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Edge of Tomorrow

Where to watch.

Watch Edge of Tomorrow with a subscription on Netflix, rent on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

What to Know

Gripping, well-acted, funny, and clever, Edge of Tomorrow offers entertaining proof that Tom Cruise is still more than capable of shouldering the weight of a blockbuster action thriller.

Critics Reviews

Audience reviews, cast & crew.

Major William Cage

Emily Blunt

Rita Vrataski

Brendan Gleeson

General Brigham

Bill Paxton

Master Sergeant Farell

Jonas Armstrong

Movie Clips

Edge of Tomorrow

“Edge of Tomorrow” is less of a time travel movie than an experience movie; that statement might not make sense now, but it probably will after you’ve seen it. Based on Hiroshi Sikurazaka’s novel “All You Need is Kill”, it’s a true science fiction film, highly conceptual, set during the aftermath of an alien invasion. Maybe “extra-dimensional being invasion” is more accurate. The fierce, octopod-looking beasties known as Mimics are controlled hive-mind style by a creature that seems able to peer through time, or rupture it, or something. When the tale begins, we don’t have exact answers about the enemy’s powers (that’s for our intrepid heroes to find out), but we have a solid hunch that it can see possible futures through the eyes of specific humans, then treat them as, essentially, video game characters, following their progress through the nasty “adventure” of the war, and making note of their tactical maneuvers, the better to ensure our collective extermination.

Tom Cruise , who seems to be spending his fifties saving humanity, plays Major William Cage, an Army public relations officer. Cage is a surprising choice for the role of hero. He’s never seen combat yet inexplicably finds himself thrown into the middle of a ferocious battle that will decide the outcome of the war. The film begins with Cage en route to European command headquarters in London, waking up in the belly of a transport chopper. The rest of the movie may not be his dream per se, but at various points it sure feels as though it is. The world is wracked by war. Millions have died. Whole cities have been reduced to ash heaps. The landscapes evoke color newsreel footage from World War II, and much of the combat seems lifted from that era as well.

When Cage meets the general in charge of that part of the world’s forces, he’s told he’s being sent right into this movie’s version of D-Day and is to report for duty immediately. No amount of protest by Cage can halt this assignment, and soon after he joins his unit and learns the rudiments of wearing combat armor (this is one of those science fiction films in which soldiers wear clumping bionic suits festooned with machine guns and other weapons) he dies on the battlefield. Then he wakes up and starts all over. Then he dies again and starts over again. He always knows he’s been here before, that he met this person, said that thing, did that thing, made a wrong choice and died. Nobody else does, though. They’re oblivious to the way in which Cage, like “Slaughterhouse Five” hero Billy Pilgrim, has come unstuck in time.

Cage’s only allies are a scientist ( Noah Taylor ) who believes the creatures are beating humanity through their mastery of time, and Rita Vrataski ( Emily Blunt ), an Audie Murphy or Sgt. York type who’s great for armed forces morale in addition to being an exceptionally gifted killer. Rita has experienced the same temporal dislocation that Cage is now experiencing, but at a certain point it stopped. She recognizes his maddening condition but can no longer share in it. She can, however, offer guidance (and a key bit of information that defines his predicament), and speed up the learning curve by shooting him in the head whenever it becomes obvious that they’re going down a wrong road that’ll lead to the same fatal outcome.

Although the film’s advertising would never dare suggest such a thing, for fear of driving off viewers who just want the bang bang-boom boom, Cage is a complex and demanding role for any actor. It is especially right for Cruise, in that Cage starts out as a Jerry Maguire-type who’ll say or do anything to preserve his comfort, then learns through hard (lethal) experience how to be a good soldier and a good man. He changes as the story tells and retells and retells itself. By the end he’s nearly unrecognizable from the man we met in the opening.

Cruise is hugely appealing here, not just in the early scenes opposite Gleeson in which he’s in Tony Curtis mode—he’s always fantastic playing a smooth-talking manipulator who’s sweating on the inside—but later, where he exhibits the sort of rock-solid super-competence and unforced decency that Randolph Scott brought to Budd Boetticher’s westerns. He was always likable, sometimes perfect in the right role, but age has deepened him by bringing out his vulnerability. There’s an existential terror in his eyes that’s disturbing in a good way, and there are points in which “Edge of Tomorrow” seems to simultaneously be about what it’s about while also being about the predicament of a real actor trying to stay relevant in a Hollywood universe that’s addicted to computer generated monsters, robots and explosions. Cruise deserves some sort of acting award for the array of yelps and gasps he summons as he’s killed by a Mimic or shot in the head by Blunt and then rebooted into another version of the story.

The rest of the cast has less to do because this is Tom Cruise’s movie through-and-through, but they’re all given moments of humor, terror or simple eccentricity. Taylor often gets cast as brilliant but haunted or ostracized geniuses, and he’s effective in another of those roles here. Gleeson, as is so often the case, invests a rather stock character with such humanity that when the character’s motivations and responses change, you get the sense that it’s because the general is a good and smart man and not because he’s just doing what the script needs him to do. Emily Blunt is unexpectedly convincing as a fearless and elegant super-soldier, and of course a magnificent camera subject as well. Director Doug Liman is so enamored with the introductory shot of her rising up off the floor of a combat training facility in a sort of downward facing dog yoga pose that he repeats it many times. The film’s only egregious flaw is its attempt to superimpose a love story onto Cruse and Blunt’s relationship, which seems more comfortable as a “Let’s express our adoration for each other by killing the enemy” kind of thing.

There’s no end to the number of films and novels and other sources to which “Edge of Tomorrow” can be likened. “ Groundhog Day ” seems to be everyone’s reflexive comparison point, but Liman’s elaborately choreographed tracking shots and unglamorously visualized European hellscapes evoke “ Children of Men ,” the creatures themselves have a touch of the Sentinels from the “Matrix” films, and the monsters-vs.-infantry scenes will remind you of James Cameron’s “ Aliens ” and its literary predecessor “ Starship Troopers .” ( Bill Paxton , one of the stars of “Aliens,” plays Cage’s drill sergeant, a mustachioed Kentucky hard-ass with an amusingly sour sense of humor.) It’s also an exceptionally brutal film, so bone-and-skull-crushingly violent and fairy-tale frightening that its PG-13 rating is stupefying. Parents should avoid taking young children who’ll be both confused by the fractured narrative and terrified of the Mimics, nightmare creatures that look like razor-tentacled squid and roll across the landscapes like tumbleweeds.

In all, though, “Edge of Tomorrow” is its own thing. One of its most fascinating qualities is its keen judgement of the audience’s learning curve. The early sections of the film repeat scenes and dialogue until you get used to the idea of the story as a video game or movie script, but just when you start to think, “Yes, I get it, let’s move on,” the film has in fact moved on and is now leaving things out because they’re not necessary. By the end of the movie the script—which is credited to Christopher McQuarrie and Jez and John Henry Butterworth—has gotten to the point where it’s tactically withholding information and waiting for us to figure things out on our own. It repeats key images and lines near the end as well, but always for good reason. When you see the familiar material again you feel different about it, because its meaning has changed. The movie has an organic intelligence and a sense that it, too, exists outside of linear time. It seems to be creating itself as you watch it.

Matt Zoller Seitz

Matt Zoller Seitz is the Editor-at-Large of RogerEbert.com, TV critic for New York Magazine and Vulture.com, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism.

Kick Gurry as Griff
Dragomir Mrsic as Kuntz
Emily Blunt as Rita Vrataski
Bill Paxton as Master Sergeant Farell
Tony Way as Kimmel
Tom Cruise as Lt. Col. Bill Cage
Jonas Armstrong as Skinner
Brendan Gleeson as General Brigham
Charlotte Riley as Nance
Noah Taylor as Dr. Carter
Christophe Beck
Christopher McQuarrie
Jez Butterworth
John-Henry Butterworth

Cinematography

Hiroshi Sakurazaka
James Herbert

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Movie Review

Killed in Action by Aliens, Over and Over Again

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By Manohla Dargis

June 5, 2014

Tell me if you’ve heard this one before. A man wakes up and quickly realizes that he’s repeating yesterday, down to the last meal, salutation and conversation. He’s trapped in a kind of time loop. He can’t escape, but, he realizes, he can change. That may not make sense, given the logic of the space-time continuum , but it works just fine in fiction because, well, it’s fiction. To put it another way, “There are no paradoxes in time travel, there can’t be.” Or so says a character in Robert A. Heinlein’s 1964 novel, “Farnham’s Freehold,” about space, time and the apocalypse.

This time around, as it were, the hero isn’t trapped in the maddeningly cute town of Punxsutawney , Pa., as Bill Murray was in “Groundhog Day,” Harold Ramis’s mind- and clock-bending 1993 comedy masterwork. The guy caught in the loop here is played by Tom Cruise, a star who doesn’t do ordinary well. He plays Maj. William Cage, a sensationally adaptable individual who, when confronted with Armageddon, courtesy of scuttling extraterrestrials, would prefer to avoid the fight. But this is a Tom Cruise movie, and so stuff happens, and then it happens all over again and again and again, initially with an engagingly light, comic touch and then with escalating seriousness as Cage’s insouciance turns into gravitas in a war that has united the human world against the alien.

The plot for “Edge of Tomorrow,” which was directed by Doug Liman, has largely been gleaned from “All You Need Is Kill,” a splatter-heavy combat novel by the Japanese writer Hiroshi Sakurazaka. Mr. Sakurazaka doesn’t acknowledge “Groundhog Day,” but he names his heroine Rita — the name of the romantic foil played by Andie MacDowell in that film — suggesting that he is obliquely paying a debt. The debt is more pronounced in the movie, in which Mr. Liman leavens Mr. Sakurazaka’s mordant, too-cool-for-school humor with some wit and a touch of romance with another lovely Rita, this one played by Emily Blunt. Mr. Liman ’s track record with strong female characters, like Angelina Jolie’s in his bullet-ridden comedy of remarriage , “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” bodes well for Rita.

“Edge of Tomorrow,” which has a script credited to Christopher McQuarrie and Jez and John-Henry Butterworth, opens with lock-jawed earnestness and news reports of a global calamity. Extraterrestrials, kinetic creatures called Mimics that look like somersaulting metal octopuses, have conquered most of Europe with their lashing tentacles and are poised to take over the rest of the world. On the eve of a coordinated human assault on the aliens, Cage, a flack for the American military, is called into the office of a general, Brigham (Brendan Gleeson), and told that he’ll be covering D-Day from the front. Cage demurs, raising his brow and breaking out a small, disbelieving smile before beginning a soft-shoe shuffle toward the door.

