"Edge of Tomorrow" is a peculiar science fiction film from 2014 starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt. The whole thing starts off as borderline comedy, as the main character, the US "media officer" William Cage (a tenderfoot with no military training whatsoever) is forced to join a misfit squad of robot-clad soldiers during an attempted invasion of France (which is held by bizarre aliens from another world). The invasion fails miserably, as the aliens have paranormal abilities. They can both anticipate the future and somehow change the past. Cage gets the same supernatural powers as he accidentally comes in touch with the blue blood of an "Alpha" alien. This makes the film more and more annoying (and more confused), as Cage and Rita Vrataski (a female combat veteran) are transported back in time, over and over again, to relive exactly the same events...until they can find a way to change the timeline (and save planet Earth).
The plot isn´t entirely logical even apart from the constant bungy jumps through time and space, and I got the feeling that the script writer "jumped the shark" (or was it an alien) more than once. But sure, if you´re much younger than me and like comics or videogames, this might be just what you were looking for!
The cultural references in "Edge of Tomorrow" are uber-obvious, with the war against the aliens having strong resemblances to World War II, most specifically D-Day. Emily Blunt´s character is said to be a war hero from Verdun, a reference to the first world war. There are also obvious similarities to other scyfy flicks, such as "Starship Troopers". The aliens (called Mimics for unclear reasons) look like hybrids between the Arachnids in "Starship Troopers" and the Sentinels in "The Matrix". The Louvre Pyramid in Paris was popularized by "The Da Vinci Code". Here, it houses the alien super-brain, rather than a tomb of Mary Magdalene. Speaking of which, the US media apparently anoited Vrataski some kind of feminist icon, since she is the effective leader and trainer of the incompetent Cage. Draft our daughters, or what?
The funniest part of the film was actually the very beginning, where the brutal war in Europe between the space invaders and human forces is treated as just another infotainment thing by US news media. I can believe that!
Overall, I can´t say I was *that* thrilled by "Edge of Tomorrow", but it´s certainly a film I won´t forget any time soon, LOL.
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