Edge of Tomorrow: non-spoiler reviews

tigerofcachtice

I post my views on comic book films (and invite you to do the same), because comic book fans like you and me have a different take than the mainstream. Edge of Tomorrow is based on a Japanese manga...which explains a lot.

What I Expected: Critics call Edge of Tomorrow a cross of Starship Troopers with Groundhog Day.

What I Watched: A non-stop action-comedy that's the best manga film adaptation I've seen.

You might have seen the trailers. Live. Die. Repeat. You may think it's like a sci-fi film about predeterminism starring Tom Cruise, much like Minority Report did a decade ago. You're not wrong, but it's more than that.

It really is a manga-turned-live action. Mecha warfare. Cool aliens. Weird science. Plot twists.

(The manga is called All You Need Is Kill, which is its title in Japan, which is how I found out.)

Tom Cruise. Whether you LOVE him, HATE him, or MEH, I think you'll enjoy this film. He's a protagonist, but he also dies...repeatedly. Also, if you saw Tropic Thunder, he's pretty good at comedy, which he kind of shows off here.

As for the other sci-fi soldiers, they remind me of the badasses from Aliens. You have your Vasquez-like and Hicks-like and actually Hudson. Hudson, his actor, is in this, acting like an older Hudson. He's fantastic!

The action scenes are non-stop. I'd say more than half this film is pure, high quality, action.

4 out of 5 stars: great characters, pretty funny, great action.

flyingfinn

5/5 for Bill Paxton.
:biggrin:

zedbrightlander1

Let's see - manga, Starship Troopers, and Tom Cruise. Three things that will probably keep me from spending money to see this movie.

Wait. Did you say we get to watch Tom Cruise DIE, over and over again, in this movie? :eek: Hmm... { scratches chin } Maybe I'll borrow it from the local library next February. In the mean time, I think I'll re-watch Groundhog Day - EVERY SINGLE DAY UNTIL THEN.

Actually, I saw TC interviewed on The Daily Show. EoT did look like fun.

Edit - If you like movies like Groundhog Day, as in Sci-fi-ish-fantasy minus special effect and or any grand explanations as to how or why the time-travel works, then try The Time Traveler's Wife and About Time. Both are less about the sci-fi and more about the people. Sorry, no big 'splotions and stuff.

kojirohellfire

Hm... actually Wikipedia is telling me that this was a light novel first and then was adapted to manga. It was also adapted to an American Graphic novel. And then, the movie.

Sheesh, any more adaptations and it'll give the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy a run for its money.

championshewolf

tigerofcachtice wrote: »

What I Expected: Critics call Edge of Tomorrow a cross of Starship Troopers with Groundhog Day.

What I Watched: A non-stop action-comedy that's the best manga film adaptation I've seen.

Well when you take the plot of Groundhog's Day and just throw war into it instead, you aren't going to get much else than a comedy.

I love Groundhog's Day, don't mind Tom Cruise and find a few of his recent movies enjoyable (not so much his older ones though when he was a young kid) but I think I will wait for this on DVD instead of going to the theater.

jasinblaze

saw it tonight with the wife.
we both thought it was well made and had fun.

zedbrightlander1

2:30 minute trailer of same.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfURJPPn5Bk
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rexcelestis

My daughter and I went to see this over the weekend. We both enjoyed it greatly. It had a nice mix of comedy and action, and held together very well right up to the end. I could have done without the kiss and the Hollywood ending.