This song-and-dance rapidly shifts your understanding of whom Mr. Cruise is playing and how. He’s funny! And watching him glide through the opening of “Edge of Tomorrow” — a suggestion of “Jerry Maguire” edging his smile — it’s hard not to think, Where has this guy been? It’s been years since Mr. Cruise felt this light on screen. His smile might have helped make him a star but, like Julia Roberts’s megawatt grin, it rarely beams as brightly as it once did. Part of this is due to his status as an action star. Yet it’s also traceable to a dearth of decent male-female romances and the ascension of mostly male yuk-fests like the gross-out burlesque “Tropic Thunder,” in which he dances in a fat suit.

In “Edge of Tomorrow,” Mr. Liman brings Mr. Cruise’s smile out of semiretirement and also gives him the kind of physical challenges at which he so brilliantly excels. Mr. Cruise’s great talent has always been body-based; he doesn’t put across complex emotional shadings, tunneling so deep into a character’s psychology that it can feel like a transmogrification. Much like old-school, pre-Method movie stars, he takes possession of his characters from the outside in, expressing their qualities and kinks through his extraordinarily controlled physicality. This kind of performance can be easy to overlook, shrugged off as little more than stunt work, as if acting through the whole body were somehow inferior to emoting with a big, TV-friendly face.

As expected, there are wow-worthy stunts and high-flying bodies in “Edge of Tomorrow,” which finds its groove after Cage discovers that he’s on seemingly endless repeat. In time, he figures out what’s going on and sets out to change fate, which leads him to Rita, a legendary warrior with the cutesy moniker Full Metal Bitch. Any thought that the diminutive-looking Ms. Blunt may not be up to that nickname is put to rest with Rita’s introduction, which shows her holding a fiercely beautiful yoga pose in a combat-training area while whirring blades circle her. It’s a perfect encapsulation of the yin and yang quality that enriches her character and the story, as when she and Cage, like a cloak-and-dagger Fred and Ginger, dart and dodge through a mission with perfect synchronicity.

Eventually, Mr. Liman’s eccentricities and the morbidly funny neo-screwball vibe that he establishes are swamped by generic pyrotechnics and noise. That’s predictable, given the high studio stakes and the industry’s faith in spectacles of destruction, but it doesn’t obliterate the movie’s pleasures. In his afterword to “All You Need Is Kill,” Mr. Sakurazaka explains that he was thinking about video games while writing the novel. “I reset the game hundreds of times,” he writes, “until my special attack finally went off perfectly.” In other words, video games are a type of time machine that allows players, if they put in the hours, to achieve victory. Hence the movie’s clever tagline, “Live, Die, Repeat,” which, of course, echoes the faith that every film genre fan embraces: live, watch, repeat.

“Edge of Tomorrow” is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned). Intense violence.

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15 Best Movies Like Edge Of Tomorrow (Live Die Repeat)

Edge of tomorrow: how many times tom cruise's cage dies in the movie, one of tom cruise's best action movies lands on netflix's global chart 10 years later.

Based on the Japanese novel All You Need is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka, Edge of Tomorrow tells the story of Major William Cage ( played by Tom Cruise ), a man who is forced onto the front lines for a major military operation against invading aliens known as "Mimics." Untrained and unprepared for combat, Cage is killed within minutes - only to wake up 24 hours earlier with no choice but to relive (and die) the same day over and over.

Like many time travel (or time loop) stories, Edge of Tomorrow relies on heady exposition and mind-bending sci-fi ideas which may confuse certain moviegoers. Although it does a decent job of explaining its loopy exploration of time, its genius take on the Groundhog Day time travel trope can be a little hard to follow. Therefore, a breakdown of its time travel mechanics, narrative structure, and character beats can be helpful in understanding how Tom Cruise's Cage ultimately overcomes the alien threat.

What Triggers The Time Loop In Edge Of Tomorrow

The time loops begin after an alpha's blood merges with cage's.

The opening moments of Edge of Tomorrow establish that Major Cage is a government-sponsored talking head who refuses to document the UDF campaign "Project Downfall" from the front lines. Branded a deserter, Cage is forced into military service (as part of J-squad) on the eve of a massive offensive, waking up at Heathrow airport in handcuffs (the starting point for the time loops he experiences throughout the film).

In spite of rigorous planning and secrecy, the Mimics see the attack coming and the offensive turns into a massacre - wiping out humanity's last line of defense. On the ground, Cage watches as J-Squad and UDF war hero Rita Vrataski ( played by Emily Blunt ) are mercilessly slaughtered by orange-tinted Mimic drones. During the fracas, Cage comes face to face with a blue colored "Alpha" Mimic, exterminating the creature as its acidic blood rains down on his face, killing him. That Alpha blood gives Cage the ability to "loop" (aka reset time by a day).

Both Emily Blunt and Tom Cruise donned real heavy metal suits that weighed 85 pounds (39 kg) on average for Edge of Tomorrow .

The Omegas, Alphas, & Mimics' Physiology In Edge Of Tomorrow Explained

The alien forces have their own hierarchies.

There are three classes of aliens in Edge of Tomorrow :

Through countless trial and error attempts, Cage manages to befriend Vrataski and her physicist confidant Dr. Carter (Noah Taylor) who explains their theories on Mimic physiology. Carter asserts that the Mimics, named for their uncanny ability to adapt to human military strategies, are a highly-evolved hive mind capable of controlling time. At the center of the collective is the "Omega" Mimic, an extremely large and powerful creature that serves as the brain of the Mimic forces but is hidden far away from the battlefield for its own protection.

Should an Alpha die, the Omega resets time but retains the knowledge of everything that went wrong on the battlefield - allowing the creature to make tactical adjustments accordingly.

Where the normal orange-colored Mimics are basic workers/pawns, sent into battle for the sole purpose of killing enemies, the Omega also employs the use of the blue-tinted Alphas, who serve as the eyes and ears of the Omega on the front lines. Unlike basic Mimics, Alphas are precious to the collective, and, thanks to their direct link to the Omega, contain the head creature's time-controlling essence in their blood. Should an Alpha die, the Omega resets time but retains the knowledge of everything that went wrong on the battlefield - allowing the creature to make tactical adjustments accordingly.

The highly-evolved power to wind back the clock is responsible for the extraterrestrial's unrelenting adaptation to human military efforts , as well as the reason Mimics were able to see Cage's invasion force coming: because the Omega had already watched it all happen in a previous timeline, and had mapped out a different strategy following one or many resets. In effect, the Omega is able to turn any fight that it experiences into an elaborate trap - until Cage inadvertently hijacks the time-loop ability.

Dr. Carter's Initial Plan To Defeat The Aliens Explained

Dr. carter tries to weaponize cage's visions of the omega.

At the time of his first death, Tom Cruise's Edge of Tomorrow character is drenched in the blood of a dying Mimic, essentially transferring the Omega's time control ability to Cage. After saving her on the French battlefield, Vrataski reveals that she had experienced the same looping phenomenon during an assault at Verdun, but subsequently lost the ability after she was severely injured and bleeding out. During her time looping, she worked with Dr. Carter to understand how the time reset ability actually worked - attempting to find out if it could be transferred to others via physical contact, blood, or other bodily fluids.

The pair came to the conclusion that only one organism (Mimic or Man) could be in charge of the reset at any given time - meaning that when Rita acquired the ability, the Omega no longer had control, giving Vrataski (and later Cage) a temporary edge. The Alpha blood also caused Vrataski (and eventually Cage) to have visions of the Omega's hidden location, and Dr. Carter surmised that if they could find the creature in time, before a reset, they could wipe out the entire Mimic invasion force - since the creatures were all extensions of the Omega.

Why Dr. Carter's Plan Fails

The visions turn out to be traps.

As it turns out, Vrataski and Cage's "visions" were actually traps , planted by the Omega after it had figured out who was in control of the loop - by drawing Rita (and later Cage) to an isolated location, the Omega hoped to reclaim its looper blood, so that the Mimics could regain control of the time reset. Cage manages to survive the Omega's trap (by drowning himself) and the encounter encourages him to take a different approach.

Cage's New Plan To Destroy The Omega Explained

Cage relies on dr. carter's invention.

Cage revisits an abandoned piece of technology that Dr. Carter had built - based on the appearance of Vrataski's original visions - to track the Omega by hijacking an Alpha's connection to the Omega. After a number of resets, Cage and Vrataski successfully acquire the gadget, and Cage uses the device on himself (since his body contains Alpha blood), quickly locating the Omega . Yet, during their attempted escape with the device, UDF infantry destroy their getaway car, leaving Cage injured and bleeding out.

Doug Liman pushed hard for the film to be called Live Die Repeat based on its time loops. However, an executive at Warner Bros suggested they should name it Edge of Tomorrow .

He awakens hours later with an IV pumping fresh blood into his arm, having lost the ability to reset time - just like Vrataski had months earlier. As a result, control of the loop reverts to the Omega - but, unless an Alpha is killed, Cage and Vrataski still have time to travel to the creature's location and destroy it. The pair enlist the help of J-Squad, who Cage manages to convince of the time loop (thanks to the countless hours he's spent with each of them in prior loops), and the soldiers set out for Paris - where the Omega is concealed underneath the Louvre.

Those looking for movies like Edge of Tomorrow (a.k.a. Live Die Repeat) should check out these sci-fi and action films if they want the best choices.

No longer able to reset time, Cage and his team only have one shot to kill the Omega, and are tasked with the added challenge of not killing an Alpha. As mentioned, should the team inadvertently kill an Alpha, the Omega would reset time. Consequently, Cage would not retain any of the memories of his previous exploits.

How Cage Defeats The Omega In Edge Of Tomorrow's Ending

Cage, vrataski, & the j-squad put their lives on the line.

J-Squad is killed-off one at a time while escorting Cage and Vrataski to the Lourve - where entry to the Omega's lair is guarded by an Alpha. Vrataski sacrifices herself in order to distract (without killing) the Alpha. Meanwhile, Cage tries to destroy the Omega, which is hiding in a flooded portion of the parking garage.

Since the Omega is the brain of the Mimic collective, its death causes the remainder of its kind on Earth to wither and die, putting an abrupt end to the alien invasion.

As Cage swims downward, he is impaled (and mortally wounded) by the Alpha, who spears him through the chest with a tentacle. Despite his injury, however, Cage manages to release a cluster of grenades . With what follows, the explosion kills the Omega. Since the Omega is the brain of the Mimic collective, its death causes the remainder of its kind on Earth to wither and die, putting an abrupt end to the alien invasion.

Why The Timeline Resets In Edge Of Tomorrow's Ending

Cage comes in contact with the omega's blood.

