All Movie Reviews

Ex Machina – Alex Garland

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Ex Machina starring Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, and Alicia Vikander

Ex Machina starring Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, and Alicia Vikander

Since the movie’s limited releases in January and April, critics and regular movie-goers alike have been showering it with praise and calling it one of the best science fiction films in years. It’s smart, thrilling, and has a continuous dark undertone that makes you feel like there’s something wrong, but you just don’t know what. Unlike a lot of science fiction movies, you aren’t quite sure how it’s going to end, but with Ex Machina, you know it probably won’t be good.

Ex Machina is written and directed by Alex Garland, a talented British author (The Beach, which adapted for the screen in 2000), screenwriter (28 Days Later, Sunshine, Never Let Me Go), and now Director. His filmography will give a good indication of the “tone” of film one can expect from his new feature, he doesn’t stray too far from the dark and troubled.

Not everyone will be a fan of the pace of this film; some people may find it a little too slow and the shots a little too long, others will find the slow build up intriguing. Ex Machina is about a young, brilliant coder who wins a contest that will take him far into the wilderness to a compound owned by the CEO of his company. At this secluded, high-security resort is a new project the CEO, Nathan (Oscar Isaac), has been working on – artificial intelligence. Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson), the coder, has been tasked with assessing and testing the machine’s capabilities over the course of a week and finally determining if he has indeed succeeded in mastering artificial intelligence.

The score is eerie and certainly compliments the solitude and the gravity of the situation. To have created a machine that looks, feels, acts, and processes information and emotions like a human being is certainly ground-breaking on a science level, but dangerous on a moral and spiritual level. The film covers a lot of ground and oddly enough everything seems quite believable and well thought through.

The machine/robot, Ava, is played by Swedish actress Alicia Vikander (Anna Karenina, The Fifth Estate), who will certainly be getting more roles after the recognition she’s been getting lately. She is completely convincing as the sweet and innocent A.I. who just wants to be treated as a person and craves real human interaction. Domhnall Gleeson (About Time, Anna Karenina, Unbroken) is at the centre of the film and goes through a large range of emotions (awe, intrigue, mistrust, and finally madness) with such conviction that you just know he’s going to be around for a long, long time. These two actors, along with Oscar Isaac playing the binge-drinking, secretive mastermind behind it all who you just can’t seem to completely trust, anchor the movie in such a way that they keep you engaged and never really let go. It’s a thought-provoking slow burner and, as previously stated, some people may not have the attention span for it and it may be just a little too “messed up” for others; it is science fiction, after all.

Ex Machina only made about $36M at the box office worldwide and is now available on Blu-Ray and DVD.

Jurassic World – Colin Trevorrow

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Jurassic World starring Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard.

Jurassic World starring Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard.

When will they learn? Dinosaurs and humans cannot co-exist in happy harmony! But they keep trying, and it certainly makes for an entertaining movie. Twenty-two years after the failure of the original park, “Jurassic World” is now the exciting theme park John Hammond (the founder of “Jurassic Park” in Spielberg’s 1993 film) always dreamed of. Akin to a SeaWorld or Animal Kingdom, kids and adults alike get to gawk and marvel at the Earth’s biggest creatures, and literally have front row seats as the dinosaurs roam their surroundings or eat their prey. Naturally, after a few years of this, the allure has slightly worn off, as Jurassic World’s profits seem to show. They need a new attraction! Enter, the Idominus Rex, a genetically modified dinosaur made up of genes from multiple sources.

Given the history of the Park, and the greed of the people involved, this clearly doesn’t end well for the tourists who happen to be visiting the day the Indominus Rex breaks free. However, before the chaos ensues, we get to take a look at what the park was always meant to be: a fascinating tour back to the Jurassic period, complete with cutting-edge technology and a much cooler mode of transportation than the jeeps used in the original park. As the island’s history teaches us, there are always some bad apples to contend with. So, in a side-story, there is also a sketchy military man who is hell-bent on weaponizing the velociraptors, who seem to have formed an interesting bond with their keeper. As everyone can guess, that is also a really bad idea.

To give credit where credit is due, Jurassic World does a really good job playing off of the audience’s love for the original movie, and fits in just enough nostalgia to bring smiles to people’s faces before the action takes over. And there is a lot of action… and a surprisingly high body count, too.

