Cinema
Edge of Tomorrow
POSTED BY: JEWELSTAITEFAN
UPDATED: Saturday, October 18, 2025 16:24
VIEWED: 42006
PAGE 5 of 22
Friday, July 4, 2014 2:40 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by MAL4PREZ:
Has no one else gone to see this?
Hey, I'm in large part overjoyed at the poor ratings because I want to see the Cult Man's movie returns go to crap as a message of what the USA thinks of his cult way of living. FAIL you Scientology freak LOL! Get a real life before you try selling us a movie!
And yet... The goodness of this movie is not the the lead actor cult freak with the nice hair. I'm sad to say that anyone who avoids this movie based on Tom Cruise disgust is really missing something worthwhile, something created by a whole bunch of non-cult folks who deserve recognition.
If only they had cast it differently, I would love this movie all out.
*sigh*
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I took my brother to see this while on vacation and he really liked it. Now, you have to understand, my brother is a very discerning moviegoer, plus he's not a big Tom Cruise fan. Actually he likes movies that have a plot and story. I told him little, other than the fact it was funny and entertaining. He went on my recommendation, but begrudgingly so.
I could tell he liked it because we recited some of the more funny lines and scenes in the movie, plus, and this was a big one for him, we discussed the ending. We both were not satisfied.......me, I wanted it to be told from a different point of view (no spoilers) and he was questioning the helicopter scene. Why there? (For those who've seen it, you know what I'm talking about. If not, send me a message).
T'was better the second time around.
SGG
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Friday, July 4, 2014 3:34 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by ecgordon:
I did go to see it a couple of weeks ago, and I liked it. Not sure why it took so long to write my review.
http://templetongate.net/edgeoftomorrow.htm
Hey EC,
I really appreciate your review and found myself nodding in agreement throughout. What I liked most is how you broke it down and explained the premise. It was pretty much that way in the film by primarily using humor and wit to peel away the onion layers. Bravo to the screenwriters, and director, for using that technique wisely sprinkling the action with those bits. It never felt forced or contrived, but cleverly revealed setting up the next and keeping the audience on it's toes. We knew it was coming, but we didn't know what.
I especially agree with 2 things you bring up:
1- Tom Cruise looked a bit old, particularly in the opening sequence
2- I did not like the ending, I wanted a different point of view
(I don't want to give any spoilers here)
You make a good point in that perhaps Channing Tatum (I'm happy to see he's in Jupiter Ascending) or Ryan Gosling would have been a better, or a younger choice (Plus the fact that Oblivion sort of bombed). Might I suggest: Joseph Gordon-Levitt (33), Taylor Kitsch (also 33) or Jake Gyllenhaal (34).
But, I must admit, I found the chemistry between Cruise and Blunt to be very strong. By the way, Emily Blunt, as Vrataski, could kick my ass any day - What a woman warrior. She reminded me of Zoe; with that no-nonsense, take-no-prisoners, out of my way attitude. She totally fit the casting as the Full Metal Bitch. I know that it's not politically correct to say the B word referring to the character of the female persuasion, but, in this case, it's meant as a compliment. I do prefer the "Angel of Verdun" it lends a type of mystical quality to her character - much like Joan of Arc. I contend that the ending would have been better had they used Orleans as the backdrop for the final battle instead of the Louvre. But that's me.
I agree wholeheartedly about Bill Paxton, he should get a Supporting Actor in a comedy nod (perhaps the Golden Globes). He was absolutely brilliant as Master Sargent Farrell.
By the way, I read an article that said there was some trouble finishing the script with some disagreement on how to end the film. One scenario had a rather bleak final outcome. And in another article, Sean O'Connell of Cinema Blend wrote that Tom Cruise pushed for the comedy and happy ending. He also intimates that American movie goers didn't even give this movie a chance, $85 million, but overseas it's making a killing $234 million. I thought the D-day reference would have drawn in both on an equal footing, but c'est la vie.
