Netflix seems to be really upping the ante when it comes to science fiction recently. Not only have we been treated to season 6 of Black Mirror, we've also had the Netflix Original They Cloned Tyrone, the 2016 epic Arrival and now a third brilliant movie is joining the line-up. Another reason it's one of the best streaming services.
Arriving on the 5th of September, Edge of Tomorrow (formerly known as Live.Die.Repeat) is one of the most fascinating movies in Tom Cruise's filmography. With a 91% Rotten Tomatoes score it also happens to be one of the most well recieved.
It might look like just a typical alien shooting flick but in Edge of Tomorrow, death isn't the end. Tom Cruise's Bill Cage finds himself in a timeloop, resetting every time he is killed by an alien 'Mimic' and waking up at... Heathrow Airport (has he not suffered enough!). Think Groundhog Day meets Saving Private Ryan with a hint of Independence Day thrown in. That's quite the cocktail.
Unlike the Mission Impossible franchise where Cruise is essentially Superman, it's refreshing to see him play a character who starts the movie without any combat skills. It is only through training with Emily Blunt's Rita Vrataski that he gets his battlefield chops.
Cage's repeated attempts to triumph in the same battle give the film a real sense of a video game boss battle, in the best way, with him getting just a bit further each time. It is also surprisingly not deadly serious, (remember that Groundhog Day comparison?) with Cage's awkward attempts at flirting particularly funny.
Based on the Japanese novel All You Need is Kill, this is a genuinely unique take on the sci-fi blockbuster that you owe it to yourself to try. It also is one of the last few movies featuring the legendary Bill "Game over man!" Paxton. Talk of a sequel to the 2014 original has been rife recently and although not confirmed, Emily Blunt has been vocal in her support for a follow up. Fingers crossed.