The main characters in the movie are the Park’s chief director Claire, played by Bryce Dallas Howard (Ron Howard’s daughter); her two nephews, played by Nick Robinson and Ty Simpkins (previously seen in Iron Man 3, stealing scenes from Robert Downey Jr.); and Owen, the raptor trainer (Chris Pratt). Claire is an uptight workaholic who sees the dinosaurs as assets and Owen is the free spirit whose love and respect for the animals is on display at every opportunity – a perfect match.

For those who find Chris Pratt annoying, he is surprisingly (and thankfully) tame in this movie and his humour is kept dry and only used sparingly. The real comic relief comes in the form of a park operator, and even he is only used when absolutely necessary. The rest is pure entertainment in the form of dinosaur chases, dinosaur fights, and a significant amount of death. Every now and then there is a brief moment of nostalgia or even sadness, but for the most part, Jurassic World is an edge-of-your-seat adventure….with a lot of teeth.

Critics of the film may groan at the lack of character development, poor plot, or palaeontological inaccuracies – but who cares! As box office numbers seem to prove, the majority of people just want to see some CG dinosaurs and watch them as they take out the humans, one mouthful at a time.

Jurassic World is now playing in theatres everywhere.

Avengers: Age of Ultron – Joss Whedon

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Avengers: Age of Ultron starring Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, and James Spader

Avengers: Age of Ultron starring Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, and James Spader

So many heroes, so few villains; it’s almost not even fair. Even so, the Avengers are pushed to their brink in Avengers: Age of Ultron as they face off against a web-based villain and some ‘enhanced’ twins with super powers. The second movie in the Avengers franchise is exactly what fans wanted and contained enough comic book material to make the Marvel aficionados squeal with glee…for a full 141 minutes. The audience finally gets to see characters as human (so to speak) when they fall under some mystic power and come face-to-face with their fears and other dark events from their past. Later, while tinkering with some supreme power beyond their comprehension, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Dr. Banner (Mark Ruffalo) accidentally create artificial intelligence (named Ultron). Ultron, whose main purpose was for world protection, was somehow corrupted and starts to believe that the Avengers and people in general are what the world needs to be rid of in order to start over and eventually thrive – and you can sort of see his point here. So, in order to rid the world of its disease, his plan is exterminate it and leave it to the rubble.

While the story itself is unnecessarily complex and contains pieces from all the other Marvel movies that some audience goers may have missed (or skipped), it certainly isn’t short on action. Fans of the other Marvel movies will get immense pleasure from the dizzying fight sequences, the inside jokes, and the fun that goes along with watching these heroes risk their lives for the greater good – others will just roll their eyes. Whether or not this movie is enjoyed wholeheartedly or simply brushed off as another shallow feature from the money-making machine that is Marvel will depend completely on expectations. It will be corny, it will be ridiculous, but thankfully it’s not pretending to be anything but good, mindless, fun. Unless a Marvel movie is written and directed by Christopher Nolan in the future, they are never going to be anything other than that. Avengers: Age of Ultron and its writer/director Joss Whedon have delivered what the majority of movie-goers want from a superhero movie, as evidenced by the amount of money it has made at the box office so far.

The heroes featured in the movie include: Tony Stark/Iron Man, whose quick wit and sarcasm is classic Robert Downey Jr.; Thor (Chris Hemsworth), who is subtly funny and whose hammer is the source of a few laughs; Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans), whom the others just seem to tolerate; Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), whose romantic interest in Bruce Banner/The Hulk, the guy who is only useful when he’s dangerous, just seems forced; and Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), the guy who uses a bow and arrow and whose value we don’t really understand. One would think that would be enough brawn and testosterone to thwart any evil plan the universe could throw at the Earth… and one would be right. The odds are always in their favour but as with every epic hero vs. villain movie, all hope is (temporarily) lost until a last minute plan reveals itself. In the meantime, the characters have to work together to figure it out and overcome some tension developing within the group.

James Spader is the voice of Ultron and those who know him well from Boston Legal and The Blacklist will be happy to know that the character, at times, has a very familiar humour that shines through his villainous, metal façade. Once again, Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Hemsworth steal the show as they play the least uptight characters in the movie and provide the majority of the laughs. There are some new faces but the majority of the characters from the other movies return for the fight against evil. Fans will surely be happy to see their old friends once again.

