Edge of Tomorrow

I’m fascinated that the American viewer (the sponsor of the American filmmaking industry) prefers a commercial mishmash called Transformers to an imaginative sci-fi called Edge of Tomorrow, where the name essentially does not reveal anything and the movie can only surprise. The Japanese are known for always having great storylines in their stories and comic books, and I’m glad that finally one of those got this kind of interpretation with Tom Cruise in the leading role. For me, he will probably always be the actor who has signed up for sci-fi movies. Considering he’s a Scientologist, I’m not even surprised that he makes such films. I’m actually very happy that he’s the one to do it, because it fits him the most. As a result, after watching the film, I thought hard about whether to give it five stars. I had a slight issue with the camera, which blurred my vision in a similar way a decent 5 km run can. But that is Doug Liman for you. However, if not for his directing, I might not have seen such an amazing change in Tom’s role. So I can only add that this film has its pros and cons, but even so, it is probably my favorite one from this year’s movies. (2014-06-20)

A magnificently filmed entertaining summer sci-fi blockbuster about the war between human and alien civilizations, in which the most affected person is a failed advertising manager who is condemned by the war situation to the role of a military propagandist and an unmanageable conflict with his superior to the position of an ordinary soldier. He is most affected because his fate is not to die once and for all, as soldiers die in battles, but thanks to a time loop he experiences the same day over and over again with the same bungled battle, which ends in a horrifying massacre, and he repeatedly dies in the most painful and bizarre ways. The morbid concept, however, thanks to irony, black humor, exaggeration, likable cast, and detachment, is easily digestible, and when I think about it, I can't find a reason why it shouldn't have the highest rating out of the original 4 stars. Tom Cruise is in his element as a blockbuster hero, and by being a coward and a guy who wants anything but to save the world, he is more likable than usual. But yes, criticism of the illogicality of the initial situation and the whole story is certainly appropriate, but honestly, who would want to dissect inconsistencies in the playfulness with a time paradox in such a relaxing genre? Some scenes definitely remind me of The Matrix or related genre productions, but that's just the way it goes in the crowded world of cinema, and I certainly wouldn't accuse Liman of cheap plagiarism. Overall impression: 90%. (2014-07-03)

Dark Souls? Aliens? Groundhog Day? Starship Troopers? Source Code? The Twilight Zone? Saving Private Ryan? All of the above (and not nearly just them) are clearly recognizable in this movie. Fundamentally, this has it all - almost - just a respectable and proper ending is missing. However, the mandatory blockbuster inoffensive finale is luckily preceded by a sufficiently playful and peculiar cocktail of the aforementioned ingredients and not just a mere distillation of what you have already seen countless times elsewhere. (2014-06-05)

Very well executed concept known from Groundhog Day, Source Code and probably every sci-fi series ever made. At the beginning, the hero is introduced without any heroic attributes and the pandemonium of war that follows during the landing in Normandy sets the bar very high. And it holds there damn long. Edge of Tomorrow only stumbles a little by the end, where the thus far relatively reaistic battles (to the extent than a battle between people in exoskeletons and giant tentacled aliens can be described as “realistic”) abandon the realism and now they are falling from huge heights without any injuries and the entire final fight goes too smoothly, especially considering how important it is and how it goes straight down to business. That said, it’s an excellent action sci-fi blockbuster of the kind that has been missing in cinemas for a long time. The action is spectacular, Cruise and Blunt have good chemistry and the script also has a couple of nice moments. (2014-05-30)

The best thing would be not to praise this film and not to raise great expectations... The key asset of Edge of Tomorrow, after all, is not its grandiosity or action, as we would expect. Rather, Edge of Tomorrow is great thanks to its script, which is the most imaginative among blockbusters in a very, very long time. And thanks to its director (I bow down before him). In terms of entertainment value, dynamics and working with the viewer, the film practically has no faults and succeeds on every levels. From the balance of seriousness and humor in the perception of the (visually appealing) postapocalyptic world, through the retention of the audience’s attention by mean of an unpredictable plot that will glue you to your seat with its speed, all the way to the likable characters to whom you can relate, which you don’t see that much in blockbusters. Tom Cruise is just great, the character played by Emily Blunt is impossible not to fall in love with and the chemistry between them works without a hint of a romantic kitsch. Edge of Tomorrow is for playful post-apocalyptic sci-fi action movies what Children of Men is for thoughtful post-apocalyptic sci-fi dramas. (2014-05-28)