Most mornings I’m rudely awaken by my alarm clock. I begin my day with the inevitable run to catch the train, recovering from the physical stress just as I reach my desk. Getting through the day and coming home to old friends hunger and exhaustion is a usual. Then I pass out and my day starts again. Okay, so maybe I don’t live the exact same day every time. This is, however, the premise of the new action flick ‘Edge of Tomorrow’.
Major William Cage (Tom Cruise) is a high-ranking military official, in a world at war against an invading alien force. Being more about recruitment than front line fighting, his world is turned on its head when he's forced onto the front line for the final assault, where he manages to take down one of the aliens with him. He then wakes up and lives the same day, again and again. Meeting Vrataski (Emily Blunt), a soldier who has experienced the same series of event, she trains him to fight and win the war. Sound confusing? It’s much easier to think of it as ‘Groundhog Day’ meets ‘Starship Troopers’.
SWITCH: 'EDGE OF TOMORROW' MAIN TRAILER
I had my doubts about this film from the get-go. It seemed to be another Hollywood action blockbuster with very little substance, and the glossy façade that was 'Oblivion', it was surprising that ‘The Edge of Tomorrow’ was well-paced and extremely interesting. It did have potential to get very dull very quickly, but each time you thought you were about to see the same day again, there was just enough to keep you hooked - if you let yourself go with the lack of reality (but then, that is science fiction).
It's interesting to see Emily Blunt in an action role, which is comfortable territory for Cruise – who, although now in his fifties, still holds his own as an action actor. This does follow the trend lately of slightly older male leads (think Liam Neson, Bruce Willis, etc.) but it shows that you can’t replace charisma with youth or muscles. While it might not be a metaphor for the modern condition of repetitive living (A.K.A. my life), it is an all action film that has enough to keep you going to the end and watching again. And again. And again. And again.