Exodus: Gods and Kings – Ridley Scott

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Exodus: Gods and Kings starring Christian Bale, Joel Edgerton, John Turturro, Aaron Paul, Sigourney Weaver, and Ben Kingsley 20th Century Fox

Exodus: Gods and Kings starring Christian Bale and Joel Edgerton
(20th Century Fox)

Epic in scale, but lacking in passion and conviction, Exodus: Gods and Kings is directed by Ridley Scott and stars Christian Bale as Moses, the adopted Egyptian prince and prophet who saves the Israelites. The story of Moses is captured in the Bible’s Book of Exodus, hence the movie’s name, which is Hebrew for “going out”. His story is essentially the story of how the Israelites escaped from Egypt and the perilous life of slavery by following him on a treacherous journey through the mountains and across the Red Sea.

As a viewer with no religious or historical background, Exodus: Gods and Kings will be intriguing but also a little confusing as the background of Moses’ upbringing is skimmed over and not properly explained. Watching as an individual who is well-versed in the Biblical story and other theatrical interpretations of it, the movie will be frustrating and, aside from the impressive CGI, it will be boring. While the older theatrical versions of the story of Moses for the most part interpreted the Bible literally (i.e. the burning bush, the plagues, and the parting of the Red Sea), Exodus: Gods and Kings actually attempts to make some aspects of the story more realistic and believable for the 21st century audience; and in this, it succeeds. The visual effects were refreshing in the sense that they were not completely over-the-top and mostly stayed within the realm of the believable. Despite this, however, it never truly meets expectations and the rather abrupt ending leaves one feeling impassive regarding the 150 minute experience.

It is quite rare that an animated movie, namely Disney’s The Prince of Egypt (1998 – animated), can do a better job at explaining this historical event and provoke more emotion with respect to the main character, but in this case it’s true. Even 1956’s The Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston seemed more true to the story and put its 220 minutes to relatively good use.

As movie-goers have come to expect a great performance from Christian Bale, the fact that he is convincing and quite good in the role of Moses just isn’t enough of a reason to watch the movie. His stellar performances are typically enough to carry a bad movie and appeal to audiences who appreciate the art, but due to the movie’s grand scale and lack of depth, it simply isn’t the case here. Unfortunately, this film missed the mark and will leave most viewers disappointed and underwhelmed.

Exodus: Gods and Kings was released in theatres in December 2014 and is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray.

As published on Examiner.com

Furious 7 – James Wan

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Furious 7 starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Ludacris, and Jason Statham.

Furious 7 starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Ludacris, and Jason Statham.

The latest installment of the Fast and Furious franchise is not likely to be the last, but it certainly feels like the perfect wrap-up to the series and exactly what its fans were hoping for. With each new movie, the stunts as well as the characters get more ridiculous and, to put it bluntly, more badass; each new fight or heist sequence strives to top the previous one. Furious 7 is much bigger and better than the other movies in terms of action and one might even go so far as to say it’s even a little over-the-top, but it delivers such a solid and respectful send-off to its lead actor Paul Walker at the end that all other nonsense is forgiven. After nearly fourteen years of getting to know the main characters, it’s like watching old friends get into trouble all over again. This movie actually adds a layer of emotion and depth that was missing from some of the earlier movies – but it is offset by a number of insane and impossible stunts involving cars, planes (once again), and very tall condos.

In order to tie in the events that took place at the end of the obvious outlier in the series, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (#3), it becomes apparent that Furious 7 takes place after the events in Fast & Furious 6 as well as the third movie. The backstory doesn’t really matter and all one really needs to know is that this movie is just about revenge, and that revenge comes in the form of Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) doing everything in his power to take down Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his gang. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson reprises his role as Hobbs and delivers his usual one-liners and flexes his muscles, while Michelle Rodriguez, Ludacris, and Tyrese Gibson also star in the movie as the characters the audience knows well and has come to love. There are a number of satisfying one-on-one brawls in the movie and chase sequences that will make your head spin and your eyes roll, but that is what the franchise has become and why people will watch it – and enjoy it.

Furious 7 is admittedly too long and has a number of gaping holes, but if you’re in the mood for a fun (and fast) ride, it serves the purpose well. What the movie does best, however, is handle the death of Paul Walker during the filming by re-writing the ending to give him the proper goodbye. It’s touching and absolutely perfect; especially because one knows the words are real and come directly from the hearts of the actors involved, Vin Diesel in particular. If you never thought he could deliver heartfelt dialogue that could make you cry real tears, you better think again – and bring tissues.

The Imitation Game – Morten Tyldum

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The Imitation Game starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Kiera Knightley.

