Live. Die. Repeat.
A movie review on ‘Edge of Tomorrow’
From console to silver screens
The Tom cruise showcase, Edge of Tomorrow, represents an ingenious admission that, while there’s nothing new under the umbrella of genre cinema, recycling can still be a creative option and that, if you’re going to do it, you might as well do it blatantly.
It is the ultimate manifestation but of video-game cinema. Not because it’s based on a game, on the contrary, the source material of Doug Liman’s extra-terrestrial extravaganza is Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s 2004 graphic novel “All You Need Is Kill”. Rather, it’s because no film has ever so fully and enthusiastically embraced both the hallmark forms and content of games.
Describing a movie as akin to a video game has become ubiquitous and with understandable reason — for the past decade or so, they have become increasingly enthralled by the medium’s aesthetic and narrative devices. Equating the two has made it easy for the audience to conclude that the movie will comprise -lots of empty CGI chaos and little character development. However, any substantive analysis of recent efforts-heavy studio pictures reveals that the two art forms have become far more conjoined than that, in fact, that movies are now routinely engulfed in story setups and stylistic signatures borrowed directly from Xbox and PlayStation hits.
Edge of Tomorrow takes this cross over to its furthest point yet. First and foremost, Liman’s story is itself a direct expression of the video-game experience. Forced to relive the same day ad infinitum, Cage trains with a famous warrior, Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt), as well as memorizes the tactics of his enemies. Consequently, his situation directly emulates action-oriented video games, in which success is determined by replaying the same scenarios over and over, both in order to hone one’s skills and also to learn enemies’ pre-programmed behavioral patterns. The video-game death sequence requires going back to a prior checkpoint and trying again is identical to Cage’s stuck-in-time circumstance. When Cruise injures himself or hits a roadblock, Rita must kill him so he’ll start over again; she even refers to the process, in video-game terms, as a “reset”, which sums up the similarities.
As such, Edge of Tomorrow’s very narrative structure is explicitly designed to portray gaming and its “try, try again” methodology. Nevertheless, that’s only the most blatant way the film adopts interactive tropes.
That’s not it, Liman’s unstable handheld cinematography is the same stunt that he and others have been employing ever since Call of Duty confirmed that a volatile, in-your-face vantage point resulted in a heightened sense of concurrence and realism.
Rita is something like an ideal Xbox Live ally, maybe not as familiar with the game as you are, but immensely talented at the genre, and eager to tag-team up against daunting waves of foes. Meanwhile, Edge of Tomorrow’s background players, a motley crew of grunts who become Cage and Rita’s backup, prove to be colorful peripheral figures like those AI-operated soldiers who offer occasional support and deliver a funny dialogue (often via the voices of cameoing movie stars) in Call of Duty and its ilk.
In these regards, Edge of Tomorrow amalgamates countless conventions — shifting POVs, CG human-versus-alien imagery and action, multiplayer, slow-motion, mecha weaponry, on-foot and vehicular sequences, and an experience rooted in triumph through repetition — that are fundamental to video games. Cruise and Liman’s film melds them all into one coherent, compelling whole.
Filming:
The movie was filmed at Leavesden Studios in London, the same place where “Harry Potter” was filmed. Principal photography began at the beach in Leavesden studios which was reminiscent of World War II’s coastal battle “Invasion of Normandy” and the “Battle of Dunkirk”. The studio was surrounded with Chromakey screens so that the visual effects could expand its horizon. The battlefield was filmed by a 35millimeter film instead of a digital camera so that the battlefield has a realistic feel to it. Consequently, many filmmakers got inspired by 35mm filmmaking strategy. They were primarily influenced by Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan”.
Book and Film:
There are two similarities between the characters, whose name is the first day of a nervous rookie, but the name of the book is “Keiji” and also called “killer cage”. The character Rita is played by Emily blunt whose name from the book is Valkyrie with a nickname “Angle of Death”. The whole image reminded me very much of Joan of Arc, the “Maid of Orleans” and her activities during the hundred years war.
The mimics in the comics are like a moth which is of a spherical shape and sharp teethes which was portrayed as eating the whole earth and drinking water and spitting it as a toxic substance whereas in the movie it was shown as a glass-like object with tentacle killing machine.
Time Loop:
Based on the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics, in the movie “Groundhog Day” creating a day again and again with multiple possibilities which is so-called in as many worlds. The movie cage repeats the day again and again because of the mimic’s alpha blood and the giant and interconnected organisms. The alpha mimics acts as the CNS controlling the mimic drones. These alpha mimics return the information to be processed by the omega mimic. Their loop continues so as, when each time an alpha dies, the omega rolls the clock back 24 hours. So basically it acts as a run-back mechanism knowing the opponent’s strategy and modifying their own strategy to attain victory.
Here are a few interesting points to be noted regarding the “making of this film”:
1.The Suits Were Based Heavily On Real Designs
Today’s science fiction movies are guilty of being totally overboard on the fictional aspect while neglecting the scientific part of the equation.
Alternatively, in this movie, the suits were designed considering the scientific applications leaving behind the fictional aspects and are said to be as good as those built by DARPA.
The armored suits weren’t just out of cheap plastic or Styrofoam, if given more time they would be functional even in the real world.
Emily Blunt was emotionally crushed when she was strapped in the 85 pounds suit for the 1st time, realizing that she would have to wear it for months.
2.An Alternate Ending Was Filmed Where The Humans Lose
According to co-writer Christopher McQuarrie, another ending was framed that involved a much darker fate for the human race.
The climax of which involved a human soldier accidentally eliminating an alpha during the final battle — despite being warned by Cage not to do so, insisting that the aliens had an upper hand.
3.It Was Filmed At The Same Place As Harry Potter
The entire film was shot exclusively in England and the role of studios was highly considered due to the extreme weather conditions.
Warner Bros apparently bought the entire Leavesden studio after the shooting of all eight Harry Potter Movies.
Why Doug Liman was the best choice for directing this film:
Over the years, Doug has created and delivered numerous films in the action genre and has developed a penchant for excellence along the way. His movies usually have an ensemble cast and have done well in the box office. His best works include Mr. & Mrs. Smith, starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as married couples surprised to learn that they are assassins hired to kill each other. This movie also established Pitt and Jolie’s relationship besides being a box office hit. Liman has also directed the action thriller “The Bourne Identity” adapted from a book of the same name. This movie was the first installment in the Bourne franchise and subsequently, 4 movies were made. Liam produced the sequels but didn’t direct them. This movie made Matt Damon a star and he said that choosing this movie was the most rewarding step in his career.
Many people, fans and critics alike agree that Edge of tomorrow is a brilliant movie and is underappreciated. This movie was unlike any other and is surely one of the best movies in the sci-fi genre. The effort to make things look realistic in a post-apocalyptic world despite having a high budget is just amazing. The attention to detail, the costumes, the visual effects, lighting and cinematography were off the charts. The Heathrow airport and several other locations in London were cordoned off to the public to film this movie on numerous occasions. These small things display the dedication and commitment of Doug Liam and were what this movie made a success.
It is unimaginably hard to adapt a Book/ Japanese Manga novel into a movie. Till date, all anime/manga movie adaptations, both Japanese and English have seen criticism and have performed poorly in the commercial aspects. Barring a select few (The Matrix, Ready player one, Fight club, etc), sci-fi adaptations are regarded as a challenging and uncertain task even by the best of the best directors. Doug Liman has not let us down and has delivered a masterpiece. He has certainly left us wanting more and we are awaiting updates for a long-overdue sequel to this brilliant film.