Even though Cage survives the detonation, he is doomed to die - that is, until the Omega's blood, rising through the water, seeps into his wound. As Cage dies, he regains control of the Mimic's ability to reset time - this time waking up hours before he was ever arrested (his usual start point in the loop). Furthermore, certain actions from the previous loop are retained - while others are not. The Mimics are dead following an unknown event (unknown to everyone but Cage) below the Louvre. Yet, J-Squad and Vrataski have all been resurrected, with no knowledge of their role in eliminating the Mimics during the prior time cycle.

The Time Loop Paradox In Edge Of Tomorrow's Ending Explained

The film does not logically explain the final time reset.

Unfortunately, Dr. Carter's theories on the Mimics and the time loop are based only on Vrataski's unsuccessful first attempt at finding the Omega. As a result, the film does not offer a finite explanation from Carter, Vrataski, or Cage regarding what would happen if they succeeded - let alone an outcome where Cage reacquired the ability to reset time. With limited insight, we do not know how the Mimics developed the ability to manipulate time in the first place, or the larger mechanics of the ability.

The source material digs deeper into the Mimic's backstory, but the film adaptation takes a significant amount of liberties. For that reason, within the context of Edge of Tomorrow , i t's unclear whether time manipulation was an evolutionary leap in Mimic physiology, or a technology they created . Is the ability to alter time confined only to a certain area of influence? Or can a single Omega alter time across the entire plane of existence - including the fates of other Mimic collectives around the universe?

...the end result is a paradox - one that ultimately provides the audience with a (semi-)happy ending at the expense of a more straightforward story of sacrifice.

Because we are not told all the rules, there is not one clear-cut explanation for how the final reset could start hours earlier and incorporate the destruction of the mimics, but leave every other variable unchanged. Time travel logic is always a can of worms, meaning that viewers should have no problem coming up with their own ways of explaining the ending. Still, based on the limited information within the film, the end result is a paradox - one that ultimately provides the audience with a (semi-)happy ending at the expense of a more straightforward story of sacrifice.

Theories For Edge Of Tomorrow's Confusing Ending Explained

Some speculation can help explain what happens.

Theory 1: Years of complicated sci-fi time travel movies and shows ( Doctor Who, Looper, Primer , among others) have laid the foundation for an educated guess - one that fits with Dr. Carter's Mimic theories. The Omega's ability to reset time and retain memories from the previous loop means that, to some extent, it exists outside the traditional observance of time. This suggests that even though time resets for Cage, Vrataski, J-Squad, and humankind, the Omega's death is a fixed event outside the loop .

In that situation, time adjusts to the change during the next reset - incorporating the explosion and the death of the Mimics. Given that humanity exists within the normal restrictions of time, when Cage's death causes the final reset, Vrataski and J-Squad are restored to their former positions at the beginning of his loop. This, however, raises another intriguing question: why does Cage awaken hours before his normal start point on the Heathrow tarmac?

Although Edge of Tomorrow features 26 resets in its runtime, it is implied that Cage had to live through hundreds (if not thousands) of resets.

In his previous resets, Cage reverts to his first waking moment, which - since he was previously knocked out by a taser - occurred on the airfield. However, the opening of the film reveals that Cage's day originally started hours earlier, prior to his fateful meeting with General Brigham, when his helicopter arrived at UDF headquarters. If, in fact, time has adjusted to the death of the Mimics, then Cage avoids meeting with the General - since Operation Downfall is no longer necessary.

For that reason, Cage would have never been marked a deserter, never been knocked out, and would never have awakened on the airport tarmac. As time anticipates and adjusts to the changes, Cage's waking moment reverts to its original starting point - when the helicopter landed at the UDF.

2014's Edge of Tomorrow proved a hit with audiences and critics, but how many times does Tom Cruise's Cage die in the sci-fi action spectacular?

Theory 2: It is also possible that Omega (as opposed to Alpha) blood gave him increased power for the new reset - either by throwing him farther back in time or providing him with the agency to decide on a different starting point for the reset. After all, the extent of the Omega's powers is not outright explained (or known). This means it's also possible the brain blood allowed Cage to drastically manipulate reality - by choosing a new waking point, as well as pulling the destruction of the Mimics into the new timeline .

It can be assumed that without the Mimic collective around, Cage no longer has the power to reset time.

Regardless of the actual explanation, the new waking point allows Cage to avoid his original arrest and retain his Major rank. As for whether Cage is still able to time loop with no Mimics left on Earth, the post-Omega reset should be Cage's last. It can be assumed that without the Mimic collective around, Cage no longer has the power to reset time. Still, he might want to ask for a blood transfusion, just to be safe. Otherwise, Major Cage is now free to debrief Vrataski on what actually happened after Edge of Tomorrow 's ending - over a cup of coffee (with three sugars).

How The Movie's Ending Sets Up Edge Of Tomorrow 2

Edge of tomorrow's ending is conclusive but leaves room for a sequel.

Although Edge of Tomorrow 's ending gives a well-rounded closure to its storyline, its ambiguous conclusion leaves room for a follow-up. The fact that the film does not explain how the Tom Cruise character gets one final reset despite killing the Omega could be the starting point for a sequel. Or, a sequel could mark the arrival of another set of aliens with another Omega brain behind them. Interestingly, Edge of Tomorrow 2 has been in the talks for several years . Doug Liman also revealed (via Total Film ) that Warner Bros. keeps asking him if he wants to pursue the sequel.

Here's his full statement:

I do think there's probably no better compliment to a movie than people wanting for there to be a sequel. Road House - there's call for a sequel. Edge of Tomorrow, there's no better compliment than Warner Bros. constantly bringing up, “Will you go and make another one of these?”

Unfortunately, despite the studio's interest, Edge of Tomorrow 2 's future remains uncertain. Given how Tom Cruise's run as Mission: Impossible 's Ethan Hunt is about to end, it would be a good time for him to move the flywheels of Edge of Tomorrow 2 's production to have another action franchise under his belt. Emily Blunt could also benefit from starring in an action movie franchise after The Fall Guy 's box office failure. However, for now, Edge of Tomorrow 2 remains in the early stages of development hell. Hopefully, it will someday see the light of day.

Edge of Tomorrow

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Edge of Tomorrow is a science fiction action film where Major William Cage, forced into combat against an alien invasion, discovers he is reliving the same day after dying. Partnering with Special Forces warrior Rita Vrataski, he utilizes this time loop to improve his battle skills and devise a strategy to defeat the extraterrestrial threat. The movie explores themes of resilience, adaption, and transformation in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

The Untold Truth Of Edge Of Tomorrow

There have been many time loop movies in the history of cinema , including beloved titles like "Palm Springs" and "Groundhog Day." But there's never been one quite like "Edge of Tomorrow," which flipped the standards of both Tom Cruise action films and sci-fi blockbusters on their heads to create something unexpectedly wacky and fresh. The story of a selfish soldier who becomes encased in a time loop while fighting otherworldly invaders, "Edge of Tomorrow" turned out to be the perfect vessel to show off Cruise's comic chops and deliver some clever action set pieces. No wonder the film has garnered such a large following, especially since Emily Blunt stands out as the unforgettable action hero of the whole piece.

While the rules of the time loop in "Edge of Tomorrow" and the movie's best lines are now common knowledge, there are countless aspects about the film that aren't as well known. This includes the original choice of leading man, the tumultuous filmmaking style of its director, and even the strange saga of its unmade sequel. "Edge of Tomorrow" is a thoroughly unique entry in the canon of Tom Cruise movies , and its behind-the-scenes details are just as fascinating.

How Edge of Tomorrow was initially pitched

If you're going to try and sell Hollywood on a potential movie that isn't rooted in a deeply beloved franchise, you've got to do something drastic to make sure your idea can stand out in a crowded marketplace. To that end, screenwriter Dante Harper presented the idea of adapting the novel "All You Need Is Kill" — which would eventually result in "Edge of Tomorrow" — to Warner Bros. brass by presenting them with a finished spec script rather than just a generalized pitch for what the movie could look like.

As noted by Deadline , going this route went against most protocols for getting new movies off the ground in Hollywood. Writing a finished script for a film that isn't greenlit yet could result in a lot of work going to waste if the studio doesn't accept your pitch. But traditional pitches have become so scarce in the modern Hollywood ecosystem that Harper and producers Jason Hoffs, Erwin Stoff, and Tom Lassally all knew something more drastic was needed to get the movie on the radar of Warner Bros. executives. The result was that Harper got paid almost $3 million for his spec script even without having any filmmakers or actors onboard. As "Edge of Tomorrow's" protagonist is constantly learning, sometimes risks are well worth it.

Why Doug Liman signed on to direct

The primary focus of Doug Liman's filmography has been big crowd-pleasing blockbusters. It was a trend established with his 2002 hit "The Bourne Identity," with subsequent directorial efforts like "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" and "Jumper" continuing this trend. He's sometimes helmed smaller-scale affairs, such as "The Wall" or "Swingers," but he's usually the guy you call when it's time to direct something costly that's meant to appeal to a wide range of audience members. So it should be no surprise that he was called on to direct "Edge of Tomorrow," even if, up to that point, he had no extensive experience with sci-fi storytelling outside of "Jumper."

Still, there was more than just a track record of handling blockbusters that attracted Liman to "Edge of Tomorrow." The director revealed to Post Magazine that what really attracted him to the project was the central dynamic between a super-powered character and someone who has no abnormal abilities. Additionally, Liman gravitated towards the idea of making that non-super-powered individual a woman who could go toe to toe with the movie's male lead, continuing a fascination Liman had with empowered women that dated back to "Mr. and Mrs. Smith." These character details ensured Liman's interest in returning to blockbuster cinema with "Edge of Tomorrow."

Brad Pitt was originally supposed to star

As its leading man, Tom Cruise is central to "Edge of Tomorrow," especially as his gift for comedy really lends itself to the movie's wacky time-loop scenarios. But he wasn't always the first choice to anchor this project. Back in September 2011, Brad Pitt was the original pick to play the protagonist of "Edge of Tomorrow." This would've reunited Pitt with director Doug Liman, as the two had collaborated on the 2005 smash hit "Mr. and Mrs. Smith."

It's easy to imagine why Pitt would've been seen as a prime candidate to anchor "Edge of Tomorrow," especially since he also has solid comic chops and would've been a big enough name to draw moviegoers to watch a blockbuster that wasn't a remake or a sequel. However, he ended up passing on the part. No reason was given for why he never took on the role, but it's worth mentioning that Pitt was offered this part while he was in the middle of shooting another big blockbuster, "World War Z." It's not far-fetched to imagine that being in the middle of one massive tentpole made Pitt wary of signing on to another. Whatever the reason, Pitt turning down "Edge of Tomorrow" paved the way for Cruise to tackle one of his most interesting blockbuster performances.

