Well Adapted: Edge of Tomorrow Review

as found on flickeringmyth.com

Much like the recent adaptation of X-Men: Days of Future Past, Edge of Tomorrow faithfully adapts but takes creative liberties with the Japanese light novel, All I Need is Kill, to create a robust recreation of the movie’s source. Though I would say that I enjoyed X-Men more, Edge of Tomorrow is still no less entertaining.

At the beginning, Cage, played by Tom Cruise, was a war officer accused of being a deserter for which he was sent directly to the front lines as punishment. This premise is a bit hard to swallow with its odd establishment of Cage’s situation and, especially, with the odd reimagining of this premise at the very end of the movie. The direction of the premise takes creative liberties from the original (which does not have this problem) but leaves me a bit on-edge with questions that were never properly explained in the movie. However, once you get into the rhythm of the movie, the premise fades away and the movie takes a turn for the better.

The plot with all its twist and turns and some phenomenal acting are the corner stones of the Edge of Tomorrow. Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt (as Rita) outshine every other character within the movie. The duo convincingly deliver the emotional effect that comes from reliving the same day over and over again. However, the supporting cast all fall short of these two characters; luckily the focus for most of the movie is on the duo, whom do not rely on the supporting cast to act well. The Mimics or the monsters within the movie also are no less matching in ferocity and horrifying within the given war situation.

A Mimic (Alien) from the Edge of Tomorrow
as found on fandango.com

The plot revolves around Cage reliving the same day of a D-Day like operation to prevent aliens from taking over the world over and over again. Like All I Need is Kill, Cage trains and learns and relearns the possibilities and actions of the future in order to change it. This movement back and forth through time opens up possibilities of different stories, of which many are realized and realized well within the movie. Each twist is as compelling as the last. But, one problem that occurs is with its ultimately forced Hollywood ending, which causes many disjunctive elements in both the premise as well as its own cheesy happy ending.

Edge of Tomorrow is a well made thriller that is able to adapt, entertain, and surprise the viewer with its complexities. With nods to its source, as Cage’s computer’s language got stuck on Japanese in the first landing, the Edge of Tomorrow started off the summer correctly.

Trailer: Edge of Tomorrow