The Imitation Game starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Kiera Knightley.

Spectacular, simply spectacular. The Imitation Game exceeds expectations in every way and certainly deserves all the hype. If you aren’t already on the Benedict Cumberbatch bandwagon, then you will be after seeing this movie. His portrayal of Alan Turing, British mathematician and the father of computer science, is perfection. As with most geniuses, it would appear that Turing’s strength did not lie in his social skills or his ability to pick up on social cues and Cumberbatch captures the social awkwardness and egotism so well that one forgets that he just played “Khan” in Star Trek Into Darkness. It seems he can do no wrong these past couple years and he has earned a well-deserved Golden Globe nomination for his most recent performance. Kiera Knightley also stars as Joan Clarke, a close friend and fellow cryptanalyst who worked as a code-breaker at Bletchley Park with Turing.

The Imitation Game covers a lot of ground and touches upon various points of Turing’s life, including his homosexuality and how this secret affected his life, relationships, and his career. It also briefly touches upon sexism and ethical dilemmas but doesn’t overdo it in any way. The movie keeps you interested and in awe of what this man could do (and how his mind worked) in a time when radios ruled and television and computers were still just ideas waiting to be realized.

The various time jumps were flawlessly executed and never lost the audience as the story moved from the 1950’s to the 1930’s/1940’s and finally to the 1920’s when Alan Turing was just a boy at school struggling to fit in. We watch as Alan discovers his passion for codes with the help of a special school friend and eventually ends up helping to do the unimaginable – break the Enigma encryption. Most people have heard of Enigma machines, as they were a major player in World War II and used by the Germans as a means of encrypted communication, but Alan Turing’s story is an instrumental piece of history that was mostly unknown until the latter part of the 20th century. The Imitation Game is Hollywood’s first real attempt at bringing his story forward and to the rest of the world.

As it goes with movies of this type, there are a number of historical inaccuracies that have come to light and it would seem that Morten Tyldum as Director has taken some liberties for the sake of making a good Hollywood movie – but boy, did it ever work. If the historians in the audience can excuse this, then what is left is a great film about a great man whose contribution to the end of WWII cannot be ignored. Perhaps it will even get movie-goers to do their own research on the event that likely saved millions of lives, maybe even some loved ones who were fighting while the mathematicians were codebreaking.

Unbroken – Angelina Jolie

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unb2

Unbroken starring Jack O’Connell, Domhnall Gleeson, and Garrett Hedlund.

In a span of about two years, Louis Zamperini was in a plane crash, stranded on a lifeboat for over a month, and was tortured in multiple Japanese Prisoner of War camps. Unbroken follows his story, which begins with him as a young delinquent and then as a track star who eventually makes it to the 1936 Olympics in Germany. He was on a rescue mission with a few other men during WWII when his plane went down over the ocean. What followed the crash is the main focus of the movie and how one man never seemed to lose hope and how sheer determination allowed him to survive an ordeal that hurts just to watch on the movie screen.

Unbroken is slow and you feel almost all of the 137 minutes; however, it is still worth watching even just to see Zamperini’s story unfold and learn what it’s like to truly appreciate life. There are two main parts to this story – the lifeboat ordeal and the POW camp experience that immediately followed. The weeks spent on the lifeboat with two other men is where you really get to know Louis and see him as a likeable, caring, and resourceful young man with an almost unmatched will to survive. After breaking the record for the most days spent stranded at sea, they are “rescued” by the Japanese and face a completely different challenge.  The fact that he survived both is pretty unbelievable, especially when a sick guard seemed to really have it out for him in the camp.

For a group of newcomers, the acting is quite good. There are a few familiar faces whose names you likely don’t remember, such as Domhnall Gleeson (Anna Karenina, About Time), Jai Courtney (Jack Reacher, A Good Day to Die Hard, Divergent), and Garrett Hedlund (Troy, Four Brothers, On the Road, Inside Llewyn Davis) but this is definitely the breakout movie for the lead actor Jack O’Connell. Both he and Domhall Gleeson lost a significant amount of weight for the sake of their roles and their performances seemed genuine and believable.

The biggest surprise Unbroken has to offer is the fact that it was written by Joel and Ethan Coen. These brothers are best known for their quirky humour, clever banter, and generally movies that don’t tend to appeal to the masses (Fargo, The Big Lebowski, No Country for Old Men, Burn After Reading). This seems to be a totally new territory for them and it’s really difficult (if not impossible) to see any of their typical style in the script – it’s not funny, it’s not satirical, and it has no big-name actors. Even so, it’s a job well done for a serious biography-style film and Angelina Jolie did the story justice as a Director.

