Saturday 1 August 2015

Edge of Tomorrow

Sky are currently playing a Tom Cruise season which gave me the opportunity to re watch Edge of Tomorrow a fantastic SciFi movie with a new twist. The earth is invaded by an alien species and a war is ongoing to try and defeat these invincible beings. Maj. Bill Cage is sent on what appears as a suicide mission but gets killed almost straight away - game over? No, he is stuck in a time loop.



Aided by Emily Blunt ( Rita Vrataski ) his comrade in arms they repeat the same brutal fight again and again perfecting their skills, getting further and further into the day to try and defeat the aliens. The special effects employed in this film are outstanding and very fast paced, one of the main attributes of the aliens. As the film progresses and Cage build his skills, they also learn more about the "Mimics" and how they can succeed and where to target.



Perhaps not the best Tom Cruise movie but it is up there, with lots of action and thrilling sequences supported by the great storyline. The replays that Sky organised in special channel or through on demand are an excellent way to catch up with any movies you may have missed. 

Recommend you watch this again as you will see more and understand more than the first time around, excellent.

Fury

Sometimes the movie makers try too hard and produce some dismal flops, but sometimes they revert to tried and tested formulas and come up trumps, as is the case with Fury. Brad Pitt is cast as an Amercian tank commander in World War II, a regular war story, but a great one. 

It is always very difficult to portray the realities of war, without indulging in too much graphic violence or blood and guts, yes this film has this, but in moderation and well filmed. Loyalty in war is essential and Brad Pitt's character is not only a leader by example but very loyal to his team and his orders. His team as ever in a good war movie are a bunch of misfits but who are exceptional at the tasks they perform. Losing one of the team early on, the replacement is a very young and inexperienced boy who is given little latitude in learning the skills necessary for survival. Quickly he starts to earn the commanders respect and trust eventual making his first kill when it really counts.

The film does give an insight into the life of the innocent who are caught in the middle of the fight but you are very quickly brought back to reality and the futility of war and moving on to the next mission. The climax is not to be missed. I watched this on TV but in the cinema I believe it would have many times more impressive. It is also important that you don't always need the heavyweights for a succesful casting, Brad Pitt is excellent but his relatively unknown ( to me ) co stars were superb.