Historically there has never been a great videogame film
adaptation. Sure, some might argue that movies like “Mortal Kombat” or “Prince
of Persia” are watchable, but given their competition within the genre that
simply isn’t saying anything. Regardless, videogame aesthetics in production
design, special effects and level-boss-level-boss plot structuring have definitely
infiltrated the action movie genre, especially in the last 10-15 years. “Edge of Tomorrow”—not based on a game
property—is an action sci-fi that not only understands the appeal of videogame
logic, but, more importantly, it understands how to integrate it into a
compelling narrative without having to shoehorn fan-bits from a known franchise.
Tom
Cruise plays Cage, a propagandist for the new world military after a meteor
landing sets loose a full-on alien takeover.
After paying his dues around the edges of the war he is drafted in by
his superiors and thrown into battle, only to quickly die on the beaches of an
ambush, finding himself returning to the same day and the same battle over and
over again until he can learn from his mistakes well enough to find the source
of the Alien hive-mind. In discovering the best ways to avoid his demise he
meets Rita (Emily Blunt), a war hero who once shared the same deja-vu experience
and who can best help Cage accomplish his existential mission.
“Edge
of Tomorrow” is an exciting, well-constructed action movie that doesn’t assume
the worst of its audience. While I would hardly call it an intellectual
experience, it’s at least formally interested in breaking down the genre in
terms of its use of temporal space within its stop and start-over conceit. In
creating a ‘game’ like narrative with something similar to a save points and
boss-battles, the movie subtly challenges the notion of action movie death and
the meaningfulness of second chances. Walk of characters such as Bill Paxton as
the barking drill Sargent is afforded the choice to change his reactions and
his line delivery a little bit every time the story rewinds, as well as other
characters whose parts, had they only been on screen the one time, would have
registered as incidental at best. Impressively,
by the very nature of its mechanics the movie forces us to get to know background
characters, see things from multiple perspectives, and analyze the structure of
the plot, and, to its credit, it does so without ever feeling fussy or overtly
experimental.
Cruise
and Blunt have just enough screen chemistry to keep the ball rolling and the special
effects and the world building are adequately high-tech and cleanly presented,
if not somewhat underwhelming in terms creating a visual experience original
enough to comfortably call this movie a modern classic. But while “Edge of
Tomorrow” may not break the mold visually, its tight script, its considerate
storytelling and its light comedic touch elevates this film from summer movie
CGI-pulp to something at-least worth giving a second look.
Originally published on the Idaho State Journal/June-2014
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