Between the months of May—or, if we follow the ever-increasing trend of
cinematic
climate change, much earlier than that—and August, I go through an
intensive exercise of willful suspension of expectations whenever I set foot in
a theater. Summer Movie Season, or better yet SUMMER MOVIE SEASON in all caps,
is easily dismissed as a period of shameless studio profiteering in which the
industry churns out dime-a-dozen spectacle films that cost a hell of a lot more
than a dime. They’re too big, too loud, too expensive, too reverent to the
altar of the lowest common denominator, too dependent on slick special effects
and not enough so on narrative and character. I bemoan how otherwise gifted
stars spend their estivate months squandering their talents in Hollywood products
addicted to and addled by computer-generated monsters, robots, and explosions.
Then, every once in a while, something like Edge of Tomorrow comes along, and my faith in the mainstream, commercial
American movie industry is renewed. I saw the film the Friday it came out. On
Sunday, I had a 13-hour trans-Atlantic flight to get through. My first priority
was not making sure I had a window seat, low-sodium meals on the plane, enough
time to switch terminals between connecting flights, or, you know, that my
passport was, indeed, in my bag. Between Friday and Sunday I was badgering
everyone I know in Europe not only to go see this movie, but to wait until I
got home on Monday and come see it with me.
Hands-down director Doug Liman’s best
and most purely pleasurable effort in the twelve years since The Bourne Identity (if not longer than
that), Edge of Tomorrow is less of a
time-travel movie than an experience movie. One
review called it “a cheeky little puzzle picture in expensive-looking
blockbuster drag.” It’s a stylish, cleverly crafted, and continually involving mind-
and clock-bending bit of action adventure that neither transcends nor redeems
the genre, but, thanks to a superb creative team and star
Tom Cruise, becomes a surprisingly satisfying exercise of that genre.
