Today’s Prayer Focus
MOVIE REVIEW

Edge of Tomorrow

also known as “Live Die Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow”
MPA Rating: PG-13-Rating (MPA) for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, language and brief suggestive material.

Reviewed by: Raphael Vera
CONTRIBUTOR

Moral Rating: Offensive
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience: Teens Adults
Genre: Sci-Fi War Action Thriller Adaptation 3D IMAX
Length: 1 hr. 53 min.
Year of Release: 2014
USA Release: June 6, 2014 (wide—3,300+ theaters)
DVD: October 7, 2014
Copyright, Warner Bros. Picturesclick photos to ENLARGE Copyright, Warner Bros. Pictures Copyright, Warner Bros. Pictures Copyright, Warner Bros. Pictures Copyright, Warner Bros. Pictures Copyright, Warner Bros. Pictures Copyright, Warner Bros. Pictures Copyright, Warner Bros. Pictures Copyright, Warner Bros. Pictures Copyright, Warner Bros. Pictures
Relevant Issues
Copyright, Warner Bros. Pictures

Discuss the movie’s comment that there is no courage without fear

FEAR, Anxiety and Worry—What does the Bible say? Answer


What do you think of the movie’s symbolism of the futility of war—in sacrificing so many soldiers?

Aliens (extraterrestrials)

What does the Bible say about intelligent life on other planets? Answer

Are we alone in the universe? Answer

Does Scripture refer to life in space? Answer

questions and answers about the origin of life


about the novel All You Need is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka

Featuring Tom CruiseCage
Emily BluntRita
Bill PaxtonMaster Sergeant Farell
Lara Pulver … Karen Lord
Jeremy PivenCol. Walter Marx (uncredited)
Brendan GleesonGeneral Brigham
Noah Taylor … Dr. Carter
Charlotte Riley … Nance
Jonas Armstrong … Skinner
See all »
Director Doug Liman — “The Bourne Identity” 1-3, “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” “Jumper”
Producer Warner Bros.
Village Roadshow Pictures
3 Arts Entertainment
Translux
Viz Media
Distributor Distributor: Warner Brothers Pictures. Trademark logo.Warner Bros. Pictures

“Live. Die. Repeat.”

Major William Cage (Tom Cruise) is the wry face of the American military’s media relations front helping to recruit new soldiers in the war against the ultimate enemy; a shape shifting alien race that has already taken Europe and, if our forces don’t stop them soon, the rest of the world.

Emboldened by their first victory against the aliens using a newly developed exoskeleton (mechanized body armor), a retaliatory strike launching from London is planned. By no real measure a soldier, Cage, in one of Tom Cruise’s most interesting roles in years, manages to infuriate the general planning the counter offensive and ends up being forced to fight alongside the troops on invasion day. During the landing he meets the famous but stoic hero of the Battle of Verdun, Sergeant Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt) shortly before he watches her die. It will not be the last time he sees her die.

Cage gets killed within minutes of the landing, yet for reasons he does not understand he awakens back on the very day before the invasion when he first confronts the gruff Master Sergeant Farell, masterfully played with spit fire enthusiasm by Bill Paxton, and gets assigned to his doomed squad. Forced to go back to that moment every time he gets killed he manages to survive a little longer each time with a natural pre-cognizance of danger that eventually catches the knowing eye of Rita who reveals she knows exactly what is happening to him and that by working together they can use his ‘ability’ to try and save the world if only he can live, die, and repeat enough.

“Edge of Tomorrow” is a clever futuristic sci-fi action film that borrows from various time-loop stories previously done (“Groundhog Day,” “Source Code,” “Men in Black 3,” etc.), including the somewhat sick humor found in having to ‘die’ in order to ‘reset,’ and for the majority of the film finds itself unfolding much like a video game. Debatable are the merits and shortcomings of this, including some unresolved plot complications, but there are some areas of concern that need to be addressed first.

Objectionable Content

Violence: Heavy. The film begins by showing the meteorites hitting Earth and the aftermath of this is shown in the utter devastation of many cities. This is a war movie so, while mostly bloodless to avoid an “R” rating, soldiers are killed in any number of ways including; being crushed, impaled by aliens, shot, blown up, set on fire, drowning and several blow themselves up just as they are being overrun by aliens in order to give their comrades a chance. The threat of destruction is rampant throughout these scenes and will frighten younger children so please don’t consider bringing them for this reason alone.