The big script changes to Edge of Tomorrow

Doug Liman has never been a guy who plays things safely while making his blockbuster movies. Just look at "The Bourne Identity," which ended up being beloved but had a troubled production due to Liman butting heads with Warner Bros. It's no surprise, then, that Liman's "Edge of Tomorrow" had its share of difficulties getting to the silver screen. In this case, part of those challenges emanated from how much of the original screenplay was tossed just before principal photography got underway.

Speaking to the Los Angeles Times , Liman openly admitted that he discarded around two-thirds of the screenplay eight weeks before shooting was about to start. Liman was ready to build an entirely new vision of this new movie, with screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie joining Liman to crack this concept. As if things weren't treacherous enough, going this route didn't automatically result in a new complete script. In fact, "Edge of Tomorrow" began filming even though a complete screenplay didn't exist at that point. Despite Liman's hands-on approach to getting the story of "Edge of Tomorrow" right, the reviews for the film ended up being generally positive, with many critics specifically praising the crackerjack script . Sometimes, flying by the seat of your pants, even when it comes to the screenplay of a costly blockbuster, can be the right move.

The rejected ending

In the theatrical cut of "Edge of Tomorrow," Tom Cruise's William Cage awakens after sacrificing himself to defeat the aliens known as Mimics. As he looks around, he realizes he's been brought back in time to before the time loop mayhem started. This means that Emily Blunt's Rita Vrataski doesn't know him, but that just opens the door for their relationship to start anew. It's a tidy conclusion that brings things full circle while leaving the door open for the film's central relationship to keep going well into the future. However, this wasn't always the way "Edge of Tomorrow" was supposed to end.

Screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie explained to Film School Rejects that, originally, there was going to be an extra wrinkle in the film's ending — you couldn't kill a Mimic alien known as an Alpha. Doing that would trigger a new time loop where the aliens know the plans of the humans. This would lead to a character killing an Alpha during the finale, which leads to the time loop starting over. The difference in this timeline, though, is that the humans are wiped out before they can execute their scheme. McQuarrie had some fondness for this concept but noted that by the time it arrived in the movie, the audience would be so overwhelmed that adding more time-travel tomfoolery just felt like overkill. With that, "Edge of Tomorrow" went with a softer, more satisfying ending .

Where did Edge of Tomorrow film?

If you're a Warner Bros. movie, getting any sort of comparison to the studio's "Harry Potter" movies, the crown jewels of the company , is an honor. "Edge of Tomorrow" got to be at the center of such comparisons, albeit very tenuously, as its crew began to pick out a place to shoot this sci-fi epic. In August 2012, it was revealed that "Edge of Tomorrow" would partially shoot in the U.K. studio Leavesden Studios — which Warner Bros. had recently purchased – among other spaces in London . Leavesden had been previously rented out by Warner Bros. as a venue to shoot the first eight "Harry Potter" titles.

After having such a good experience capturing the wizarding world there, Warner Bros. decided to take over the studio and make "Edge of Tomorrow" its first movie to entirely shoot in this location after the purchase. This was an especially solid choice for a shooting space as the plot of "Edge of Tomorrow" takes place in the United Kingdom. Since this Tom Cruise blockbuster hit theaters, Warner Bros. and other studios have shot countless tentpoles in Leavesden Studios, including "The Legend of Tarzan," "Spider-Man: Far From Home," and "The Batman." But only "Edge of Tomorrow" can forever claim to be the first movie to shoot in this domain after it was purchased by Warner Bros.

Jeremy Piven was supposed to be in Edge of Tomorrow

Even once principal photography was finished on "Edge of Tomorrow," it was still being heavily tweaked and altered. Case in point — once a batch of pre-planned reshoots got underway, it was announced that a new actor had been added to the film's cast. "Entourage" leading man Jeremy Piven was now set to be a part of this sci-fi blockbuster. At the time, it was noted that he would be playing a character named Col. Walter Marx and that his participation in the feature was made possible due to Piven being on hiatus from his U.K. TV show "Mr. Selfridge."

This would've been a massive departure for Piven from his typical film roles since he usually plays in smaller-scale comedies rather than massively expensive motion pictures. However, Piven never wound up in the final cut of "Edge of Tomorrow." No reason has ever been given for why Piven ended up on the cutting room floor, though it's likely that, thanks to his presence being added in reshoots, he ended up being more superfluous than anything else. The way "Edge of Tomorrow" was constantly evolving during its lengthy production allowed Piven to get cast in the film, but its fluid nature also likely resulted in Piven getting axed from the final feature.

The challenge of wearing those battle suits

The lead characters of "Edge of Tomorrow" all must go into battle against the otherworldly Mimics by strapping on enormous exosuits, equipment that wasn't added on to the characters in post-production. Every one of the actors, including leads Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt, had to wear these outfits, which weighed 85 pounds . In a breakdown of the suits with production designer Oliver Scholl on the featurette "Edge of Tomorrow: Weapons of the Future," it was noted that an extensive amount of thought went into crafting the finer details of these outfits, including how they needed to be streamlined enough to just register as functional rather than cool. After all, these exosuits are made for war, not being sold as toys, so they aren't loaded with extra knick-knacks or glossy qualities.

Once the designs were figured out for these exosuits, there were still extensive problems with getting people in and out of the costumes on set. Initially, Cruise, for example, had to spend a whole half-hour just to get suited up, though that timespan was soon whittled down to 30 seconds. Committing to such bulky outfits doubtlessly made shooting "Edge of Tomorrow" extra difficult. But it did lend an immediate sense of tactility to this world that you just wouldn't get if the exosuits were all digital.

The big beach battle took three months to shoot

Throughout "Edge of Tomorrow," both the film's protagonist and the audience are constantly returning to a massive battle between humans and alien invaders on a beach. Per the Los Angeles Times , this expansive set piece was always meant to be a big commitment on the part of the cast and crew. However, that commitment was originally supposed to entail just two weeks. Instead, it ended up going on and on for almost three months. The constant delays stemmed from Liman improvising and making new stuff up as he went along.

As if that wasn't enough of a challenge, the movie's big beach scene was filmed on a manmade location. This expansive set took a lot of effort to keep functioning over a solitary day, let alone over multiple months. Having to keep this set in working order, not to mention Emily Blunt almost breaking her nose during all this, meant that filming this battle sequence was a trying experience unto itself. At least everyone involved can comfort themselves knowing that all the blood, sweat, and tears did result in an immensely tangible sci-fi set piece.

Christophe Beck's strange experience scoring Edge of Tomorrow

"Edge of Tomorrow" hit a major snag in post-production regarding who would be composing the music for this summer blockbuster. Doug Liman's usual go-to composer, John Powell, was on a break, so the director called in Ramin Djawadi. But eventually, Christophe Beck was selected to take over composing duties, with the composer noting to Hitfix that this Tom Cruise vehicle was the first time he'd done the score for a massive action movie.

While he was entering uncharted territory very late into the film's production, Beck navigated additional issues in trying to develop a good working relationship with Liman. Beck openly admitted that it took them a while to find proper footing with one another, particularly with navigating the tone of the score. Liman always encouraged Beck to go for more unorthodox musical choices, particularly when it came to emphasizing the movie's comedy. Working with this filmmaker never turned out to be easy, especially because Liman tended to be upfront and curt. As the composer explained, "When you're in the moment and you're hearing it from him, it can sometimes make your heart sink, but I'd much rather work with someone where you know where you stand."

Beck also noted that Liman's creative decisions and attitude were indispensable in making sure the "Edge of Tomorrow" score was something special. Plus, all these extra hurdles ensured that Beck wouldn't soon forget his first foray into scoring a sizeable summer blockbuster.

Edge of Tomorrow's title changes

Initially, "Edge of Tomorrow" was titled "All You Need Is Kill," a moniker it shared with its source material penned by Hiroshi Sakurazaka. But just before the movie was set to be promoted at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con, Warner Bros. announced the feature would be released under the title of "Edge of Tomorrow." Head brass at the studio would later confirm that the change was due to concerns over whether or not audiences would be turned off by a movie that featured the word "kill" in the title.

The story behind the film's title got even more complicated when Doug Liman revealed to Den of Geek in 2017 that he'd pushed for getting rid of the "All You Need Is Kill" title since he felt it didn't reflect the complicated tone of the final film. However, his suggestion for a new title was "Live. Die. Repeat." The studio would instead use that as a tagline for the feature's theatrical release and opt for "Edge of Tomorrow."

Liman would get his wish, somewhat, when the home video release for "Edge of Tomorrow" rolled around and Warner Bros. began marketing the film as "Live. Die. Repeat." It's extremely rare for such big-budget movies to attempt a drastic retitling like this after they've been released to theaters, with many seeing it as a sign that Warner Bros. recognized that "Edge of Tomorrow's" title did it no favors in luring moviegoers.

The complicated box office run of Edge of Tomorrow

Before its release, "Edge of Tomorrow" was greeted with skepticism over how it would fare at the box office. It wasn't an unreasonable stance to take given that "Tomorrow" was the rare non-sequel blockbuster debuting in the summer of 2014, a season dominated by new "X-Men," "Planet of the Apes," and "Transformers" sequels. On its domestic opening weekend, it didn't look like "Edge of Tomorrow" would beat out the naysayers, with only a $28.8 million debut . On a $178 million budget, "Edge of Tomorrow" needed to have a way bigger opening to put it on the road to profitability.

However, on its second domestic weekend, "Edge of Tomorrow" ended up holding quite nicely by dipping just 43% , a much better than usual hold for a summer blockbuster. From there, "Edge of Tomorrow" managed to have strong weekend-to-weekend dips in North America and eventually scored $100.2 million in this territory and $367 million worldwide. While not a super profitable venture, "Edge of Tomorrow" did manage to do better than expectations thanks to good word-of-mouth. Plus, it gave Cruise his first-star vehicle outside of the "Mission: Impossible" franchise to crack $100 million domestically since "War of the Worlds" in 2005. Warner Bros. doubtlessly wanted "Edge of Tomorrow" to do more in its global box office run, but there was still plenty to crow about regarding how much money this title took in.

