resists. Forcibly, he finds
himself a member of J Squad under Sergeant Farrell (Bill Paxton), and
on the frontlines for the assault.
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