Edge of Tomorrow

There are certain films that leave you wondering how on earth they never became a franchise, and writing this Edge of Tomorrow movie review has reminded me that this might be one of the best examples. More than a decade after its release, people are still asking for a sequel. The cast and director have repeatedly spoken about wanting to make one, and rumours about it seem to appear every couple of years. Yet here we are, still waiting. Why? Considering how many unnecessary sequels Hollywood manages to produce, it is genuinely baffling that one of the best science fiction action films of the last decade still cannot get its second chapter off the ground.

Part of what makes Edge of Tomorrow so refreshing is that, when it arrived in 2014, it felt like something new. It was not another chapter in an established cinematic universe, a reboot of something audiences already knew or the latest instalment in a franchise that had been running for years. The film is actually based on Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s 2004 Japanese novel All You Need Is Kill, but Doug Liman’s adaptation changes the characters, locations and plenty of the surrounding details. Because of that, the film manages to retain the brilliant central idea of its source material while establishing an identity that feels entirely its own.

I certainly did not expect to enjoy it as much as I did when I first watched it. Edge of Tomorrow throws science fiction, war cinema, alien invasion and a time loop together and somehow makes all of it work. It is action packed and thrilling, but it is also absolutely hilarious at times without ever becoming a comedy. Most importantly, the time loop never becomes a gimmick. Every reset teaches us something new, progresses the story or changes Cage as a character, meaning the film keeps moving even though its protagonist is technically reliving the same period over and over again.

That structure is also a huge reason why the film is so ridiculously rewatchable. There is something strangely appropriate about repeatedly watching a film built around repeatedly living the same day. Edge of Tomorrow has become one of those movies I return to whenever I am stuck trying to decide what to watch. Sometimes you do not want to gamble two hours on something that might disappoint you. You want something you know is going to entertain you, and this is one of those films for me. No matter how many times I have seen Cage wake up on those bags at Heathrow, I am immediately back in.

Tom Cruise is a massive reason it works. One of the smartest decisions the film makes is refusing to introduce William Cage as the unstoppable action hero we are accustomed to seeing Cruise play. Cage is completely out of his depth, terrified of combat and desperately trying to escape the situation he has been thrown into. Watching him slowly transform through hundreds of deaths gives Cruise the opportunity to be funny, frightened, frustrated and eventually incredibly capable. It is a fantastic action performance, but it works because there is an actual character arc underneath all the running, shooting and dying.

Then you have Emily Blunt as Rita Vrataski, who is every bit Cruise’s equal. Blunt brings so much presence to the character that you immediately believe the reputation surrounding the Angel of Verdun. She is tough, intimidating and completely believable in the action sequences, but there is a vulnerability underneath Rita that becomes increasingly important as Cage gets to know her through the loops. There is also something surprisingly emotional about Cage remembering every conversation, every death and every moment they share while Rita remembers none of it once the day resets. He gradually forms a genuine connection with someone who, from her perspective, may have only just met him. It gives their relationship far more emotional weight than I expected from a film like this. Cruise and Blunt have fantastic chemistry together, bringing energy, charisma, humour and heart to that relationship.

Bill Paxton deserves his own mention because he is hilarious every single time he appears. Master Sergeant Farell could easily have been a forgettable supporting character whose only purpose was getting Cage onto the battlefield, but Paxton makes every scene memorable. His delivery, facial expressions and complete devotion to Farell’s ridiculous military philosophy are brilliant. The repetitive structure even makes his performance funnier because you begin anticipating exactly what he is going to say at the same time Cage does. J Squad are great fun as well, with each member having just enough personality to make the group memorable and adding even more humour to the madness surrounding Cage.

As good as the characters are, Edge of Tomorrow absolutely delivers when it comes to spectacle, and the beach assault remains the standout sequence. From the moment the transport carrying Cage and the other soldiers is hit, the film becomes chaotic, intense and relentless. Explosions are going off everywhere, soldiers are being thrown across the battlefield and Cage can barely work out how his own equipment functions while the entire invasion collapses around him. There is a fantastic sense of scale to the sequence, but Liman never allows the spectacle to become completely detached from Cage’s experience. You feel trapped in the chaos alongside him. This was a film made to be seen on the biggest screen possible.

The Mimics themselves are another element I have always liked. Their design is strange enough that they do not feel like another generic army of humanoid aliens carrying futuristic weapons. The way they move is incredibly fast, unpredictable and aggressive, making them genuinely imposing whenever they appear. I also like that there are different types within their hierarchy rather than one interchangeable alien enemy. The Alphas and the Omega give the Mimics a structure that directly connects them to the time loop and makes learning how the enemy operates part of solving the film’s central puzzle.

What really elevates Edge of Tomorrow, though, is how efficiently everything works together. The action supports the story, the comedy comes naturally from the situation and the time loop allows the characters to develop without bringing the momentum to a halt. Even the repeated deaths remain entertaining because the film knows when to show them, when to skip them and when to use them as a punchline. There is a confidence to the storytelling that makes a potentially complicated premise incredibly easy to follow, and the pacing barely gives you an opportunity to become bored.

Which brings me back to the question I started with. Where is the sequel? Edge of Tomorrow has only grown in reputation since 2014, and discussions about a follow up have been going on for years. Cruise, Blunt and Liman have all expressed interest at various points, scripts and ideas have been discussed, and yet nothing has made it properly in front of the cameras. Scheduling has clearly played a part, particularly with Cruise spending so many years throwing himself out of planes, off cliffs and onto moving vehicles for Mission: Impossible, while Blunt and Liman have hardly been sitting around waiting for the phone to ring either. But after all this time, surely somebody at Warner Bros needs to lock them in a room with a calendar and figure it out. Overall, there really is not much more I need to say. Edge of Tomorrow is simply a great science fiction action movie. It is simply a great science fiction action movie. It is exciting, funny, clever, brilliantly paced and backed by two excellent lead performances from Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt. It came along without relying on audiences having watched six previous films, delivered a complete and thoroughly entertaining story, and has only become more enjoyable with repeated viewings. With Mission: Impossible seemingly reaching the end of Ethan Hunt’s journey, this feels like the perfect world for Cruise to return to and potentially turn into another action franchise. So please, Warner Bros, hurry up and give us the Edge of Tomorrow sequel we have been asking for all these years. Just let Cruise finish the Days of Thunder sequel first, obviously.