Live Die Repeat: Cruise / Blunt / Edge of Tomorrow

At first, the repetition is weird, but just keep watching - a fabulous movie!

THE FILM: This is yet another 2014 film that I'm late to although, considering the lackluster box office take, there's probably a lot of people who weren't aware of this or went and saw something else instead. It's their loss, though, as this is an incredible sci-fi adventure with plenty of action, humor and a dynamite lead performance by Tom Cruise. The gist of the story is that Major Bill Cage (Cruise) is a media specialist/recruiter for the Army who really likes his cushy job, but ends up getting thrown headlong into combat. On the morning of a huge invasion he ends up getting killed, but something happens to him that allows him to reset the day whenever he dies. The rest of the story is him trying to find a way to defeat the alien invaders, called Mimics, by taking advantage of this new ability. The person who really sells this movie is Tom Cruise, who is game for pretty much everything thrown at him. He gives an honest emotional as well as physical performance. Also of note are Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton and Brendan Gleeson who also do well in their roles. Emily Blunt does especially well, adding some emotional depth to the story while playing an uncharacteristically tough female role in a male-dominated story. Did I mention that she also kicks a lot of butt? Another element that elevated it above your typical alien invasion sci-fi film was the amount of humor. All of it came naturally out of the story and situations dictated by the plot, and none of it felt forced at all. The visual effects were also top-notch, and I liked the alien creature designs. The only couple of negatives I can draw out are some shaky-cam in the battle scenes, which is still kind of appropriate and recalls the Normandy beach landing in SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, and that a lot of the supporting characters aren't fleshed out enough outside of the stars in the cast. That being said, everyone gave an excellent performance. Tom Cruise even ends up getting a nice character arc. Overall, despite having the same gimmick as GROUNDHOG DAY, EDGE OF TOMORROW is an exciting, engaging and, in the end, thoughtful sci-fi film that has immense replay value. This is definitely one movie you won't mind watching again.THE EXTRAS: There is a decent amount of special features that delve into different aspects of the production. The main ones are three featurettes that give a behind-the-scenes look at the visual effects and stunt work on the film's sci-fi battle on the beach, the exo-suits worn by the cast and the director Doug Liman's effort to make the film as realistic as possible. Based on these, it was really apparent just how much work and effort went into making this excellent film. There was extreme dedication from everyone involved. It's also amazing that things turned out as well as they did, considering that they started shooting without a finished script. There are also a handful deleted scenes to round things out, although some of them have unfinished effects or are partly pre-visualized sequences.OVERALL: This was a criminally under-seen film this summer that deserves to be seen by all sci-fi fans. The special features aren't too "special," but they were still nice to have anyway. Bottom line, if you haven't seen this yet, go see it!

I loved it. At the theater it seemed the group enjoyed it. We all laughed and gasped at the same time. The ending, may be stretching ones understanding but, and there are discussions on it, I think it is really cool once you wrap your brain around it. In the end who cares :) enjoy it for what it is. Besides Groundhog Day and some other references, I also thought a bit of the Matrix. I thought the aliens were more Matrix than Transformers and the reset sorta also. That was part of the fun, all the connections to other movies we've seen. Someone even mentioned "Monday" episode from X-Files, that was a good catch too. I love that stuff.One thing though the digital code, it isn't for iTunes. It used to be the digital code was for ultraviolet and iTunes. Not sure when this changed. I noticed online at Walmart a different movie specified a Vudu digital code. I don't see the benefit for the end users purchasing the digital code copy if it's not for the one they want. I now don't have an option to buy a Blu-ray copy alone, at a cheaper price, since the digital code won't work for iTunes, the digital version I would want so that all of my movies are in one library. As long as the price is right, it's not a huge deal I guess to waste the code, but I certainly don't get to use the purchased digital copy if now it only works for certain services I'm not wanting to use.Update: I have played with the digital code that ties into an app and computer application of Flixster (still need your ultraviolet account, so it can be confusing but bear with it, it does work) that allows for downloaded content playback so I'm not streaming. I like some of the features. You can, for $2.00 upload your DVD's to make them clouded for viewing. But the file of the movie is in a folder format that only will play with Flixster. With the iTunes version, yes you use iTunes to play it, but it is a m4v file and is also playable with QuickTime, more important, it is cloud-able to my other devices. I'm at least more comfortable to know I have access to the digital contend I paid for with the combo Blue-ray DVD I purchased, not in my iTunes Library like I'd prefer but it will work.

Live Die Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow Blu RayThis is a really great Tom Cruise / Emily Blunt action sci-fi movie that was entertaining for the whole family. Worth adding to the collection. I bought the manga too, which I didn't enjoy as much. I think the movie is better in this case. There is a novel as well, but I didn't buy it. A sequel is in the works and I hope it is as good as this movie.

Se que el gusto se rompe en generos, pero en mi personal caso, esta pelicula me gusto mucho. Fue una buena compra.

La película me gusto mucho y tomando en cuenta que ya viene la segunda parte me motivo a comprarla. Muy recomendable y llena de acción.

Packaging is in excellent condition. DVD is gently used no scratches. As advertised.

In a word: "Independance Day" meets "Groundhog Day". Good enough movie, but avoids any form of communication with the alien invaders. It has become a given in recent alien invasion movies that the aliens are systematically hostile and simply do not bother communicating in any fashion with us mere Earthlings. I wonder whether this attempts to represent alien contempt for humanity or the scriptwriters contempt for the moviegoers' intelligence. I believe that if all the visiting races were so hostile, we wouldn't still be here watching such militaristic oversimplifications of possible first contacts. The truth is most likely to be much more complex. But, hey!, that's mere entertainment! And as such, I suppose it delivers.