There are also the numerous ways in which Cage dies, many of which are the result of Rita shooting him in order to reset the day while looking for a better outcome even after he only injures himself, some more serious than others (broken leg, back etc.) and one time he is covered with alien blood as it presumably melts him. Cage is also run over by a truck, however, similar to when he is shot this is all done just offscreen as is the time that he is stabbed in the leg. Dead bodies are rampant, but are only sometimes shown close up and mostly that of Sergeant Rita.

Language: Moderate. Cursing, just short of “R” level include; Sh** (6x’s), B*** or SOB (4x’s), As* or A**h*** (6x’s) and the name of God or Jesus is taken in vain three times. Other crudeness came sporadically in the form of “balls”, “hell”, “bollocks” and “bit**” was seen on a sign featuring Rita (“Full Metal B***) whenever Cage appears back at the base. Sexual innuendo is heard when one of the men in Cage’s squad talks about wishing to be with two women and during one of Cage’s later iterations he asks Rita, somewhat relevantly, about sex.

Sex/Nudity: Minor. One of the grunts in Cage’s squad likes to go ‘Au Natural’ within his exoskeleton but this is mostly implied and nothing overt is seen. Before the invasion Cage always finds Rita exercising in her mid-drift baring yoga outfit as she prepares for battle in the training room.

Lessons

The sci-fi fantasy aspect of the film dealing with being able to die and yet come back again and again until you get it right is a fantasy that has been around for a while outside of science fiction (i.e., reincarnation and some religions) so I was more than a little amused when, upon one of Cage’s first returns he asks the Sergeant, “What day is it?” and Farell jokingly says, “It’s judgment day.” This comes remarkably close to the truth that the Word of God tells us doesn’t it?

“Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment…” —Hebrews 9:27.

At least twice in the film soldiers are seen willingly give up their lives for their brothers in arms, and this was a welcome reminder on this year’s D-Day anniversary not only of our own brave men in the armed forces that often make this sacrifice but also how our Lord Jesus holds this standard up for us, even as he did for the whole world.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” —John 15:13

A pivotal turning point for the character of William Cage came after one of Rita’s deaths. His focus, resolve and selflessness truly came into being at that point. A similar change came over the main character in the original time-looping film “Groundhog Day” which was, not so coincidentally, also precipitated by a death. Amazing how true are the words of Solomon when he spoke of the surprising value of funerals in forcing us to face up to our mortality and the meaning of our lives from an eternal perspective.

“A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth” —Ecclesiastes 7:1.

“Edge of Tomorrow” brings a fan favorite concept to life within an action filled, futuristic D-Day scenario. While I did enjoy the film, I also recognize the repeating format is not for everyone and much of the screen time, necessarily dedicated to this, left the narrative, despite the drama and frenetic action, lacking in some points, including the end. Visually stunning, but jarringly violent, this is a film that is sure to please age appropriate fans of the genre and others just happy to go along for the ride.

Violence: Heavy to extreme / Profanity: Heavy / Sex/Nudity: Moderate

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.


Viewer CommentsSend your comments
Positive
Positive—I will start with the reason for a “better than average” moral rating. This is a movie about war, so death and carnage are realistic parts of the story. For the same reason, cussing is common on the battlefield. This is not to say that violence or foul language are “okay,” but a sanitized war movie would be offensive in its own right. That being said, these negatives were not in any way over the top. In ways I will explain, I consider this movie almost excellent.

During the portrayal of the central character’s transformation through the (probably) thousands of repeats of this horrendous day, I see a useful demonstration of Biblical values. “The son the Father loves, He chastises.” The character portrayed by Tom Cruise finds himself as the person who has a unique job, and this weak and sinful man chooses to rise to the occasion. How many people find themselves at a point in their lives that the future looks hopeless, and they simply choose to give up? How many never even try to fight the good fight. I could relate to the main character at so many stages in the movie: the weak and sinful coward; the naive fool; the dispirited old soldier who is just too tired to continue fighting.