SGG
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Friday, July 4, 2014 4:05 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
I could tell he liked it because we recited some of the more funny lines and scenes in the movie, plus, and this was a big one for him, we discussed the ending. We both were not satisfied.......me, I wanted it to be told from a different point of view (no spoilers) and he was questioning the helicopter scene. Why there? (For those who've seen it, you know what I'm talking about. If not, send me a message).
T'was better the second time around.
SGG
Do you mean why did the Omega select the location of the helicopter scene for it's significance? I thought that was explained well.
You wanted the ending to be told from a different point of view, or the whole film? From a different character's PoV? What?
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Friday, July 4, 2014 5:08 AM
Hi all. Haven't had a chance to write a good reply here, especially since I burned out my laptop. :/. But now due to yet another wiring problem on the lovely .$@#ing metro north, I'm going to be stuck on this stupid train for some time.
So - SGG, sorry I never replied to your post way up. Yes, we saw it much the same. Except I'm confused as to what you meant by the hero seeing his truth. And what was your quibble with the aliens?
Maybe we need some spoiler discussion re the ending...
Select to view spoiler:
What irks people? Do we mean Paris? Or that it backed up one extra day after the omega was killed so that d-day never happened? Or that on the final timeline our hero never actually talked to our FMB?
Honestly, I kind of liked how it cut off. I like imagining him explaining it all to her, and her reaction. That would be fun, but couldn't be done in the film. Nice thing to imagine while leaving the theater.
As for backing up a day, it made sense. It totally fit into the arc that he didn't deserve his rank and uniform initially, but after all his heroics he did, and his cowardly act of desertion was wiped out. Yes, it was very pat and neat. But it fit the arc. I too want to read the story it was based on and see what happened there.
So I agree that there is something annoying about how tight and happy-happy it all was, which is what I meant in my first review. I can't explain it, but I prefer to be left a little more... Not confused, but something like that. It was just too neat. But I can't really fault it because it was all explained and set up very well.
So, on to the casting. Emily Blunt = perfection. No doubt there.
Tom... Well, actually, he was quite good. I don't think he's too old at all. It fit the plot that the character had to be an untrained noob, but smart and of high rank, and his history as an adman was funny and fit well. It totally worked in terms of him being so dislikable at first, so I could get over how much I don't like the actor. I like to think that wasn't an accident. The writers knew.
But I don't see much else as a plot adjustment made just so they could cast Tom. The age thing, I mean. It was basic to the story that he had to be a dork with absolutely no combat training to start. How else could that be true of a grunt? And him being high rank allowed as to meet the top commander guy at the beginning. A grunt wouldn't get that. And if he wasn't a noob, we wouldn't need all those great training scenes with the FMB. (I like that name lol!)
My problem is my own bias, really. Tom played it perfectly. I can't fault him, don't know who else I'd cast there. I just hate the idea of providing any kind of support to this despiccable man. I don't think the movie would be better with a different male lead, but I'd feel better about liking it.
The only name I'd throw out there is Jeremy Renner, but that's only because I had a wicked crush on him for a while. :) until he sucked in the avengers, that is.
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Tuesday, July 8, 2014 1:18 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by MAL4PREZ:
Hi all. Haven't had a chance to write a good reply here, especially since I burned out my laptop. :/. But now due to yet another wiring problem on the lovely .$@#ing metro north, I'm going to be stuck on this stupid train for some time.
So - SGG, sorry I never replied to your post way up. Yes, we saw it much the same. Except I'm confused as to what you meant by the hero seeing his truth. And what was your quibble with the aliens?
Maybe we need some spoiler discussion re the ending...Select to view spoiler:
What irks people? Do we mean Paris? Or that it backed up one extra day after the omega was killed so that d-day never happened? Or that on the final timeline our hero never actually talked to our FMB?
