Edge of Tomorrow: The Video Game Review

NO SPOILERS!!!

If there is a Scientology version of the devil, like an Alien Lucifer, then Tom Cruise has apparently struck a deal with it. How else would you explain his enormous wealth, tenured success, and lack of marital consistency?

I challenge you to tell me the last time a Tom Cruise movie flopped in the box office... You honestly can't (aside from Knight & Afternoon); this guy has had several hits in each decade.

Off the top of my typing thumb, you have Risky Business, Top Gun, and Rain Man in the 80s. In the 90s he brought you A Few Good Men, Mission Impossible, and Jerry Maguire. During the first decade of the Millennium, he brought you Minority Report, Collateral, and War of the Worlds. And in just four years, he brought you Ghost Protocol, Jack Reacher, and now The Edge of Tomorrow.

Edge of Tomorrow has basically beat all video game creators to the punch (with the help of All You Need is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka), in creating an actual video game for a movie. Live. Die. Repeat. This motto is the basis of all role playing video games; what fun would a game be if you couldn't try and try again.

Remember this debacle...

Honestly, this game is reminiscent of Halo: the armor, the "bad guys", and the mission. On the other hand, it blends Halo and Call of Duty and Source Code (which is like a computer program) into a gamer's wet dream.

(Before I get mauled on a technicality, Source Code doesn't have the fire power, action-wise or addiction-wise, that Edge of Manana has; it was way more technical for me to want to see it again and again. Groundhog Day isn't a video game. And Gamer...please).

Oh and I forgot to mention that the movie has time travel aspects in it as well...

Guns? Exoskeleton armor suits? Explosions? Comic relief? Cute British chick? Aliens? One of the most bankable actors in Hollywood? Video game structure? Action sequences? AND A HINT OF TIME TRAVEL?!?! I'm sorry, but you had me at explosions.

On top of all of that, the movie was actually good. Tom Cruise does his best Tom Cruise impression: spastic behavior, high pitched voice, crescendo-ing lines, "boy who cried wolf" character analysis, smile-laugh-punchline delivery, etc. (obviously I'm a fan).

Emily Blunt, forever lovely and likable, does her best to keep up with Cruise; at times, she's over matched by Tom Cruise's star power and charisma and acting. She did a great job chop-wise, but Cruise is a seasoned vet, especially in a movie like this. However, she was a total bad ass...

This is how I like my coffee

Bill Paxton was perfect, as he was just the right amount of over-the-top for my fancying; he seemed to be having the most fun out of the whole cast. Paxton plays a Southerner Master Sergeant who is the Disney version of Gunnery Sergeant Hartman.

The directing meshed well with the story; the writing avoided giving away too much detail; the story was great; the acting was entertaining; and all of the other technical things were baseline and I'm glad, because it paradoxically would have been a distraction.

GOLDMAN SACHS RACKS GROUP

The only problem I had with the movie (aside from them hijacking Matt Damon's combat suit and combining it War Machine's armor suit) was that it didn't cash in on the funny moments. For instance, there were lines/points that were clearly inserted to generate laughs, and other lines that were comical due to Tom Cruise's reactions and facial expressions.

Some of these moments seemed like they weren't meant to be comical, because the background music and the tone of the situation were dramatic and serious. This incongruity bothered me, as it appeared that the director and/or editor did not correctly interpret the script at these moments.

The wavering nature of the lack of commitment to a genre (action-adventure-science-fiction-with-comic-relief or action-adventure-science-fiction-with-too-much-comic-relief, to the point where it borders on an action comedy) could cause a bit of uncertainty to an attentively critical viewer (basically, just me).

Moreover, once you actually sit down and figure out what's going on, you might obviously see where the movie is going, as it doesn't try to to trick you with any plot twists or gimmicks. (I wouldn't call it predictable, because unlike most predictable movies (rom-coms) this movie doesn't present itself in an avant-garde way (which is why the trailer is conspicuous to a certain degree)).

The details are laid out plainly in front of you, all you have to do is sit back and enjoy. By me saying this, the movie is set up for success; it was filmed efficiently and if Tom Cruise's character had obtained the cheat codes from Game Shark, then the movie could have possibly been anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes; after a certain key part that propels the movie forward.

Now that's not to say that the movie is ostentatiously pretentious; the movie hooks you (like a video game) on its cyclical nature and you'll find yourself rooting for Cruise to get past each checkpoint.

Most importantly, I was thoroughly entertained throughout the whole movie, and I was very intrigued with the universe and concept that was created.

Scenes from Minority Report 2

This movie is perfect for a guy's vacation/personal day or a female gamer or an "actual" strong women (as opposed the massive influx of virtually strong women (like its a style or something)).

Technically, since there is a "love interest" (normally, I wouldn't explicitly call it that, but for generalizability purposes I will) you could bring your significant other.

But honestly, it would be easier to find Waldo in the Andromeda Galaxy than to find it in this movie. The romance is so diminished in this movie that if you don't stare hard enough, you might miss it (seriously and fortunately).

I mean, there is romance, but the kiss came and Quicksilver'd away like a fleeting thought. I enjoyed this because they could have easily turned this around and made it supremely romantic, but like Cold Mountain (boggles my brain why this movie isn't on "the list" with Titanic and The Notebook smh) the romantic connection was understood and placed on the shelf for more important plot motives.

To focus on Natalie Portman of course...

All in all, Tom Cruise has added another hit to his list, as this is a complete package of a movie: action, adventure, suspense, thrills, comedy, romance, Scientology propaganda, and a 134,043,071+n-viewed-on-YouTube hit song by John Newman playing during the closing credits. From top to bottom, this movie was done well.

The production companies and the Church of Scientology obviously wanted to put out a good game with a solid story, while introducing ideas about tapping into the destined nature of one's self.

Moreover, according to the summer blockbuster criteria, it passes indubitably. Oh, and of course they are trying to make it rain (160 million in the first week against a 175 million dollar budget, not bad).

I have a subtle "C'MON MAN!!!" issue with the ending (spinning tops); however, this is definitely a game that I want to play again. COMMERCIAL BREAK!!!

**(If this movie hits a billion bucks in the box-office, which it won't, then I could see it being featured at Universal Studios as an interactive ride)**

Go see How to Slay your Dragon 2, out in theaters 6/13/2014

The Edge of Tomorrow brought to you by Electronic Arts was a legit game and definitely gets an Easy A because the story was unique; the directing complemented the story well; the writing within the story flowed effortlessly without being cliche and systematically explanatory (for a movie like this); the actors/actresses seemed to have fun making this movie, which always makes for a good movie in my opinion; and most importantly because Tom Cruise's is...MY JAM!!!!!

When the mission was impossible Tom Cruise's made it possible. He was a one man army in a War between Worlds. Do you remember Adolf Hitler? Cruise sent him straight to suicide hell. Basically, there were a lot of men, but only a few of them were good...Tom Cruise's is one of them.