[Locke]

I wasn't talking about the Anthology, I was talking about the stand alone Alien release. The Anthology is overpriced considering I'd never watch three and four as they're shit.

Moving on from that though, I watched Edge of Tomorrow yesterday:

One of the boldest moves in Edge of Tomorrow is to play the two lead actors completely against their type. I'd never have expected Tom Cruise to play a character who is so very unflattering for his onscreen persona like Cage, who is an unlikeable douchebag for most of the movie but it works very very well.

The big reason it works so well, is rather than starting as an infallible badass, Edge of Tomorrow makes Cruise work for it. For most of the movie Cage is flawed, vulnerable and most importantly...human and it isn't until the big climactic moments that Cruise really gets to wear more familiar clothes and kick ass. This is probably one of my most favourite characters Tom Cruise has played.

Despite this though, it's Emily Blunt who completely steals the show for me. Maybe it's just my lack of information on her body of work, but I'd never have expected Blunt to play a real life version of Sergeant Calhoun so that was half the fun for me, she was awesome! It's just a shame about the unnecessarily soppy hints at a romance at the end, especially considering the two lead actors have so little chemistry.

One of the most problematic aspects of the movie for me though is that it feels like Edge of Tomorrow never quite knows who it is, or who it wants to be. Most of the action set pieces in this movie play out like a live action video game, full of novelties, gimmicks and explosions but that is only half the movie.

This film is transfixed on death, and the vulnerability of humanity, and in a narrative like this where it has an in story reset button, no one is safe. People die in this, brutally and over and over again and this dark undercurrent is jarring in what is an otherwise pretty light and funny little action romp.

The film never seems to actively pursue its own personal identity either, with the film ending as conflicted and muddled tonally as it is from the beginning. It's pretty underwritten overall, honestly, as you kind of realise how little you actually know by the end compared to when you went in.

Overall Edge of Tomorrow is a good movie but I can't help but feel like critics have oversold it a tad. If you go in expecting the next great piece of science fiction you'll be disappointed, but if you're looking for a good time and have already ticked off the likes of Godzilla and Days of Future Past you can do a lot worse than this slightly more cerebral take on the summer blockbuster.