The weird status of Edge of Tomorrow 2

Not long after "Edge of Tomorrow" first touched down in movie theaters, news broke that a sequel was beginning to gestate. A few months after this first reveal, screenwriters were hired to pen a script for another "Edge of Tomorrow," and Doug Liman was confirmed to be directing the prospective project. By the time May 2017 rolled around, Liman had confirmed that this sequel would be called "Live Die Repeat and Repeat" and that Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt were excited about the project. With all these positive developments, not to mention enthusiasm from all the key creative participants of "Edge of Tomorrow," it looked like this sequel was full steam ahead.

But as the years went on, an "Edge of Tomorrow" sequel seemed to be slipping further and further out of grasp. Liman was much more uncertain on whether or not it would ever happen by January 2021 , while Blunt seemed to put the nail in the sequel's coffin in February 2022 by stating that a prospective follow-up would be too expensive to ever go forward. While it doesn't seem like an "Edge of Tomorrow 2" has been officially killed, it's also looking more and more unlikely that it'll happen with each passing day.

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User reviews

Edge of Tomorrow

A soldier fighting aliens gets to relive the same day over and over again, the day restarting every time he dies.
An alien race has hit the Earth in an unrelenting assault, unbeatable by any military unit in the world. Major William Cage (Cruise) is an officer who has never seen a day of combat when he is unceremoniously dropped into what amounts to a suicide mission. Killed within minutes, Cage now finds himself inexplicably thrown into a time loop-forcing him to live out the same brutal combat over and over, fighting and dying again...and again. But with each battle, Cage becomes able to engage the adversaries with increasing skill, alongside Special Forces warrior Rita Vrataski (Blunt). And, as Cage and Vrataski take the fight to the aliens, each repeated encounter gets them one step closer to defeating the enemy! — Warner Bros. Pictures
When an alien race called Mimics invades and destroys Europe, London is the last resistance in the Old Continent. General Brigham plans an attack to France expecting to defeat the Mimics and orders Major William Cage, who is an American public relation officer, to cover the invasion. However Cage does not accept the assignment and threatens General Brigham to expose the casualties. He is arrested, accused of desertion, demoted to private and assigned to fight in the invasion under the command of the tough Sergeant Farell in the Heathrow Base. Humans are slaughtered in the invasion and Cage kills a Mimic and is sprayed by his blood; in less than five minutes combat, Cage dies. Surprisingly he awakes in the Heathrow Base and relives the same day over and over after dieing. Each time, Cage tries to fix the deaths of his squad and he meets Sergeant Rita Vrataski who asks him to find her when he awakes in the base. Rita brings Cage to meet Dr. Carter who explains to him that he killed an Alpha and his blood has given the ability to reset time. Further, the last hope of earth is the destruction of the Mimic leader, referred to as the Omega, who is hidden. Will Cage and Rita succeed in their solitary mission? — Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Before the numbing technological superiority of the omnipotent extraterrestrial menace known only as the "Mimics", mankind stands helpless, doomed to accept an ignoble fate. Having harnessed an unfathomable ability, the hordes of the ferocious alien race are practically invincible; unless we, humans, come up with an unexpected and drastic counter-attack. When the unseasoned officer, Major William Cage, learns firsthand the magnitude of the problem with his own life, he quickly realises that death is only the beginning--each blood-drenched battle with the formidable foes brings him back to square one, only with a dash of improvement in his fighting capacity. Perhaps now, Cage, his legendary brother-in-arms, Rita Vrataski, and the rest of the world have a fighting chance against the otherworldly opponent. Can we solve the enemy's enigma? — Nick Riganas
A race of aliens called Mimics has taken over continental Europe. General Brigham (Brendan Gleeson), head of humanity's United Defense Force, orders Major William Cage (Tom Cruise), a public affairs officer and former advertising executive, to cover combat on the beaches of France during the next day's assault on the Mimics. Cage objects to the dangerous assignment and threatens to use his public relation skills to turn the public against Brigham when the casualties start increasing from the invasion, for which he is arrested and knocked out. He wakes in handcuffs at a forward operating base at Heathrow Airport and discovers he has been labeled a deserter and put on combat duty, as a private, for the invasion of France under the command of Master Sergeant Farell (Bill Paxton). The invasion is a disaster for the humans. Cage manages to kill a large Mimic, but dies as he is sprayed with its acid-like blood. He then wakes up at Heathrow the previous morning. No one believes his story that he knows the invasion will fail. He repeats the loop of dying on the beach and waking at Heathrow until he encounters Sergeant Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt), who recognizes his ability to anticipate events and tells him to locate her the next time he "wakes up". Cage finds Vrataski at Heathrow. Together they meet with Dr. Carter (Noah Taylor), a former government scientist and expert in Mimic biology. Cage learns that the kind of Mimic he killed in his first loop, an "Alpha", resets time when it is killed to give the Mimics an advantage in battle. Cage inherited this ability when he was doused in the Alpha's blood as they both died. Vrataski had this ability in a previous battle in Verdun but lost it after receiving a blood transfusion. Vrataski tells Cage that the Omega wanted humans to believe that they could win, so it allowed Vratasky to win in Verdun, so that humans put everything into their battle at France & get beaten. She tells Cage that they must hunt the Mimics' hive mind, the Omega & until that day Cage has to die each day to reset time. Carter tells Cage that the Omega has lost power to reset time to Cage & will be mentally looking for him. When Omega finds Cage, Cage will start having visions of the Omega's location. Over succeeding loops Vrataski trains Cage into a more effective soldier. After getting discouraged from these loops he travels to London, there he realizes and sees the Mimics were planning on overrunning London during the invasion on the beach. He and Vrataski spend several loops learning how to survive the battle on the beach and get inland based on his vision of the Omega hiding in a Bavarian Alps dam. After numerous loops end in Vrataski's death, Cage decides to hunt the Omega alone, abandoning her and the rest of the invasion to doom on the beach. When he arrives at the dam, he discovers that the Omega is not there. He manages to kill himself before an Alpha can steal his blood and prevent him from resetting the day. Back at Heathrow, he tells Vrataski and Carter that his vision was a trick. Cage and Vrataski adopt a new approach: they infiltrate the Ministry of Defence in search of a prototype built by Carter that will allow Cage to discover the Omega's true location. The device is a transponder which once attached to an Alpha, finds the location of the Omega. After several failed loops they obtain the device from General Brigham, which reveals that the Omega is located under the Louvre Pyramid in Paris (Cage stuck the device in his leg to activate the prototype as he is an Alpha now). They are injured as they flee & both are knocked unconscious so Rita is unable to kill Cage this time when he get injured. Cage's life is saved by a blood transfusion, but it removes his ability to reset the day. Vrataski frees Cage and they return to Heathrow, where they convince his squad to help destroy the Omega. The team is given instructions not to kill the Alpha, as if an Alpha is killed, the Omega will reset the day & will know in advance of the squad's attack on Louvre. The other squad members sacrifice themselves to get Cage and Vrataski beneath the Louvre. Vrataski distracts a waiting Alpha while Cage advances on the Omega. The Alpha kills them both, but not before Cage primes and drops a grenade belt into the Omega's core, destroying it and neutralizing the other Mimics. Cage's body absorbs the Omega's blood. He wakes up en route to his meeting with Brigham the day before. Brigham announces that Mimic activity has ceased following a power surge in Paris. Cage is never arrested and he goes to Heathrow, where he finds his squad mates, including Farell. None of them recognize him and treat him respectfully as an officer, as he is once again a Major. He meets Vrataski, who does not recognize him either. She asks what he wants, as she had many times before, and he smirks and laughs.

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Edge of Tomorrow

Watch out for that alien tentacle—it’s a doozy.

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

As you may have heard, the new Tom Cruise movie is basically an alien-invasion Groundhog Day , in which our hero must live the same day over and over again, trying to do it a little better each time. But whereas the Harold Ramis–Bill Murray classic is a comic meditation on getting over yourself and learning to appreciate life, Edge of Tomorrow is about something else: making action movies.

It begins with the sort of montage you’ve seen in a million other Hollywood blow-’em-ups, particularly post-9/11: a series of clips from faux-news broadcasts, which quickly convey that in this version of the near-future a mysterious alien race that looks like the demon spawn of the Flying Spaghetti Monster has invaded the Earth and rapidly annihilated much of it. Europe, in particular, is a bloody mess. In a few of these clips, we see a military spokesman named William Cage (Cruise), who looks like the slick propagandist that he is. You may recognize him from the many other films in which Tom Cruise has played a callow hustler of one kind or another, from The Color of Money to Rain Man to Jerry Maguire . The most obvious precedent is Lt. Daniel Kaffee, the Navy lawyer from A Few Good Men , who, like Cage, begins his movie hoping to avoid real work or risky entanglements.

Cage’s Colonel Jessup is Gen. Brigham (Brendan Gleeson), British leader of the United Defense Force, the international military effort to thwart the extraterrestrials. He orders Cage to the front with a camera crew, the better to sell his impending, D-Day–like invasion of alien-dominated France to a worldwide audience of potential recruits. When Cage refuses and then runs— Tom Cruise does like to run —Brigham has him handcuffed and shipped to the front with new orders: to join the squad of grunts who will storm the beach first and surely be slaughtered. He shortly is.

And then he wakes up: back at the base, in handcuffs, experiencing the previous day all over again, Phil Connors–like. How or why this is happening is not clear at first, but on one of his repeat trips to the invasion, Cage finds the Virgil who can guide him through this hell: Rita Vrataski, a legendary UDF soldier called the Angel of Verdun because of her miraculous feats of alien-killing in that old French city best known for a brutal WWI battle. Rita—the name, as Manohla Dargis points out , may be a nod to Andie MacDowell’s character in Groundhog Day —is played by Emily Blunt, whose surprising performance as an utterly convincing badass may be the best thing about this movie. Vrataski, too, had a period of chronic do-overs and, unlike Cage, she knows why: It has to do with those murderous extraterrestrials, called (for reasons that were never quite clear to me) Mimics. They can control time, and because Cage killed one of the “Alpha” Mimics, that time control was passed on to him. He now has the power to “reset the day.”

Perhaps the speculative biology and metaphysics of all this is clearer in All You Need Is Kill , the illustrated Japanese novel by Hiroshi Sakurazaka that Edge of Tomorrow is based on. In the movie, though, it’s just graspable enough for you to focus on what really matters: watching Tom Cruise get killed over and over and over again. Vrataski takes Cage under her wing—or, rather, under her giant, weaponized cricket bat —and schools him in the art of near-future warfare. Then they attempt to memorize the events of the beach invasion so that they can duck and weave and kill their way to the lead alien beast, a kind of central brain that, as we learn in a looong scene of exposition, directly controls the littler creepy-crawlies causing all the carnage across the continent.

