Live. Die. Repeat.: Edge of Tomorrow MYST

I'm a huge fan of action sci-fi flicks. "Guardians of the Galaxy" is actually my favorite movie to watch. However as far as action movies go I have never seen any of the "Mission Impossible" movies. In fact I had not seen any of Tom Cruise's movies until recently when I watched "Edge of Tomorrow"  (Also marketed with tag-line LIVE. DIE. REPEAT.) The film starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt,  takes place in a future where Earth is invaded by an alien race. Major William Cage (Cruise), a public relations officer with no combat experience, is forced by his superiors to join a landing operation against the aliens. Though Cage is killed in combat, he finds himself in a time loop that sends him back to the day preceding the battle every time he dies. Cage teams up with Special Forces warrior Rita Vrataski (Blunt) to improve his fighting skills through the repeated days, seeking a way to defeat the extraterrestrial invaders.

When I was a little kid and wasn't into movies as much, the response to the question, "Name a famous actor." was always the same: Tom Cruise. Whether you like him or not he's undoubtedly one of the most popular actors of all time. Like, Tom Cruise was the default skin for the action hero. So as I got older and more invested with movies, I always placed Tom Cruise in this section of cliche action actors so I never was interested in any of his movies. As continued to grow older I found out Tom Cruise was rumored to be a "weird guy" due to stuff like his outburst on "Oprah" on he loves Katie Holmes. (Also I find it funny he's labeled weird but when Jennifer Lawrence does this kind of stuff she's called "quirky") Also I knew people freaked out him being a scientologist and the only I knew about that was that it was unusual. Actually just recently I read up on what scientology and now I don't think I want to promote anything else with Tom Cruise or John Travolta from here-on-in. This will be (probably) the only time I bring this up so don't worry.

I think this is the first time in a serious action movie where I saw the main lead actually say no to being a hero. I've seen it in comedies and other stuff, but this is the first time the lead says no like a jerk, it's basically "Yeah thanks, but no thanks. I'd rather be where it's safe" I know other films have done this sort of before but this time it seemed really different and unique. Cruise's selfishness is only in the movie for so long and it doesn't grow on anyones nerves.

Now lets talk about the biggest thing in the film: The living. The Dying. And the Repeating. First a little bit of background. How Cruise gets this ability is he killed an elite alien member, whose species were connected to some Chrono-thing that would allow them to start the day over if they died giving the aliens an advantage in the war. However when Cruise kills the creature, he ingests some of its blood and gains the ability. ( Confusing. I know. Just go with it) Anyways during his loops he discovers that Emily Blunt's character had the ability as well but lost it when she got a blood transfusion. Like mentioned earlier, the movie is mostly repeating the day, getting farther and farther each time. It's a great way to see Cruise's character develop throughout the story. In fact this story is able to put the audience in the shoes of Cruise and Blunts character. In one scene, Blunts character wants to keep going but Cruise wants to stop and rest but we then discover Cruise doesn't want to continue because Blunt never makes it past that point in time no matter what. So we're in the dark as much as Blunt was even though Cruise was our eyes and ears. There's another instance where this happens but I won't give it away.

The aliens in this movie are... okay. Not much is known about them and their design is...okay. This movie doesn't focus that much time on them besides shooting them. There aren't that many other huge characters in this film or at least none that deserve much attention. (Bill Paxton is in this. If that means anything to anyone.) The CGI is good. Which reminds me, they never clarify what year this movie takes place. We only see the advance technologies in the military camps and the technology they have in the civilian areas are the same as we have now.

Overall, Edge of Tomorrow is a fun, action packed, sci-fi film that's ORIGINAL. (Okay it's loosely based off a japanese novel). If you're in the mood for mindless action but also good story and characters, definitely check this movie out.
EDGE OF TOMORROW: 8/10