Went to see this film yesterday with my husband and we weren't sure what to expect. Big fans of both sci-fi and action, we were hoping it would tick the boxes and we were not disappointed.
IMDB says: A soldier fighting in a war with aliens finds himself caught in a time loop of his last day in the battle, though he becomes better skilled along the way.
The film is based on the Japanese light novel All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka and what a fantastic premise it is. That a man could live to repeat the same day over and over again, only to die trying to kill the very thing that is keeping him alive.
Tom Cruise (Mission Impossible, Top Gun) stars as Cage, a cowardly marketing man, high ranking in the US forces who has never seen combat, whose job it is to garner more recruits for the War like Rita (Emily Blunt of Adjustment Bureau, Looper), known to all as Full Metal Bitch. Sent to General Brigham, a surly Brendan Gleeson (Harry Potter, Braveheart) and ordered to the front line to fight in the 'mimic' war.
Brought to Master Sergeant Farrell (Bill Paxton of Titanic, Twister) in handcuffs, he is 'given the opportunity at redemption in the fiery glory of battle' and forced to join a motley crew of soldiers that include Skinner - Jonas Armstrong (Robin Hood, Book of Blood), Kimmel - Tony Way (Finding Neverland, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Griff - Kick Gurry (Garage Days, Speed Racer), Ford - Franz Drameh (Attack the Block, Hereafter), Kuntz - Dragomir Mrsic (Easy Money, Wallander) and Nance - Charlotte Riley (Entity, Wuthering Heights). Given a full metal suit and dropped into the action without any training, he watches his comrades die whilst desperately trying to disengage his safety catch. Finally managing to do so, he engages the enemy only to die with the blood of a mimic all over him. He comes around back at the mercy of Master Sergeant Farrell and has to repeat the day over and over again as each time he goes into battle, he dies and returns to the same day.
An original movie that could have the log-line Groundhog Day meets Pacific Rim, this surprising movie delivers action, twists and a clever script that entertains within it's parameters of the same day. Each death/back to beginning has a new turn for Cage and the pace keeps us waiting to see what he will do next.
Cruise is brilliant as Cage, turning in an engaging performance as a coward, a far cry from his usual role and feels all the more satisfying for it. He stumbles his way through this waking Hell, learning as he goes and we journey with him. Blunt is convincing as a war heroine, she must have worked hard in this physically demanding role, her character working well with the black comedy of Cage's situation and it makes a refreshing change that she is not just there as a love interest.
Paxton and Gleeson give superb performances that never stumble into caricature despite the repetition and even the 'mad scientist' Dr Carter - Noah Taylor (Vanilla Sky, Game of Thrones) helps us to buy into why Cage is in this situation, giving a grounded character despite the circumstances. The mimics themselves are wonderful creations, scary enough to make us jump and intelligent enough to see them as a real threat to mankind.
Tagline: Live, Die, Repeat. 9/10
#EdgeOfTomorrow #TomCruise #EmilyBlunt
No comments:
Post a Comment