If that sounds like a video game, it should. Sakurazaka’s novel was inspired by playing one , and Edge of Tomorrow is essentially a cinematic version of Halo in which a single player gets unlimited lives so that he can learn to dodge all the enemies and win the game. That repetition would get tedious if not for the comic brio that Cruise and director Doug Liman bring to the butchery: Again and again, Cage tries and fails to dodge some weapon or vehicle or alien tendril and amusingly goes down.

This practice-makes-perfect routine looks a lot like an actor rehearsing his stunts—and as Cruise is fond of reminding us, he does his own stunts. This is surely not a coincidence: Liman and his screenwriters have built in enough nods to other movies— Groundhog Day , Alien , Saving Private Ryan , and so on—to make clear that the meta-ness is the point. This is a movie about Tom Cruise working very, very hard to please the world.

And please me he did, though I was already a fan. Not that the pleasure was particularly profound: Despite the movie’s allusions to World Wars I and II, Edge of Tomorrow is utterly shallow when it comes to war, giving us an inhuman enemy we are never asked to understand and a small cast of fellow soldiers who are mostly forgettable. Lately, it seems, we don’t expect anything more from a Tom Cruise movie : He’s taken on a string of big-budget, crowd-pleasing action flicks, after avoiding them for most of his career . Watching his physically expert but psychologically thin performance in this one, it’s hard not to feel as though he, too, is caught in a time loop of sorts, doing variations on the same thing over and over—and getting very good at it, but with much less than the fate of humanity at stake.

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Region Free UK Import. UV digital codes will not work in the USA. An alien race, undefeatable by any existing military unit, has launched a relentless attack on Earth, and Major William Cage finds himself dropped into a suicide mission. Killed within minutes, Cage is thrown into a time loop, forced to live out the same brutal combat over and over, fighting and dying again and again. Training alongside warrior Rita Vrataski, his skills slowly evolve, and each battle moves them one step closer to defeating the enemy in this intense action thriller.

Product details

MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.36 x 5.28 x 0.63 inches; 2.4 ounces
Director ‏ : ‎ Doug Liman
Run time ‏ : ‎ 113 minutes
Actors ‏ : ‎ Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Brendan Gleeson, Bill Paxton
Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English, Spanish, French
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09F8QRLLV
Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
#698 in Science Fiction Blu-ray Discs
#3,880 in Action & Adventure Blu-ray Discs

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What Tom Cruise's Weirdest Sci-Fi Movie Gets Wrong About Time Travel

Are time loops possible according to physics?

The wacky, high-octane sci-fi 2014 movie Edge of Tomorrow has it all: Tom Cruise, alien invasions, the U.S. military-industrial complex, and a shaky grasp of the concept of time.

But how realistic is its view of time travel? First, we need to dive into the movie a bit.

In a Groundhog Day scenario from hell, the battle-inexperienced Major Bill Cage (Tom Cruise) finds himself stuck in a time loop that reboots the same day again and again — but with aliens known as “Mimics” that are hellbent on destroying humanity. Each day, Cage dies on the battlefield between aliens and mankind, and each day he awakens in the same training camp surrounded by tough soldiers capable of deploying massive robotic “mech suits” to slaughter the invading alien army.

One of these soldiers is none other than Sergeant Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt). With the help of particle physicist and biologist, Dr. Carter, Vrataski explains to Cage how he acquired his time loop skills from the very aliens they’re trying to kill.

Basically, an alien hive mind known as Omega is the brains behind this military invasion. Whenever another type of alien — known as Alpha — dies in battle, the Omega resets time, starting the invasion over again. When Alpha attacked Cage with a ghastly blue goo, he absorbed the same time rebooting abilities from Omega.

“How do I control it?” Cage asks.

“You have to die. Every day. Until the Omega’s destroyed,” Vrataski tells a dismayed Cage.

The rest of the movie shows how Cage uses the skills and knowledge he gleans during each reboot to eventually defeat the invading aliens.

By now, the time loop concept has become wildly familiar to Hollywood and has been featured in wide-ranging projects from Happy Death Day to Russian Doll . But at the time of Edge of Tomorrow’ s release, the concept still felt pretty fresh. But this kind of time travel is more the domain of the screen than anything feasible in physics.

“The sort of loops that appear in Edge of Tomorrow are not physically possible, even given the most speculative physics,” Nikk Effingham , professor of philosophy at the University of Birmingham and an expert on the philosophy of time, tells Inverse .

Reel Science is an Inverse series that reveals the real (and fake) science behind your favorite movies and TV.

How Does Time Work?

Tom Cruise on the battlefield in Edge of Tomorrow

Edge of Tomorrow features Major Cage (Tom Cruise) as an experienced soldier stuck in an absurd time-loop scenario involving aliens.

As a movie that explores the concept of time loops, Edge of Tomorrow falls squarely in the time travel movie genre. So before we can explain the physics of time loops, we have to understand the differing perspectives on travel and, indeed, the nature of time itself. We like to think of time’s arrow proceeding in one direction — forward — but it’s not really that simple.

“Physics tells against the idea that time has a direction,” Effingham says.

John Friedman , physicist and professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, tells Inverse that the “direction” of time we humans observe simply proceeds in a direction of increasing entropy — thermal energy or disorder — which has its origins in the “smooth initial conditions in the early Universe.”

The perception of time depends on where you stand. Effingham says it's possible to imagine that there are “time-reversed” people who are proceeding backward in time from our point of view while they’re traveling forward in time according to their perception. In other words: time is a finicky beast to wrap your head around.

“ Edge of Tomorrow is sheer fantasy.”

Apart from physics, there are two general philosophical schools of thought on the nature of time: A-theory and B-theory. Both have differing takes on how we view the present, past, and future in relation to each other. A-theorists believe we can delineate events as taking place in past, present, or future, whereas B-theorists view temporal events in relation to each other.

“According to the A-theory, there are real facts about who is present, and who is past/future,” Kristie Miller , joint director of the Center for Time and philosophy professor at the University of Sydney, tells Inverse . “Likewise, the B-theorist thinks that all events exist, and that the present is just where you happen to be, and the past is just times earlier than that.”

Time travel in Edge of Tomorrow is logically possible whether you subscribe to an A-theory or B-theory of time — but the physics behind it is more debatable.

There are typically two different kinds of time travel stories we see in pop culture. In the first, you go back and change the past; this kind of movie violates what Seth Lloyd , a professor of mechanical engineering at MIT and co-founder of startup Turing , which devises time travel-inspired quantum computing applications to solve societal problems, calls the self-consistency principle. In the second kind of time travel story, you go back in time and your past actions are consistent with what we know happens in the future, so that kind of time travel logically works.

In Edge of Tomorrow , Cage is obviously trying to change the past, so this doesn’t really square with what we know about the physics of time travel.

“You can't actually go back into the past and then change it because you have to be consistent with what happened,” Lloyd says.

Is There A Scientific Basis For Time Loops?

Abstract reactor. Reactor core room. Device for carrying out a controlled thermonuclear reaction. Me...

On their surface, time loops seem to superficially resemble a physics concept known as a closed timelike curve.

Let’s get this out of the way first: the term “time loop” is a general fictional invention to describe the repetition of a segment of time and is not technically a scientific concept.

“We should just make a distinction between what we know about the physics of time travel in quantum mechanics and then just, you know, the notion of a loop in time,” Lloyd says.

It’s true that, on their surface, time loops seem to superficially resemble a physics concept known as a closed timelike curve.

“So when you say time loop, the thing that comes to mind is a closed timelike curve,” Nicole Yunger Halpern , author of Quantum Steampunk: The Physics of Yesterday's Tomorrow , tells Inverse .

“The entire Universe might form a time loop if it rotated in the correct way.”

Closed timelike curves are effectively trajectories through space-time that depart from a point in time and return to that same point in time through a closed loop via a mechanism like a wormhole. Yunger Halpern says closed timelike curves are compatible with Einstein’s theory of general relativity, which delineates the physical rules around space-time and gravity. It’s possible the creators of Edge of Tomorrow were inspired by the concept of closed timelike curves and tried to mimic a proposed physics concept with a fictional time loop conceit.

Lloyd suggests imagining entering the handle of a coffee mug and exiting through the same handle back to an earlier point in time. In theory, closed timelike curves would let you return to an earlier point in time and eventually wind back in the future — such as in other time travel movies like Looper . (Lloyd’s research group also simulated one kind of model of closed timelike curves .)

“There are some physicists who thought that certain kinds of time loops might be possible. For instance, Kurt Gödel suggested that the entire Universe might form a time loop if it rotated in the correct way,” Effingham says

Is Edge of Tomorrow Realistic — At All?

Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt in The Edge of Tomorrow .

While Lloyd thinks time loops serve as fun narrative devices, he’s not sure about how they fit into our current understanding of physics.

“We don't know how to make them consistent with the laws of physics,” Lloyd says, adding, “the physics version of it doesn't really allow you to reset time.”

Lloyd says it doesn’t make sense that you would have different memories every time you go through the loop — as in Edge of Tomorrow . For her part, Yunger Halpern would logically expect the dead body of Tom Cruise’s character, Cage, to end up in the past — not a living version of him.

“The problem there is that if you die at the end of the loop, then you're not available to go through the loop again. So that's my sticking point,” Lloyd adds.

“It is not known whether the laws of physics allow time loops (closed timelike curves) on very small scales,” Friedman says. He says that incredibly tiny loops smaller than a proton — lasting 10^-43 seconds or with size 10^-33 centimeters — could theoretically be possible, but it’s unknown. He explains that macroscopic time loops to transport a human require negative energy — a difficult feat to achieve.

“I think its highly unlikely that there are macroscopic time loops,” Friedman adds.

Other experts are even more unequivocal.

“In the same way physics doesn’t allow for mind control and possession — even outside of time travel scenarios! — Edge of Tomorrow is sheer fantasy,” Effingham says.

Effingham says physics typically speculates about whether physical bodies can go back in time, but in Edge of Tomorrow , Cage is “psychically” time traveling and his future consciousness takes over his past body — a concept far beyond the bounds of physics.

The Mimic aliens in Edge of Tomorrow .

Samuel Kuypers , a postdoctoral researcher in theoretical physics at the USI (Università della Svizzera italiana) who is researching a model of time travel, tells Inverse the only way Edge of Tomorrow makes sense from a physics perspective is if it’s “some kind of time travel where maybe his consciousness is the thing traveling back in time — maybe it's just pure data that's sent back on the closed timelike curve.”

So, if the aliens had some kind of superior technology that allowed them to send Cage’s memories back on a closed timelike curve, the movie can clear at least one logical hurdle. But Kuypers has an even more interesting theory: Edge of Tomorrow isn’t actually a triumphant action movie where the good guys save the day — at least not in every universe.

