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Saturday, June 7, 2014

Edge of Tomorrow (2014)


Director: Doug Liman

Of late, mainstream cinema is once again seeing some solid films with time loop as an underlying plot, e.g., SOURCE CODE, LOOPER; and now, “Edge of Tomorrow” is another deserving addition to that list. 

Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Strong Points—

Edge of Tomorrow (2014)Emily Blunt: plays a headstrong and beautiful leader. No wonders Cruise’s character didn’t mind being murdered by her time and again! She is not there for eye candy; complements Cruise in each and every frame, and makes her presence felt strongly. Apparently, she underwent some intensive physical training, along with yoga, while preparing for the role. Effort clearly shows and works well for the film.



Tom Cruise: his popularity and dashing looks are more than enough to make a film box office success; however, these qualities often overshadow his performance and we tend to overlook how robust a performer this man has been. Ever since TOP GUN Cruise has been a consistent actor, always delivering the goods for his productions. This film is no different; stardom aside, he excels in the role. Watch out for his transformation from a mildly timid man into a leader and ultimate savior.  

Screenplay: terrifically done! A lot of cine goers prefer a certain degree of complexity in a film dealing with non-linearity, and most times the complexity simply can’t be avoided. Here, the makers purposely put together a storyline that should come across as elementary to every casual cine enthusiast—so, don’t expect a PRIMER or even SOURCE CODE. Very cleverly, the repeat scenes are first shown in length, and then, after a few replays once audience is also well acquainted with all that is happening, arbitrary cut-to scenes to the relevant point in storyline are used.    

Blunt and Cruise: love story angle is nicely intertwined into the plot without ever overdoing it or impacting the storyline. When a hottie and hunk hook up some love-sparks are bound to flare; good thing makers didn’t ignore this natural human disposition in favor of: duty/saving the world comes first.

Good humor throughout. Supporting cast is majorly a part of comical elements of the film.

A minor weakness was the ending. It wasn’t at all disastrous but should have been left at Blunt sacrificing herself to give Cruise a shot at delivering the killer blow and killing Omega, and dying himself in the process. However, the film did maintain an amorous and somewhat humorous tone throughout, so perhaps director went for a happy ending. Furthermore, when Cruise and Blunt were tracking down the omega, they came across an idyllic house; in that scenario I so wanted a little display of intimacy! It might have been calamitous for the plot; except, we never know...maybe it did happen :)
  
Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Plot does seem like a concoction of “Groundhog Day” and “Starship Troopers” but it is not blatantly lifted, rather reworked purposefully. Special effects are expectedly good, and so is alien (Mimcs) design.

Final verdict: this is Doug Liman best work after the masterful “Bourne Identity” and I hope he keeps at it now! Indeed a fast-paced, entertaining, and high-octane showdown that deserves a big-screen outing.

8/10

Trivia: Verdun and D-Day (Normandy) are clearly references to World Wars; there is also one reference to TERMINATOR’s judgement day by a Sergeant Farell played by Bill Paxton!  

Comments
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11 comments:

  1. IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1631867/

    ReplyDelete
  2. The original novel addressed many of your concerns including the ending (though not entirely what you might expect), and the display of intimacy of the two characters. Except the novel was also devoid of anything uplifting, it managed to end on a (literally) bitter note. Then again, the original source material was grim from beginning to the end. Humanity wasn't winning the war, and the military resorted to recruiting teenage soldiers (including Rita & William, or Kenji in the original) with minimal training to fill its ranks. I am pretty happy with its Hollywood rendering as it had a more positive atmosphere throughout, which made the story easier to digest. I would find it difficult if I had to be on the receiving end of yet another tragic fiction.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Queadluun! Haven't read the novel but usually the readers who do, want the onscreen adaptation to stay true to it. This seems to be one of those films where readers are rooting for the film, more than the book. It seems the film bettered the novel--just like recent Game of Thrones "Red Viper vs. Mountain" scene bettered the novel.

    Totally understand you here "I would find it difficult if I had to be on the receiving end of yet another tragic fiction."

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