Above: Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt star in Mr. Liman's latest
So far, the summer popcorn movie season
has been good to me. Following the new
“X-Men” film, “Edge of Tomorrow” (“EoT”) has really delivered on the
entertainment front. Of course, with these sorts of films, I emphasize the fact
that I go into them expecting to be entertained (at the very least) with
very little regard for those other aspects that may or may not contribute to
the fine art of cinema. So without
further ado, let us check our brains at the door...oh boy, was I wrong on that
approach! “EoT” contains a few
surprises—something that serves as a nice respite of the usual Hollywood
practice of giving it all away in the previews.
That said, as a film “EoT” (which is about a futuristic soldier
caught in a time-warp) has a number of obstacles to overcome. First of all, I’m not a huge fan of star Tom
Cruise, especially since his ego outside of the silver screen has taken on an
irritating life of its own (which, unfortunately, has made it difficult for me
not to bring that baggage into his movies). And secondly, Hollywood sci-fi has trended
toward the cliché and boring side of things in recent years (at least in my
puny estimation).
The good news is that this film falls into neither traps, which is
a bit ironic considering that Mr. Cruise’s character, William Cage, is initially unlikable. Yet the film’s production team (including
director Doug Liman, of “The Bourne Identity”) is able to create a true sense
of character development for their protagonist—no small feat considering that
this is supposed to be a “blockbuster” (whatever that’s supposed to mean
anymore).
Lastly, the main premise is what makes this film feel like a fresh
experience. In fear of giving too much
away, I won't say too much about that. But
to sum it up briefly, Mr. Liman has been able to preserve the feel of the
film’s Manga origin while also creating a razzle-dazzle summer action movie (I
dearly hope that the studio responsible for the forthcoming “Akira” remake will
take notes here). And for all you
hot-blooded nerd boys out there that need another reason to see this movie, I
present to you Emily Blunt suited up in exo-skeleton armor and kicking major
alien ass.
So there.
Seen Saturday 7 June 2014, 4pm.
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