According to physicist David Deutsch’s model of closed timelike curves, we can avoid logical problems with time travel — like the grandfather paradox — by assuming there are parallel timelines, which physicists refer to as Everett’s “ many worlds theory .”

“Time travel can only be made sense of because you travel to another timeline,” Kuypers says.

Applying this logic to Edge of Tomorrow , it naturally follows that Cage only succeeds to save the world from aliens in one timeline. In every other timeline, he dies in vain and humanity gets obliterated by blue-goo-dumping alien beings.

“My main observation about the movie is that we might have watched a tragedy without knowing that’s what we watched,” Kuypers says.

But whether you see Edge of Tomorrow as a tragic attempt to defeat aliens across time and space or a heroic Hollywood victory, one thing’s undeniable: It’s one hell of an entertaining reboot of the time loop genre.

Edge of Tomorrow is streaming now on HBO Max.

This article was originally published on March 17, 2023

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Tom Cruise rewatch: Edge of Tomorrow is practically designed to be revisited several times

The Groundhog Day of sci-fi action, it stars both a very un-Tom Tom, and, a bit later, the intensely disciplined Cruise we know and love.

Senior Writer

In advance of this Friday's release of Top Gun: Maverick , our writers return to their favorite Tom Cruise movies, in appreciation of an on-screen persona that's evolved over decades.

Watch enough summer blockbusters and it can seem like you're viewing the same one over and over again. It is ironic, then, that one of the greatest big-budget extravaganzas to be unleashed on movies screens during the warmer months in recent times — as well as one of the best Tom Cruise movies ever — does exactly that.

In director Doug Liman's 2014 alien invasion movie Edge of Tomorrow , Cruise plays a publicity flack named William Cage who is sent off to die at the hands (well, technically at the the luminescent tentacles) of the monstrous Mimics after falling foul of Brendan Gleeson's General Brigham. Cage does indeed swiftly perish during the course of the human forces' doomed attempt to establish a beachhead in alien-controlled France but gets covered in extraterrestrial blood before he dies, giving him the power to do-over the previous day every time he croaks.

Cruise's character teams with Emily Blunt 's war hero Rita Vrataski, who previously possessed the same power Cage now wields, and together the pair attempt to execute a plan which will banish the alien menace forever, with Blunt literally and repeatedly executing Cruise along the way. The result is in many ways a combination of 1962 D-Day drama The Longest Day with beloved romantic-comedy Groundhog Day . It's a minor miracle the film was never called The Longest Groundhog Day , given that the movie was originally called All You Need Is Kill , was retitled Edge of Tomorrow for its theatrical release, and was then retitled again as Live. Die. Repeat.: Edge of Tomorrow when it arrived on home media.

Edge of Tomorrow is a blast, regardless of what you choose to call it. The film is blessed with a script co-written by Tony-winning playwright Jez Butterworth, his brother John-Henry, and longtime Cruise collaborator Christopher McQuarrie which is both sharp and, when it comes to the time travel aspect of the movie, tricksy. Liman, whose previous credits included Swingers and the first Bourne movie, handles the action mayhem with aplomb while leaving room for moments of drama and comedy between Cruise and Blunt. The latter fulsomely establishes her genre heroine credentials as she marauds through the battlefield clad in her exoskeleton-armor slaying aliens with a modified helicopter blade.

The film's secret weapon — though there is little that is low-key about his performance — is the late Bill Paxton as Master Sergeant Farrell, a voluble exemplar of gung-ho militarism who is put in charge of Cruise's initially reluctant soldier. When I spoke with Paxton about the film, the Aliens actor described it as a "very underrated movie" and also recalled how Cruise had been supportive of him during his early time on set. "We knew each other in passing, so he was digging that," said the actor. "I remember him saying, 'You're killing this part!' I said, 'I haven't done anything yet!' He goes, 'You're killing it!'"

Tom Cruise is, of course, a legendarily enthusiastic person, but it's easy to understand why he might have felt particularly keen on his role in Edge of Tomorrow . The Top Gun star initially gets to play a nice reversal of his usual onscreen persona, portraying someone who runs away from danger rather than toward it, and doesn't even know how to turn off his own gun's safety switch. His character then turns into someone hellbent on achieving perfection through training, a plot development which surely must have appealed to this most autodidactic of actors.

Edge of Tomorrow earned $370 million at the box office around the world, which was regarded as something of a disappointment given its high budget of a reported $178 million. Liman has repeatedly talked-up a sequel, to be called Live Die Repeat and Repeat but last year Blunt indicated to EW that the project still languished in development hell. "That was an amazing script, but I just don't know what the future holds for it," the actress said.

In truth, it is hard to know how they could top a movie whose thrilling mix of action, humor, action, romance, science fiction, propulsive plotting, and terrific central performance renders Edge of Tomorrow one of Cruise's most enjoyable films. Whether you like like seeing the star doing incredible things or having incredibly awful things done to him, this is a movie that was made for repeat viewings.

Check out our daily must-see picks — plus news, celeb interviews, trivia, and more — on EW's What to Watch podcast.

Quentin Tarantino Must Cast Tom Cruise in His Final Movie After What Michael Mann Said About His ‘Psychopathic’ Immersion

Michael Mann's description of one Tom Cruise villain in his movie makes him a perfect fit for an unhinged lead in Quentin Tarantino's final film

quentin tarantino-tom cruise-michael mann

Tom Cruise immersed into the psyche of a sociopathic killer in Michael Mann's 2004 thriller, Collateral.
Mann shared that Cruise took on the character of Vincent as a real adventure as he had to undergo a lot of psychological training.
The perfect portrayal makes him a suitable candidate for Quentin Tarantino's final film, considering how unhinged his characters are.

While fans greatly appreciate Tom Cruise’s performance and stunts in the Mission: Impossible and Top Gun franchises, his one role often goes underappreciated. Cruise turned into a cold-blooded hitman in Michael Mann’s 2004 thriller film, Collateral . Mann was impressed with how Cruise perfectly fit the sociopathy of the film’s villain Vincent.

Mann also revealed the Method acting of the actor. The director’s words about Cruise make him a perfect candidate for Quentin Tarantino’s final film. Tarantino’s films usually feature such unhinged characters, who show traits of borderline psychopathy. Cruise’s Collateral villain even feels like a character right out of a Tarantino film.

Tom Cruise’s Role In Collateral Is Proof Enough That He Needs To Be Cast In Quentin Tarantino’s Final Film

The villain role of Vincent in Michael Mann’s Collateral was initially meant for Russell Crowe. However, when the Gladiator actor passed on the role, Tom Cruise took on one of the rare villain roles in his entire career. Speaking to Deadline , Mann shared that the role was a kind of a turn-on for a man of adventure like Cruise.

“I was offered Jerry Maguire”: Before He Rejected Iron Man, Tom Cruise Nearly Lost His Best ’90s Movie to Another Marvel Star

He shared that it was a real adventure for Cruise to explore a character who was totally alien to him. Mann described Vincent as a “solipsistic sociopath” who is “methodical and good” in what he does. He shared that the villain had a rare sociopathy with his “cosmic indifference” and “outrageous statements.”

Mann further shared one of the scenes in the film, in which he pointed out the exceptional dialogue delivery of the actor. Mann shared with Deadline :

Or answering Jamie’s accusation of ‘you killed him’ with, ‘I didn’t kill him. The bullets killed him and then he fell out the window.’ The flat irony of Tom’s delivery on those lines is so perfect. It was a very different character for him, and I knew Tom would throw himself into whatever I needed to take him through to become that assassin.

Cruise just didn’t immerse in the psyche of the character. When the interviewer compared the action sequence in the shootout scene in the nightclub with John Wick ‘s scenes, Mann pointed out a major difference. He shared that Cruise had undergone training in real techniques of close-quarter combat with British SAS trainer Mick Gould.

The Top Gun actor’s performance perfectly fits the bill for a Quentin Tarantino movie. Tarantino’s announced tenth and final film, The Movie Critic , fell apart earlier in April. Interestingly, Cruise was rumored to have a role in the film ( via THR ). He was also earlier eyed for Brad Pitt’s role in Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood .

Whether these rumors were true or not, Cruise now has the chance to take the lead in Tarantino’s final film. From Samuel L. Jackson’s Jules Winnfield to Brad Pitt’s Cliff Booth, all of Tarantino’s protagonists exhibited a sociopathic side. Cruise will do exceptionally well in portraying such a protagonist, considering his performance in Collateral .

Michael Mann Also Opened Up About Tom Cruise’s Extreme Method Acting For Collateral

Michael Mann shared with Deadline that Cruise underwent intense training to transform into a hitman for the film. His unconventional preparation for the film included him posing as a FedEx delivery man. Cruise’s task was not to get recognized by the people in the liquor store where he was sent.

“I realized he would never do the movie”: Tom Cruise Quickly Dropped a Movie for 1 Personal Reason That Later Went to His Arch-Rival Brad Pitt

He was initially skeptical about the task as he was sure that people would recognize him. However, he successfully executed the task as Mann shared that no one recognized him due to the FedEx sign on his shirt and hat. He even managed to have conversations with a couple of people in the liquor store. Mann shared:

I wanted him to feel what it would be like to blend in, to mix with people and have conversations. He went to Central Market and trained to be a FedEx delivery guy. He said to me, ‘They’re gonna know it’s me.’ I said, ‘No, they’ll see the sign that says FedEx, and you’ll wear sunglasses and a cap and carry that portable computer that drivers used to have when they made deliveries.’ Tom went in and delivered something to a liquor stand and sat down and struck up a conversation with a couple people and insinuated himself into the lives of others.

Mann appreciated the level of psychological training he underwent for the role. For Mann, working with Cruise was a dream because of his sheer dedication to jump into this adventure. The film went on to receive critical acclaim and a strong 86% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes . The film grossed $220.2 million at the box office ( via Box Office Mojo ).

Collateral is now available for streaming on Paramount+.

collateral Michael Mann Quentin Tarantino Tom Cruise

Written by Hashim Asraff

Hashim, Entertainment Writer. With over 1500 published articles on FandomWire, he covers a wide range of topics from celebrity life to comic book movies. He holds a Masters degree in Sociology and his expertise proves invaluable in handling sensitive news. His passion for crime investigation thrillers has turned him into a detective, exploring the darkest corners of the internet during his research.