Although Unbroken received applause in the theatre upon conclusion (which is relatively rare) it didn’t quite hit the expected homerun for a release this late in the season. The audience who will enjoy this movie the most are likely the older generations who have longer attention spans and a deeper connection to WWII. The younger generation will be happy they saw it and will potentially complain about life a little less afterwards, but will ultimately find it a little more forgettable. Regardless, the name Louis Zamperini will live on and those who see it will definitely remember his remarkable story – which is the whole point, anyway.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 1 – Francis Lawrence

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The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 starring Jennifer Lawrence, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Josh Hutcherson, and Donald Sutherland.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 starring Jennifer Lawrence, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Josh Hutcherson, and Donald Sutherland.

If Jennifer Lawrence is in it, it’s going to be a good movie, or so we have come to expect. Mockingjay-Part 1 is no exception. Fans of the Hunger Games series will flock to this movie and will love how it sets the series up for the big finale that will come in Mockingjay-Part 2, to be released next year. Part 1 sets the stage for the revolution that will come at the hands of the Districts as they unite in their fight against the Panem Capitol. Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) has unwillingly become the symbol of the revolution after the last Games and is now trying to cope with her new life in District 13. Using her status as the symbol of hope and strength, she does everything she can in order to get Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) rescued from the clutches of the Capitol and the evil President Snow (Donald Sutherland).

Based on the three books written by Suzanne Collins, the Hunger Games series has so far given the audience exactly what it wants. Although Mockingjay-Part 1 doesn’t quite live up to the excitement and action in The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, it is still necessary to complete the series and show more of Katniss’ inner struggle and her relationships with Gale, her sister, and Coin, the President of District 13.

Without all of the inner dialogue that plays a prominent feature in the book, it would be very possible for Katniss to appear as a very one-dimensional character on screen; but with Jennifer Lawrence playing the part, that never becomes an issue. She has a unique ability to touch the audience and make them feel something. There are some very exciting moments in the movie but the parts that really get you are the scenes where Katniss’ passion leaps across the screen and tugs at your own emotions as a viewer. It is very fortunate that such a talented actress has been involved with the series since the beginning, or it could have easily turned into an empty saga with atrocious acting like Twilight.

Other solid, seasoned solid actors that help round out the film and give the newer characters depth are Julianne Moore and Philip Seymour Hoffman (“Plutarch Heavensbee” previously appeared in Catching Fire and is Philip Seymour Hoffman’s final role before his unfortunate death).

This is a series that must be watched in a sequence and Mockingjay-Part 1 will mean absolutely nothing to those who haven’t seen the first two movies. For those who have read the books, the suspense of not knowing at which point the movie will end is part of the fun, and knowing what is going to happen in Part 2 will also add to the excitement. Overall, Part 1 is both a solid adaptation of the book and a good prelude to what is surely going to be the most exciting and the most emotional film in the series.

Interstellar – Christopher Nolan

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Interstellar starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, and Jessica Chastain.

Interstellar starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, and Jessica Chastain.

If any movie demands to be seen on an IMAX screen, it’s Interstellar, Christopher Nolan’s latest epic about space travel. Similar to Inception, Interstellar is like nothing you’ve ever seen before and reaches far beyond what even your own imagination is capable of. It’s a movie that tests the limits of physics and our basic understanding of the concepts of time and space.

A central theme in the movie is something completely different for Nolan and something that even science struggles to explain – love. Despite the fact that love is a major theme in the movie, it doesn’t get overly and unnecessarily sentimental, but it does have a number of genuinely touching moments. The other major theme is survival – what society and what individuals are willing to do in order to survive.

Nolan shows us a world that can no longer support its inhabitants; it is depressing, dusty, and the advancement of technology is just an afterthought. In fact, Earth’s most important job is now farming, and that’s where Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) comes in. He is a former NASA pilot who loves to build things and longs for the days when mankind lived to explore new worlds. Now that those days are gone, he feels completely out of place, much like his daughter Murphy. Together with his Father-in-Law and two kids, Cooper owns a corn farm that, eventually, is going to fail just like all the others in his area.