I found this movie personally encouraging, as we are all enmeshed in a spiritual war that can cause anyone to want to give up or give in. But this man chose to continue fighting, no matter the hope of winning, even though he would never receive any credit whatsoever for his efforts and sacrifices. A Christian worldview is so much more than whether a movie has cuss words, etc. I left the theater wanting to do better, to fight harder, and to not give up. I hope this has the same effect on you.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Henry, age 62 (USA)
Positive—Live, die, repeat. And it works. After being so often disappointed (such as “Transformers”) and underwhelmed (even X-Men), I found “Edge of Tomorrow” to be a witty, fast paced, well acted, creative and visually realistic entertaining ride. I personally enjoy multi-dimensional films with their own internal logic (“The Adjustment Bureau” and “Source Code” come to mind), and “Edge of Tomorrow” continues that genre. Although not completely escaping the Hollywood script stereotype, this story is far from one-dimensional.

Tom Cruise is the reluctant hero, and you can almost feel his weariness trying to overcome never ending frustrations and loss over and over. This a character who has to persevere, change, learn and grow. Plus the action is crisp, and the CGI is blended into dramatic set pieces, not looking just like a big video game for a change. There is violence (this is not a children’s movie), but not gory and graphic, like so many films, nothing like “The Matrix,” for example.

There is even a tastefully developed romance as a side plot. Recommended.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
Todd Adams, age 46 (Canada)
Positive—In one sentence—imagine “Groundhog Day,” except in a war film with Tom Cruise. You get this. This movie has a good plot, Tom Cruise is excellent acting, as always, and there is intense action, nice bits of humor, very good plot, and excellent character development/dialogue. Overall, I would recommend this as better than most films.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Andrew Benson, age 22 (USA)
Positive—This is a war movie, about battling space aliens. You have to expect death. The gore was kept to a minimum and is almost non-existent. The Lord’s Name is profaned several times. People talk like soldiers talk. The special effects are very good, and it is a suspenseful movie. I’m a sci-fi fan, and I like Cruise in a movie. I liked the movie.

Of course, I didn’t like the language and am thankful it did not saturate the movie. If you like sci-fi, and you like movies about fighting bad aliens, then I think you will like this movie. And I liked the way the “good guys” persevere.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Maggie, age 67 (USA)
Positive—Great writing!! This is a well-told story, with action from start to finish. There are no boring parts, but there are a lot of “laugh out loud” moments. Although I’m not a fan of Tom Cruise, I admit that he did an excellent job with this movie… couldn’t have picked a better actor.

My husband and I are in disagreement over the outcome of the movie in the last scene, so I’ll leave that to you. This movie is not for children! Also, the review writer above failed to mention that the “au natural” guy has a naked butt for just a second in the film. I was surprised to see so many swear words listed in the review above. In the car, on the way home, I was trying to think what to write for my own review, but I didn’t remember hearing that many swear words. I usually pick up on that sort of thing, but then again… this IS a war movie.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Chrystal, age 37 (USA)
Neutral
Neutral—This movie had great action, suspense, and the 3D was ridiculous; this movie was truly made for 3D, which I have seen few movies that really are. And, yes, Tom’s acting was better then I have seen.

I gave a neutral, of course, because of the storyline, him dying and coming back to life getting a chance to live carelessly and just come back and do it all over again, that unfortunately continues to promote the New Age movement that is out there with reincarnation. Now, if you can watch it and not get clouded by that, that can be different.

And the creatures that are trying to kill them, the aliens are very freaky and scary looking, I would never let a kid see this movie. Not a ton of outright killing, like many action flicks, but the aliens are constantly trying to kill them, and the 3D is so intense you feel like you are right there. Could certainly give nightmares to younger people and, shoot, even adults! We certainly don’t want to contribute to feeling fear, either, since it’s so big and so real in the movie. See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Stephanie Smith, age 39 (USA)
Comments from young people
Positive—I saw this movie with my dad and brothers, and we loved it! …I thought it was a lot cleaner than most PG-13 movies. There was no sex or Lord’s name in vain, and that’s all that matters to me. The violence in this movie was pretty clean… no blood and most of the brutal deaths are off screen. So in saying that I wouldn’t bring a child under twelve to see this movie. I thought Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt did an amazing job, and I think if you are into alien movies… you’ll love this!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Meaghan, age 15 (USA)

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