I generally try not to link to writing so vastly superior to my own (read: readable), but this exceptional LA Weekly piece speaks to the last decade in Tom Cruise. The crux of the argument is simple and compelling, move beyond his personal beliefs and peccadilloes—we all have them—and forget the man jumping on the couch. It’s time to let Tom Cruise back into our hearts so he can save Big Hollywood from itself, and from us.
Tom Cruise is the last of the Movie Stars, yes with capital letters. Why do movie stars matter? The same reason a film like Edge of Tomorrow matters; as glorious as it is weightless, as gimmicky as it is sly, it serves as a reminder of the power of the blockbuster, and how remarkable Tom Cruise is even 31 years after his sock slide into our collective consciousness.
As box office returns diminish and movie studios become less risk averse, our cherished cinematic institutions careen toward the charisma vacuum. Franchises replace personalities, characters replace talent, and a reboot is more reliable than a bold idea attached to the right star. Edge of Tomorrow is not a perfect film, but it’s a damn good one. With its heady concept and dazzling execution, the film contains enough of that old star power to illuminate the majesty of the fading silver screen.
The first act of Edge of Tomorrow plays broad, just as it should. The overarching backdrop of alien invasion is heavily informed by the rise of fascism in Europe. A hybridization of WWI and WWII, up to and including references to Verdun and the Day of Days, it’s not subtle. The media, with handsome mouthpiece Cage as played by Cruise at the helm, sells the war to the public and doles out some exposition. There is even a map showing the tendrils of the alien invasion spreading across Europe. The map is colored in various, deepening shades of red, because that’s how you know it’s bad.
Who are we fighting? Well…you know…aliens. They’re like if Sonic the Hedgehog and Predator had a love child born from a coke and booze-fueled lost weekend. Oh, and the alien(s) have a time-altering defense mechanism. Described in the film as the perfect invading/war making organism, all you really need to know is conceits count for very little in the face of such Hollywood grandeur.
And what grandeur Edge of Tomorrow has to offer. Articulated in as wide and thrilling a scope as I can recall, one set piece in particular—a sequence which too many words would only spoil—left me breathless. After an aural and visual throttling, I managed to turn to my seat mate and choke out, “that was fucking awesome!” I don’t talk during movies, and I don’t write in my cusses, but it was simply that impressive. And where a tilt-o-whirl of expertly rendered action is enough to satiate my action movie tooth, EoT has tremendous substance underneath that bullet slinging exoskeleton.
From a story standpoint, this is very much a relive-the-same-day boilerplate. You know the tropes—learning everything about everyone, repeating dialogue, humorous ‘resets,’ the struggle of countless failures within the relentless cycle—it’s all there, but no less fun. The trick with this narrative device is the moral gleaned from reliving the same day again and again, and this is the only capacity where the film falls short of its potential.
Edge of Tomorrow could have gambled and cut to black before its tacked on, logic annihilating ending. The result would have been as provocative a comment on the unbroken cycle of war as Hollywood epics are likely to make. One edit away from punching through to the realm of satirical, Sci-Fi brilliance, the decision makers opted for another tack. After all, pop songs don’t soar over the credits if you’ve just piled on a heaping helping of bummer.
Emily Blunt adds strength to the film with her character’s unspoken depth etched into her striking demeanor. Bill Paxton plays a deceptively tricky role with aplomb. The surrounding cast is an ephemera of one-liners and recognizable character actors, but in the end, Edge of Tomorrow is Tom Cruise’s film.
Much like the premise of the film, and the arc of his career, success is contingent on a willingness to come unstuck from a moment and confront the cycle. Tom Cruise is no savior, but he is a pillar. A bold appointment, one whose breadth is perhaps too far reaching, but Edge of Tomorrow proves Cruise pillar enough to prop up a Hollywood blockbuster worthy of the descriptor, ‘summer.’ And pillars have an uncanny ability to withstand time’s eroding echo.
--Monte Monreal
Tom Cruise is the last of the Movie Stars, yes with capital letters. Why do movie stars matter? The same reason a film like Edge of Tomorrow matters; as glorious as it is weightless, as gimmicky as it is sly, it serves as a reminder of the power of the blockbuster, and how remarkable Tom Cruise is even 31 years after his sock slide into our collective consciousness.
As box office returns diminish and movie studios become less risk averse, our cherished cinematic institutions careen toward the charisma vacuum. Franchises replace personalities, characters replace talent, and a reboot is more reliable than a bold idea attached to the right star. Edge of Tomorrow is not a perfect film, but it’s a damn good one. With its heady concept and dazzling execution, the film contains enough of that old star power to illuminate the majesty of the fading silver screen.
The first act of Edge of Tomorrow plays broad, just as it should. The overarching backdrop of alien invasion is heavily informed by the rise of fascism in Europe. A hybridization of WWI and WWII, up to and including references to Verdun and the Day of Days, it’s not subtle. The media, with handsome mouthpiece Cage as played by Cruise at the helm, sells the war to the public and doles out some exposition. There is even a map showing the tendrils of the alien invasion spreading across Europe. The map is colored in various, deepening shades of red, because that’s how you know it’s bad.
Who are we fighting? Well…you know…aliens. They’re like if Sonic the Hedgehog and Predator had a love child born from a coke and booze-fueled lost weekend. Oh, and the alien(s) have a time-altering defense mechanism. Described in the film as the perfect invading/war making organism, all you really need to know is conceits count for very little in the face of such Hollywood grandeur.
And what grandeur Edge of Tomorrow has to offer. Articulated in as wide and thrilling a scope as I can recall, one set piece in particular—a sequence which too many words would only spoil—left me breathless. After an aural and visual throttling, I managed to turn to my seat mate and choke out, “that was fucking awesome!” I don’t talk during movies, and I don’t write in my cusses, but it was simply that impressive. And where a tilt-o-whirl of expertly rendered action is enough to satiate my action movie tooth, EoT has tremendous substance underneath that bullet slinging exoskeleton.
From a story standpoint, this is very much a relive-the-same-day boilerplate. You know the tropes—learning everything about everyone, repeating dialogue, humorous ‘resets,’ the struggle of countless failures within the relentless cycle—it’s all there, but no less fun. The trick with this narrative device is the moral gleaned from reliving the same day again and again, and this is the only capacity where the film falls short of its potential.
Edge of Tomorrow could have gambled and cut to black before its tacked on, logic annihilating ending. The result would have been as provocative a comment on the unbroken cycle of war as Hollywood epics are likely to make. One edit away from punching through to the realm of satirical, Sci-Fi brilliance, the decision makers opted for another tack. After all, pop songs don’t soar over the credits if you’ve just piled on a heaping helping of bummer.
Emily Blunt adds strength to the film with her character’s unspoken depth etched into her striking demeanor. Bill Paxton plays a deceptively tricky role with aplomb. The surrounding cast is an ephemera of one-liners and recognizable character actors, but in the end, Edge of Tomorrow is Tom Cruise’s film.
Much like the premise of the film, and the arc of his career, success is contingent on a willingness to come unstuck from a moment and confront the cycle. Tom Cruise is no savior, but he is a pillar. A bold appointment, one whose breadth is perhaps too far reaching, but Edge of Tomorrow proves Cruise pillar enough to prop up a Hollywood blockbuster worthy of the descriptor, ‘summer.’ And pillars have an uncanny ability to withstand time’s eroding echo.
--Monte Monreal
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