Honestly, I kind of liked how it cut off. I like imagining him explaining it all to her, and her reaction. That would be fun, but couldn't be done in the film. Nice thing to imagine while leaving the theater.
As for backing up a day, it made sense. It totally fit into the arc that he didn't deserve his rank and uniform initially, but after all his heroics he did, and his cowardly act of desertion was wiped out. Yes, it was very pat and neat. But it fit the arc. I too want to read the story it was based on and see what happened there.
So I agree that there is something annoying about how tight and happy-happy it all was, which is what I meant in my first review. I can't explain it, but I prefer to be left a little more... Not confused, but something like that. It was just too neat. But I can't really fault it because it was all explained and set up very well.
So, on to the casting. Emily Blunt = perfection. No doubt there.
My problem is my own bias, really. Tom played it perfectly. I can't fault him, don't know who else I'd cast there. I just hate the idea of providing any kind of support to this despiccable man. I don't think the movie would be better with a different male lead, but I'd feel better about liking it.
The only name I'd throw out there is Jeremy Renner, but that's only because I had a wicked crush on him for a while. :) until he sucked in the avengers, that is.
Althought I'm a TC fan, would you have considered Bill Paxton or Michael Biehn in the lead role? Jason Statham? Matt Damon? Ryan Reynolds - maybe too much funny? John Cho, channeling Sulu?
As I'm trying to think of others in the role, that "helmet gets in the way" line is a killer.
What was FMB?
SPOILER DISCUSSION ALERT
Her reaction would have been the same as in the film. No different. Each time in the film, in fact - her reaction was the same each time.
Cowardly act of desertion?? When was that? How did he do that?
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Tuesday, July 8, 2014 5:33 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Althought I'm a TC fan, would you have considered Bill Paxton or Michael Biehn in the lead role? Jason Statham? Matt Damon? Ryan Reynolds - maybe too much funny? John Cho, channeling Sulu?
-Bill Paxton was perfect in the role he had. I wouldn't move him.
-Matt Damon maybe. He's got acting chops, both in comedy and action.
-The others you mention I don't know well enough to guess.
In general, I almost always prefer an unknown. I think there are enough talented people out there that I'd prefer less recycling and more chances to see a fresh face that hasn't already played countless characters. I could believe them more easily if I didn't have those previous roles in mind. But casting is as much about marketing as it is making a good movie, so a larger pool of lead actors will never happen. The audience as a whole buys into big names they already know and like.
Which, ironically, is IMHO the reason this rather excellent film flopped in the US. Too much :/ about Tom and his cult kept people away, fearing this was another Battlefield Earth.
Quote:Yeah, Tom did well at going from wimpy coward to bad-ass soldier. I'll give him that. He played both sides very well.
As I'm trying to think of others in the role, that "helmet gets in the way" line is a killer.
Quote:
What was FMB?
Full Metal Beeatch
SPOILER DISCUSSION ALERT
**more spoilers added by m4p
Quote:I lost this - what are you referring to?
Her reaction would have been the same as in the film. No different. Each time in the film, in fact - her reaction was the same each time.
Oh, the ending. Right. But come on, in the final ending it's totally different. There's no action to be taken, no chance for them to see the attack happen and take part in it, just a big huge victory to be enjoyed though they have no direct experience of it. Imagine Cage and FMB and the science guy going for a cup of coffee or a beer or likely both, with a few meals in between, while he told them the whole story of how the three of them, and J squad, won the war.
In fact, if I was going to write this thing as a short story, (not as a novel probably, that'd be a stretch) I would tell it that way. Imagine being one of those other two and hearing about everything you did, of what a hero you are, though you have no memory of it and no one else will ever know about it. That's a good yarn.
Quote:Really? All that wriggling to get out of going to the beach with the first wave, including trying to blackmail the general, then running from the MPs, then trying to play Paxton's sargeant, then trying to run while loading up on the attack transport, then running yet a third time from the beach? The writers couldn't have tried harder to sell what a coward this man was!
