Now that you've hopefully seen Edge of Tomorrow, I'm going to discuss a few things that I couldn't really touch on in my spoiler-free review. If you haven't seen it, what are you waiting for? This is a movie meant to be seen on a big screen! Preferably in IMAX 3D if possible. I'm disappointed to report that the film hasn't performed particularly well at the box office, at least here in the United States where it's made roughly $90 million while it cost twice that amount to make. Overseas the movie has been a major hit, bringing that $90 million up to a total of $341 million in worldwide box office results. While the rest of the world still loves Tom Cruise, here in America is a different story. Most Americans have developed a severe dislike of Cruise, which I believe is pretty unjustified, but I guess that's just the way things go in Hollywood. Surely it must be hard to stay on top when the media world is so intent on bringing you down. As much as I want to run with this tangent, I'm going to stop myself and focus on the task at hand. I'll save my Tom Cruise rant for another day, but believe me, that storm is coming, and it's gonna make some waves!
*** Spoilers inbound! Straight ahead! ***
First I'd like to talk about those aliens. Man, were they cool, or what? I loved how convincingly deadly they were, and as far as I could tell, they were remarkably original too. It's so easy for aliens and monsters to fall into generic designs (See MUTO in Godzilla) but these ones really stood out as something special and new. Their movement and speed were superbly animated. You rarely get a good look at them, but it's because they're so fast, not because the director is deliberately hiding them from view (Again, MUTO in Godzilla). I liked the different classifications of the aliens which included the Alpha and Omega Mimics. Also, I really enjoyed the concept of having a hive-mind consciousness that was connected throughout these three different forms. I find it to be a fascinating sci-fi concept that was well-explored in the movie.
As I quickly mentioned in my review, the movie feels a lot like a video game. From the aliens and the mech suits to the whole saving-the-world concept. This is a movie that very well could have been made into a video game, although considering the difficulty level and Tom's Cruise lack of checkpoints, it would probably end up being the most tedious and torturous game ever created. I can't imagine all that many people would keep hitting the start button to continue after dying for the five-thousandth time, but if the game was as good as the movie, maybe a few of them would keep trying after all. I know I probably would, but I'm kind of a glutton for punishment. Now that I'm talking about this, I'm a little saddened that there's not a video game to go alongside the movie, but the odds of it being as good would be slim to none.
Speaking of video games, is it just me, or does Edge of Tomorrow make you realize that Emily Blunt would be the perfect choice for playing galactic bounty hunter Samus Aran in a Metroid movie? While I certainly don't expect Nintendo to turn the Metroid franchise into a film, I still find myself enthralled by the possibility. Her character Rita has got to be the coolest female alien butt-kicker since Sigourney Weaver's Ripley in the Alien series. Blunt added such a great intensity and ferocity to her performance. She managed to be an intimidating and awe-inspiring force. I'm glad they didn't reduce her to being your typical Hollywood damsel in distress. She's one bad mamma jamma from the moment we meet her up until her death. I would have never expected such a performance from her and I applaud her efforts.
What did you guys think about the ending? I thought it was freaking fantastic. I think it's a little confusing though. Time travel can be a tricky concept. Just to recap what happened, as Cage (Tom Cruise) is about to die, he absorbs the blood of the Omega that he killed with his bundle of grenades. This is just like he had done originally with the Alpha, which caused him to reset back to that same day whenever he died. However, as you recall, he lost that ability because of his blood transfusion. Although now, by taking in the blood of the more-powerful Omega, he's essentially becoming an Omega himself, which gives him full control over the ability to reset time. Thereby Tom Cruise has put an end to the war by killing the Omega Mimic which in turns kills all of the lesser Mimics since the Omega is basically their entire life-force. Then Tom's able to reset back to his arrival at the beginning of the film, except now the alien species is already wiped out, saving J-Squad and Rita from their deaths. Man, that's really complicated, isn't it? Totally cool, though!
Of course, there are some issues with it, which I'll briefly explore. For instance, how does the reset occur before the battle and yet still the Mimics are dead? Wouldn't they be brought back to life too? Is there something special about their death that prevents them from being able to resurrect through this reset? Did Cage have to go back in time just prior to his reset and kill the Omega at the Louvre single-handedly to make this possible? With the ability to reset to any point in time, it sure would be easier since he could give himself all the "checkpoints" he would need. Honestly, I don't have the answers. There are a million possibilities, and like I said, it's complicated. We don't know exactly how it all worked out, but we know he has the power to make it all possible, and that's enough for me. Truthfully, I don't think a clear explanation is needed to enjoy the ending. It worked for me. I also really loved that final moment when Cage goes and walks up to Rita, who has no idea of her part in any of this, and he smiles. I thought it was a wonderful way to end an amazingly epic movie.
Let me know what you thought about it! I love to hear what you think! Thanks for reading.
- 5 Minute Movie Guy
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