[7]

It’s the future and an alien race has just about taken over all of Europe and Asia. Tom Cruise enters this scenario as a cowardly military spokesperson forced into the front lines of combat by a shit-if-I-care general (Brendan Gleeson). During his first big battle with the aliens (who look like Rastafarian tumbleweeds), Cruise’s character dies… and wakes up a day earlier, but with all the knowledge tomorrow will bring. Tom Cruise dies a lot in this movie, which might perversely float the boats of people sick of his real-life shenanigans. Real life Cruise aside, I’ve always considered him a fine actor and this is pretty much the quintessential Cruise role. Forced to relive the same few days over and over again, his character eventually grows a pair and figures shit out. He hooks up with a celebrated warrior woman (Emily Blunt) who turns out to be one of the only other people aware of his unique space/time experience. Together, they live, die, repeat, and get closer and closer to victory against alien annihilation.

It’s to the great credit of director Doug Liman (Swingers, The Bourne Identity), and the screenwriters (which include Christopher McQuarrie from The Usual Suspects) that Edge of Tomorrow never gets boring. They find new, interesting ways to spin the time loop scenario — sometimes even to great comedic effect. The chemistry between Cruise and Blunt isn’t especially great, but their scenes and budding friendship are well-written. He’s trying to make a human connection with her while she’s purely focused on winning the war — so much so that she never hesitates to kill him when it helps them reset the time loop and give it another go.

You can call the movie Starship Troopers meet Groundhog Day, but the fact is: it’s one of the only original stories to hit the big screen this summer. And that should count for a hell of a lot.

With Bill Paxton.