Cowardly act of desertion?? When was that? How did he do that?
You can't really like TC enough to have missed what a complete loser his character was at the beginning of the film, can you?
It was a little out of control at the end, pushing the point that he'd finally earned his rank. He goes to find FMB, and the always noble French horns take over the soundtrack as all the other soldiers come to attention as he enters the room. Compare this to the first time he came in as a private and they all gave him the evil eye.
Message from the whiny French horns: he's now really a Major. Atten-hut and give him the respect he deserves cause now he deserves it!
Yeah, that moment was a bit cheesy.
(I've never been a fan of French horns in movie soundtracks. I'm looking at you, LoTR.)
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Tuesday, July 8, 2014 6:21 AM
SPOILER ALERT
THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS
Quote:
Originally posted by MAL4PREZ:Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Althought I'm a TC fan, would you have considered Bill Paxton or Michael Biehn in the lead role? Jason Statham? Matt Damon? Ryan Reynolds - maybe too much funny? John Cho, channeling Sulu?
-Bill Paxton was perfect in the role he had. I wouldn't move him.
-Matt Damon maybe. He's got acting chops, both in comedy and action.
-The others you mention I don't know well enough to guess.
Biehn - Terminator (Kyle Reese, father of JC), Aliens (Cpl Hicks)?
John Cho - Star Trek reboot (Sulu)
recognize them?
Quote:Quote:
As I'm trying to think of others in the role, that "helmet gets in the way" line is a killer.
Yeah, Tom did well at going from wimpy coward to bad-ass soldier. I'll give him that. He played both sides very well.
SPOILER DISCUSSION ALERT
**more spoilers added by m4pQuote:I lost this - what are you referring to?
Her reaction would have been the same as in the film. No different. Each time in the film, in fact - her reaction was the same each time.
Oh, the ending. Right. But come on, in the final ending it's totally different.
No, not to her, or the science guy. She has no memories of all the other times, every single time he reboots, every time she must take him at his word, she is the only one who truly knows how it goes, she knows he is not BSing her, but the science guy might need her to convince him. Every single time she knows she would have told him to find her after he woke up that time 2,000 reboots ago. The end would be no different for her, just the same as every other time that didn't happen for her, just like every other time he had to give her the synopsis - he probably had it down to a boilerplate before long. She would KNOW he was telling the truth, and nothing she could do would change anything. She would KNOW that he was gracing her with the knowledge that he alone possessed, to the degree that he wont, or not. EVERY SINGLE TIME he rebooted, she HAD TO take him at his word, and she KNEW that was how it would be.
There would be no victory celebration because he could not tell anybody but her and the science guy, nobody else would understand.
Quote:
There's no action to be taken, no chance for them to see the attack happen and take part in it, just a big huge victory to be enjoyed though they have no direct experience of it. Imagine Cage and FMB and the science guy going for a cup of coffee or a beer or likely both, with a few meals in between, while he told them the whole story of how the three of them, and J squad, won the war.
Yes, that is how it would be.
Quote:
In fact, if I was going to write this thing as a short story, (not as a novel probably, that'd be a stretch) I would tell it that way. Imagine being one of those other two and hearing about everything you did, of what a hero you are, though you have no memory of it and no one else will ever know about it. That's a good yarn.
Correct, but think of the tension KNOWING this was no mere yarn, it really happened, and she is the only one who understands this, and how much did he leave out?
Quote:Quote:Really? All that
Cowardly act of desertion?? When was that? How did he do that?
No.
No. The General was being an ass. You might think of it as "first wave" and write them off. But those were supposed to be trained guys. He was not, absolutely not. He was wasting a suit/armor thing. He absolutely should not have been there. You might think him being shanghai'd was reasonable, but that reeks of Criminal acts under the UCMJ. He was trying to be reasonable. The general falsified documents, falsely accused him of desertion, framed him, the General was the weasel and coward. Not Cage.