Netflix top 10 movies — here's the 3 worth watching now

These are the best movies to watch in Netflix's top 10

Tom Cruise as Major William Cage in "Edge of Tomorrow" now streaming on Netflix

Best of Netflix top 10
Full Netflix top 10

Looking for some good movies to watch this week? Looking at the Netflix top 10 is usually my go-to, but it can often feel like a mixed bag. While it provides a handy guide to what’s currently popular, it doesn’t always reflect the highest quality of content. Some weeks, the streaming service is dominated by animated movies aimed primarily at younger audiences.

However, if you dig a little deeper into the rankings, you’ll find a few standout gems that are definitely worth your time. After sifting through the list, we’ve chosen three movies that deliver a substantial, engaging experience beyond mere box office numbers. These selections are well worth adding to your watchlist.

This article is based on the Netflix top 10 movies as of 12 p.m. ET on Sept. 18.

BEST MOVIES IN THE NETFLIX TOP 10

'rebel ridge'.

Our first recommendation has to be one of the greatest action-thrillers of this year. It rightly earned its No.1 spot on Netflix , and it didn’t deserve to be knocked off by a movie like "Uglies" (yes I’m salty about that). However, it’s still in second place, and I would urge you to watch it again if you’ve already seen it.

"Rebel Ridge" centers around Terry Richmond (played by Aaron Pierre, the next big action star), a man who arrives in the small town of Shelby Springs to bail out his cousin and protect him from imminent danger. However, Terry’s mission is derailed when corrupt local law enforcement unjustly seizes his life savings. This confrontation leads him into a deadly struggle against Police Chief Sandy Burnne (Don Johnson) and a corrupt department that holds a tight grip on the town.

Watch it now on Netflix

'Black Mass'

If you’re in the mood for an engaging (but controversial), nail-biting thriller this weekend, "Black Mass" is worth a watch. While it’s not the most amazing crime drama ever (and certainly does have its underwhelming moments), it holds enough tension and underworld intrigue to make it interesting.

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Here at Tom’s Guide our expert editors are committed to bringing you the best news, reviews and guides to help you stay informed and ahead of the curve!

This crime drama is based on the true story of James "Whitey" Bulger, one of Boston's most notorious criminals. Johnny Depp stars as Bulger, a ruthless gangster who becomes an FBI informant to help take down his rivals in the city's mafia. The movie explores Bulger's rise to power in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as the complex relationship between him and FBI agent John Connolly (Joel Edgerton), a childhood friend who helps Bulger in exchange for information.

'Edge of Tomorrow'

Despite receiving widespread critical acclaim for its smart storytelling and thrilling action, "Edge of Tomorrow" unfortunately underperformed at the box office. Honestly, this still baffles me considering Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt are brilliant, and the movie in general throws sci-fi and action together in the most satisfying way. Regardless, it deserves to be in the top 10.

This movie is set in a future where Earth faces an invasion by a powerful alien race. The story follows Major William "Bill" Cage (Tom Cruise), a soldier who finds himself stuck in a time loop, reliving the same day every time he dies in battle. With the help of Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt), a renowned soldier, Cage uses his ability to try and defeat the aliens and save humanity.

NETFLIX TOP 10 MOVIES RIGHT NOW

1. "Uglies" (2024) 2. "Rebel Ridge" (2024) 3. "Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter" (2024) 4. "Black Mass" (2015) 5. "Officer Black Belt" (2024) 6. "Edge of Tomorrow" (2014) 7. "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" (2023) 8. "Trolls Band Together" (2023) 9. "Shark Tale" (2004) 10. "Hands of Stone" (2016)

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Alix is a Streaming Writer at Tom’s Guide, which basically means watching the best movies and TV shows and then writing about them. Previously, she worked as a freelance writer for Screen Rant and Bough Digital, both of which sparked her interest in the entertainment industry. When she’s not writing about the latest movies and TV shows, she’s either playing horror video games on her PC or working on her first novel.

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Ken_G Thanks, I'll check some of these out. Reply
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2 Movies 1 Moment: Tom Cruise Pulls the Pins on Aliens
WAR OF THE WORLDS, Tim Robbins, Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, 2005, (c) Paramount/courtesy Everett
2 Movies 1 Moment: Tom Cruise Pulls the Pins on Aliens

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COMMENTS

Edge of Tomorrow
Edge of Tomorrow [a] is a 2014 American science fiction action film directed by Doug Liman and written by Christopher McQuarrie and the writing team of Jez and John-Henry Butterworth, loosely based on the Japanese light novel All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka.Starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt, the film takes place in a future where most of Europe is occupied by an alien race.
War of the Worlds (2005)
War of the Worlds: Directed by Steven Spielberg. With Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Miranda Otto, Justin Chatwin. An alien invasion threatens the future of humanity. The catastrophic nightmare is depicted through the eyes of one American family fighting for survival.
Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
Edge of Tomorrow: Directed by Doug Liman. With Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Brendan Gleeson, Bill Paxton. A soldier fighting aliens gets to relive the same day over and over again, the day restarting every time he dies.
Oblivion (2013)
Oblivion: Directed by Joseph Kosinski. With Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough. Jack Harper, a drone repairman stationed on Earth that has been ravaged by war with extraterrestrials, questions his identity after rescuing the woman who keeps appearing in his dreams.
War of the Worlds (2005 film)
War of the Worlds is a 2005 American science fiction action-thriller film [b] directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Josh Friedman and David Koepp, loosely based on H. G. Wells' 1898 novel, The War of the Worlds. Tom Cruise stars in the main role alongside Dakota Fanning, Miranda Otto, and Tim Robbins, with narration by Morgan Freeman.It follows an American dock worker who must look after ...
Edge Of Tomorrow TRAILER 1 (2014)
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Edge of Tomorrow
Edge of Tomorrow. When Earth falls under attack from invincible aliens, no military unit in the world is able to beat them. Maj. William Cage (Tom Cruise), an officer who has never seen combat, is ...
Edge Of Tomorrow Official Trailer #1 (2014)
Watch the TRAILER REVIEW: http://goo.gl/5D7JDPSubscribe to TRAILERS: http://bit.ly/sxaw6hSubscribe to COMING SOON: http://bit.ly/H2vZUnLike us on FACEBOOK: h...
Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
Edge of Tomorrow (or Live. Die. Repeat.) is an exhilarating mash-up of time-loops, alien invasions, war, and post-apocalyptic humanity struggling for survival. Add Tom Cruise's charismatic coward to champion and Emily Blunt's battle-hardened warrior into that mix, and this movie soars from a cool idea to an astonishing sci-fi epic!
Edge of Tomorrow movie review (2014)
Tom Cruise, who seems to be spending his fifties saving humanity, plays Major William Cage, an Army public relations officer.Cage is a surprising choice for the role of hero. He's never seen combat yet inexplicably finds himself thrown into the middle of a ferocious battle that will decide the outcome of the war.
Tom Cruise Battles Invaders in 'Edge of Tomorrow'
Edge of Tomorrow. Directed by Doug Liman. Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi. PG-13. 1h 53m. By Manohla Dargis. June 5, 2014. Tell me if you've heard this one before. A man wakes up and quickly realizes ...
Edge Of Tomorrow Ending Explained
Based on the Japanese novel All You Need is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka, Edge of Tomorrow tells the story of Major William Cage (played by Tom Cruise), a man who is forced onto the front lines for a major military operation against invading aliens known as "Mimics."Untrained and unprepared for combat, Cage is killed within minutes - only to wake up 24 hours earlier with no choice but to relive ...
The Ending Of 2005's War Of The Worlds Explained
He called the alien invasion "very informative as to who Tom Cruise's character really is." While the overarching narrative of the film is the fight to survive this alien invasion, Ray's personal ...
The Untold Truth Of Edge Of Tomorrow
Warner Bros. In the theatrical cut of "Edge of Tomorrow," Tom Cruise's William Cage awakens after sacrificing himself to defeat the aliens known as Mimics. As he looks around, he realizes he's ...
Oblivion (2013 film)
Oblivion is a 2013 American post-apocalyptic action-adventure film produced and directed by Joseph Kosinski from a screenplay by Karl Gajdusek and Michael deBruyn, starring Tom Cruise in the main role alongside Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and Melissa Leo in supporting roles. Based on Kosinski's unpublished graphic novel of the same name, the film ...
First Battle Scene
First Battle Scene | EDGE OF TOMORROW (2014) Tom Cruise, Movie CLIP HDPLOT: A soldier fighting aliens gets to relive the same day over and over again, the da...
Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
A race of aliens called Mimics has taken over continental Europe. General Brigham (Brendan Gleeson), head of humanity's United Defense Force, orders Major William Cage (Tom Cruise), a public affairs officer and former advertising executive, to cover combat on the beaches of France during the next day's assault on the Mimics.
Edge of Tomorrow, starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt, reviewed
As you may have heard, the new Tom Cruise movie is basically an alien-invasion Groundhog Day, in which our hero must live the same day over and over again, trying to do it a little better each ...
Amazon.com: Edge Of Tomorrow : Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Brendan Gleeson
Tom Cruise is an unwilling participant in the invasion where the humans find themselves taking massive casualties as the aliens somehow know they are coming. Cruise is no warrior and he stumbles around a beachhead reminiscent of Saving Private Ryan as far as bloody disaster.
The Weirdest Tom Cruise Sci-Fi Movie on HBO Max Gets One ...
The wacky, high-octane sci-fi 2014 movie Edge of Tomorrow has it all: Tom Cruise, alien invasions, the U.S. military-industrial complex, and a shaky grasp of the concept of time.. But how ...
War of the Worlds 2005 Tom Cruise- First Encounter with Alien ...
War of the Worlds directed by Steven Spielberg starring Tom CruiseIt would be very nice if you can support us by donating here - https://www.patreon.com/gol...
WAR OF THE WORLDS Trailer (2005)
WAR OF THE WORLDS Trailer (2005) | Sci-Fi, Tom CruisePLOT: An alien invasion threatens the future of humanity. The catastrophic nightmare is depicted through...
Why Tom Cruise is to die for in Edge of Tomorrow
In director Doug Liman's 2014 alien invasion movie Edge of Tomorrow, Cruise plays a publicity flack named William Cage who is sent off to die at the hands (well, technically at the the luminescent ...
Quentin Tarantino Must Cast Tom Cruise in His Final Movie After What
He shared that it was a real adventure for Cruise to explore a character who was totally alien to him. Mann described Vincent as a "solipsistic sociopath" who is "methodical and good" in what he does. He shared that the villain had a rare sociopathy with his "cosmic indifference" and "outrageous statements.". Mann further shared one of the scenes in the film, in which he ...
Netflix top 10 movies
Honestly, this still baffles me considering Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt are brilliant, and the movie in general throws sci-fi and action together in the most satisfying way. Regardless, it deserves ...

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