2014's "Live. Die. Repeat." (formerly known as
“Edge of Tomorrow”), directed by Doug Liman.
Starring Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan
Gleeson, Noah Taylor, Charlotte Riley, Franz Drameh, Kick Gurry, Tony Way, and
Jonas Armstrong.
What is it about?
We meet Cruise, an American Major in the military, promoting
mankind's latest defence, a type of super soldier exo-suit, in the planet's war
against alien invaders. Cruise is summoned to London, where his rank is
stripped by general Brendan Gleeson, and he is sent to the one place where he
never thought that he would be: fighting in the siege of a beach in the pivotal
battle against the aliens. The battle is more like a slaughter, with the aliens
knowing that the humans are coming, and superior in every way. Cruise,
unfamiliar with the fighting suits that he has been endlessly promoting, does predictably
poorly in the field. However, immediately after dying, he wakes up roughly 24
hours earlier, back at the base. Baffled, Cruise continues to end up on the
beach, dying in the same battle every day. He eventually connects with Emily
Blunt, “The Angel of Verdonne”. Blunt came to prominence in a previous battle
with the aliens, and we discover that it was because she had the same condition
Cruise has- where she re-lived the same 24 hours repeatedly, and shared a
connection with the aliens. Because of this alien connection, Cruise starts to
have visions, leaving him, Blunt, and a Doctor (Noah Taylor) to decipher how to
defeat the aliens. Problematically, we learn that the aliens can see into
Cruise too, and the race for survival of the species is on.
Why is it worth seeing?
Hollywood blockbusters can feel awfully tedious at times.
Unoriginal, recycled pabulum that will be forgotten quickly, a “Groundhog Day”
scenario designed to dominate weekend openings before quickly disappearing.
Except, "LDR" IS "Groundhog Day", with a healthy dose of
"Saving Private Ryan" and
a smidgeon of "Aliens".
Based off of the Japanese novel, “All You Need Is Kill”, by
Hiroshi Sakurazaka, “LDR” is a refreshing mix of comedy and action. Those who
don’t care for Cruise could get a lot out of a viewing here: we get to watch
him die many times, his female-like screams calling out, before re-spawning
again for more. And everyone else? This is comedic gold. As Cruise begins to
develop feelings for the hyper efficient Blunt, he is unable to act on them, as
every time he sees her, it’s for the first time again.
Introducing some tension, as we watch the characters master
their environments and propel further into the story, it becomes exciting to
wonder when the characters will have done something that they have not done
before (sample dialogue for a sequel: “Have we died yet?”). While “LDR” doesn’t
hit the same existential heights that 1993’s “Groundhog Day” does (few can),
it’s fresh science fiction themes are a shock to the system of action films,
making it entertaining as heck. “LDR” is probably the most video game-like film
that isn’t based on a video game, since 2010’s “Scott Pilgrim Vs the World”. It’s
ironic it would take a film about a character stuck in a time loop, reliving
the same day over and over, to point out how stale a lot of other films can be.
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