A soldier fighting aliens gets to relive the same day over and over again, the day restarting every time he dies.
According to Entertainment Weekly, “Edge of Tomorrow” had a “lukewarm box-office reception” when it opened in theaters in May of 2014, despite praise from critics. It grossed $100.2 million in North America and $270.3 million internationally, for a total of $370.5 million worldwide. Those numbers were considered low for a Tom Cruise film, at least compared to the box-office numbers for his long-running “Mission: Impossible” franchise. In the years since it has garnered terrific word of mouth and found its rightful place on home entertainment.
If you still haven’t seen the movie, take this opportunity to watch it, it is terrific sci-fi escapist fun, set to repeat and Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt are at the top of their A-game. In the years since, there has been talk of a rumored sequel, and in 2017, the film’s director, Doug Liman, said the title would be “Live Die Repeat and Repeat,” but because of the setbacks of COVID-19, Emily Blunt stated a sequel would be too expensive, and so the brakes have been applied. Even so, in February of this year, Village Roadshow Pictures said that Warner Bros. was developing a TV series, a spin-off from the original movie, so we may yet see Cruise and Blunt reprise their roles, even in a limited capacity.
Aliens called “Mimics” crashed on earth, landed in Germany, and gradually conquered most of Europe. The United Defense Force (UDF), a global military alliance created to combat the aliens, has created new mech-suits, mobile machine exoskeletons that enhance the strength and endurance of the soldiers wearing them. U.S. Army Major William Cage (Tom Cruise), a public affairs officer, is ordered by General Brigham (Brendan Gleeson) to cover the invasion of the first wave of soldiers who are about to land in France, far away from the Mimics so that they can get a foothold on the European continent but having no actual military experience, he objects, only to find himself demoted to a private and assigned to Master Sergeant Farell (Bill Paxton) and J-Squad, who will be at the front of the invasion the next day.
He tries to tell Farrell and J-Squad what really happened, but nobody believes him. The next day, along with J-Squad, Cage is suited up in a mech-suit, the very thing he had promoted as part of his job before being demoted. They land on the French coast, and almost immediately, thousands of soldiers are killed by the Mimics; Cage now realizing that the aliens were actually lying in wait and had it all planned out in advance. When a sizeable blue Mimic ambushes J-Squad, Cage manages to grab a mine just as it attacks him, killing them both instantly but then he suddenly wakes up at the beginning of the previous day, perplexed at his surroundings. He goes through the entire day in a haze, wondering if maybe he dreamed everything but the day’s events unravel as they previously did, and every time he dies in combat, he wakes up at the beginning of the previous day once more.
He teams up with Sergeant Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt), a fellow soldier who he learns went through the exact same ordeal he is currently experiencing a year earlier, giving the UDF a much-needed win in Verdun. According to her and her friend Dr. Carter (Noah Taylor), the Mimics have the power to control time, and every time a human manages to get the upper hand and occasionally defeat them, they reset the day so they can modify their strategy until the battle is won. Vrataski informs Cage that when he killed the large blue Mimic, its blood got into his system, so when the day reset for the Mimics, it rebooted the day over for him too, something she claims will give them the advantage to figure out a way to beat them, but she also mentions she was injured in battle and was given a blood transfusion, a procedure that prevented her from having the ability to loop time.
When he tells them he is having visions of a massive, hive-like organism, they tell him it is the Omega, the central intelligence of the Mimics, and if they destroy it, it will stop the invasion. Carter tells them he created a prototype device that can locate the Omega, and because Cage has its blood in his system, he can use it on himself to find its whereabouts. The only problem is that it is located in General Brigham’s office in Whitehall. Vrataski and Cage manage to secure the item, and Cage uses it on himself, claiming the Omega is situated under the Louvre Pyramid in Paris, which the Mimics have decimated, but on their way back to the base, they are chased by military police and Cage is injured in the pursuit. When he wakes up, he has received a blood transfusion, thereby terminating his ability to loop time. Vrataski breaks him out, and they head back to the base, where they realize if they die, especially Cage, then the Mimics will have won. Now they must formulate a plan to get to Paris, with a little help from J-Squad!
Many movies have successfully utilized the time loop narrative; “Groundhog Day,” “Source Code,” “Looper,” “Happy Death Day” and its subsequent sequel, and the TV series “Russian Doll” and “Edge of Tomorrow” is another triumphant entry into the genre. Cruise and Blunt have never been better and share undeniable onscreen chemistry, while director Doug Liman triumphs in the action department, giving continuously more detail to the day’s events every time Cruise dies and rebirths. Naturally, after multiple viewings, any film that takes advantage of the time loop concept could scientifically be deconstructed to show all of its flaws and imperfections, but why go down that road when you can sit back and enjoy the technical masterpiece being presented to you? I certainly hope Cruise, Blunt, and Liman can work out a schedule to make the long-awaited sequel, but in the meantime, I’ll settle for this. Again. And again. And again!
Available on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and Digital July 5th