After a decent build-up, the main plot of the movie gets underway. One of the main taglines for the film was, “Mankind was born on Earth. It was never meant to die here”, and that’s why Cooper and a small team (consisting of Dr. Brand – Anne Hathaway and a couple others) decide to leave Earth in search of a new home. To say any more would be a mistake. Interstellar is so complex and has so many good supporting characters (most of whom will be recognized immediately) that explaining the plot away would ruin it for the viewer.

Interstellar is by far the most ambitious movie of 2014 and has been picked apart by critics for reasons that don’t really matter. It is a science fiction movie that deals with phenomenon that the average person (and even the highly intelligent person – though they will likely not admit it) does not fully understand. Black holes, worm holes, relativity – these are things we know exist, but even Ph.D’s in astrophysicists can’t fully explain what they are and how they behave because no one has experienced anything like it. So how can it be expected that a Hollywood film, even if it is directed and written by a genius, would get it 100% correct? If you go into the film looking for flaws, it is almost a guarantee that you will find them. So here’s a suggestion – turn off the brain, open your mind, and let your emotions dictate whether you enjoy the film or not. You will leave the theatre with burning questions and will want to discuss it with friends, but you will also leave satisfied, and maybe a little sore and tense. The near-constant action, combined with the Hans Zimmer score, is like nothing else; even Gravity can’t match it. Watching it in IMAX, the sound (and even the complete silence) is deafening and the visuals are spectacular.

In true Christopher Nolan fashion, the best part is that you don’t know where it’s going or how it’s going to end. It takes nearly 3 hours to get to that ending but it doesn’t drag for even a moment. Matthew McConaughey was great, as we’ve come to expect lately, and Anne Hathaway was surprisingly “not irritating” as Dr. Brand. The movie’s humour happens to come from two robots that provide the necessary comic relief from time to time. Michael Caine and Jessica Chastain are equally as good and perfectly cast. Once again, Hans Zimmer’s score makes every scene an epic one and the use of perfectly timed silence leaves you wide-eyed and breathless.

Of course there is always the possibility that people will think that it is too much, too unbelievable, and too long, but overall it is a movie that should not be missed. Give it a chance, it’s worth it.

Edge of Tomorrow – Doug Liman

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Edge of Tomorrow starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt

It was a summer filled with crowd pleasing blockbusters like Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Transformers 4 but if you didn’t get a chance to see Edge of Tomorrow in theatres, then be sure to look for it on DVD/Blu-Ray October 7. In a spring/summer filled with sequels, it was one of the more unique movies to hit theatres and, given its company, it didn’t get as much credit as it should have.

It was like Groundhog Day on steroids, and a lot less annoying. Tom Cruise plays “Major William Cage” who unexpectedly gets caught in the middle of a seemingly unwinnable war against robotic aliens and at the same time finds himself in a continuous time-loop where he cannot stay dead. When he does die, which is inevitable in this alien war, he wakes up a moment later at the beginning of the first day where he must relive all of the same moments over again. It was refreshing to see him in a role where he starts off as a bit of a coward who doesn’t know what he’s doing and grows into the macho killing machine we’re so used to. He’s the opposite of a hero when he begins his journey to the front lines where the battle resembles the beginning of Saving Private Ryan, except with terrifying alien killing machines and a lot more fire power. Emily Blunt was surprisingly a great fit for the female lead, a bad-ass war hero with a take-no-shit attitude.

It’s a lot of fun to watch Cage die over and over again and attempt to figure out different ways to make it through the day without getting himself killed, and of course save mankind in the process. Edge of Tomorrow is an extremely fast-paced movie with enough complexity and witty dialogue that makes one wonder how it was all crammed into 113 minutes, an ideal length for an edge-of-your-seat sci-fi action movie (Michael Bay, please take note).

Tom Cruise, as always, has a lot of impressive stunts and actually comes across as funny as the movie plays on. As he quickly becomes a seasoned war veteran through his live, die, repeat sequence, we see him slowly gain the respect of Rita (Emily Blunt) and their relationship, mostly based on tolerance and sarcasm, is pretty amusing to watch. There is some chemistry there, but thankfully that’s not what the movie is focused on.

All in all, it is a unique, fun, and action-packed movie that most people should enjoy. The plot is fairly complex but shouldn’t be too hard to follow as you gain more and more knowledge of the situation as the movie progresses. Do yourself a favour and don’t focus on the loopholes (there are bound to be a few in a story like this) – just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.