Once on the beach, what do you expect him to do? He is not allowed to unsafe his "weapon" and knows he has been i
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Tuesday, July 8, 2014 7:45 AM
Yeah, gotta disagree with you about everything. The human race is at war, here's a guy actively involved in getting people to put their lives on the line, and yet he's unwilling to take any kind of chance himself, coddled and protected though he may be? COWARD is not an insulting enough word. Hypocrite either.
You clearly disagree JSF, but I'll bet you sweet coinage that the writers of this movie agree with me more than you. They went out of their way to show it. Cage did not earn that rank, not until he went through the training and the combat. He was not a soldier at the start, he was a poser. He wasn't a true Major until he went through the sweet crucible...
Did you not listen to Paxton?
“You’re a coward and a liar putting your life above theirs. The good news is there’s hope for you, private. Hope in the form of glorious combat. Battle is the great redeemer. The fire and crucible in which the only true heroes are forged. The one place where all men truly share the same rank, regardless of what kind of parasitic scum they were going in. … I envy you, Cage. Tomorrow morning you will be baptized — born again.”
That line is not accident, JSF. It is the theme of the movie! Good lord, open your eyes!
Or try this reviewer:
http://douglasernstblog.com/2014/06/08/edge-of-tomorrow-through-readin
ess-and-discipline-tom-cruise-has-made-a-solid-sci-fi-movie/
Like ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past,’ Cruise’s ‘Edge of Tomorrow’ wants us to know that people can change. It is possible to turn a cowardly liar into a courageous hero. It is possible to overcome seemingly impossible odds. “Through readiness and discipline we are masters of our fate.”
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Tuesday, July 8, 2014 7:56 AM
Tell you what else JSF: instead of getting into some silly "I'm right, no I'm right" here, let's wait until the DVD with all the extras comes out. Let's watch the commentary and such, and then let's see what the writers, directors, and actors have to say about the arc of TC's character.
What do you say?
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Wednesday, July 9, 2014 2:24 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by MAL4PREZ:
Tell you what else JSF: instead of getting into some silly "I'm right, no I'm right" here, let's wait until the DVD with all the extras comes out. Let's watch the commentary and such, and then let's see what the writers, directors, and actors have to say about the arc of TC's character.
What do you say?
In case you are interested, I'll try to explain some things.
Also, if using films and screenwriters as accurate comprehenders of military such as the ludicrous Few Good Men as our standard, then don't read further and stay in the fantasy world.
Do you think that a doctor, an MD, should be placed in command of a combat battalion? Even if he is a Colonel? Even if he has never attended War College or Potential Command Course? If he were, his battalion would be massacred at the first exchange of fire. He is not trained for the combat, he has been trained for the medical application of his talents and knowledge. Do you think military personnel respect him less because he is not "earned" rank, as you imply? The combat injured would much rather have a War College graduate without a smidgen of medical training cut him open and repair his insides? A person would have to be insane to suggest either.
MDs are not placed in command of combat units, infantry units, tanks, air or sea squadrons unless they are separately trained for those tasks and commands. That would be disasterous for all concerned, and the military would fail along with the government behind it.
JDs are not placed in command of combat units for the same reason, yet doctors and JAG officers raise in rank. Those are earned rank, regardless of what you wish to claim.
Magor Cage was not trained in combat tactics, techniques, strategy, just like JAGs and Medical Officers are not, unless they specifically pursue those courses. He has no business being in command of any size or level of combat unit, as the criminally despicable General assigned him to be, at least until he has had some training and experience at command, yet he has earned his rank.
The reason the Sgt said all that was because he had been given a stack of lies, a frame-up of a deserter profile, which had no basis in fact. He was lied to about the training and capabilities Cage had, although he had not had any.
Any reasonable person should be able to understand this.
If I was not clear, please point out what I didn't explain.
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