I’m a big Tom Cruise fan, no matter how cray-cray he is… but mostly I’m watching because the plot looks awesome.
Where I got the movie
Greenwich library. Watching it on a plane to Arkansas!
Expectations
Tom Cruise living, dying, and repeating said process. If I had to take a stab at the plot, I’d say Cruise (and female costar) go to some kind of post-apocalyptic Earth to do...something?
So how was it?
Yeah, no, I’m now fairly certain that’s the plot to Cruise’s Oblivion, which I should probably see.
Anyway.
I really, really liked
Cage seems like your typical Tom Cruise Military Dude at first, but we quickly find out he’s a useless cowardly asshole. As an actor, Cruise doesn’t have a huge range -- but when he deviates from his typical action hero role, he does it really well.
Things happen, he gets sent to the front lines, and accidentally gets stuck in a time loop. As this is the first we (or the military in general) hear anything about time manipulation, he’s justifiably WTF. His reaction to the time loop -- before and after he figures it out -- absolutely makes the movie worth watching. He ends up being trained by the famous war hero Rita (Emily Blunt) -- turns out she was caught in a time loop, too, but lost it -- in an attempt to destroy the alien threat.
Oh right, the world’s military is fighting these crazy alien things. And the soldiers are equipped with exoskeleton fighting suits.
Recommendation
Action and scifi fans. Duh.
Feels
Fun and action-y, with a hint of Oceans 11 elaborate social misdirection. The plot is smart without being wrapped up in its own complexity. The characters are engaging.
Favorites
The movie was surprisingly subtle and heartfelt about how Cruise was changing as he repeats the same day for who-knows-how-long. On the surface, he’s just memorizing the day and learning how to fight… but if you pay attention, you actually see him changing as a person. I love it when movies don’t shove this stuff down your throat.
I also liked the trust between the two characters -- he trusts her training and guidance, she trusts his knowledge of the day. Teamwork!
Least favorites
I really have no complaints. Of course there were some parts of the plot that don’t make all that much sense, you have to suspend disbelief about certain alien things, and the characters make some stupid decisions, but… it’s an action movie.
So what did I really think?
Click "read more"... massive spoilers ahead!
Yes, the movie has several things I usually find problematic: the bad-ass female action hero exists to train the male hero, not to get shit done herself ; the female action hero isn’t allowed to put herself in danger, because the male hero is in love with her ; and the male and female heroes have to get together romantically.
But y’know what? None of it bothered me.
There’s a reason -- a good reason that’s integral to the plot -- that she trains him instead of doing it herself: she lost the power, which happens to him, too. She keeps fighting, even after she loses the power, and she’s the driving force behind most of the decisions in the movie.
The fact that Cage refuses to put Rita in danger because he’s in love with her… that’s addressed and treated as problematic. It’s not presented as heroic that he’s keeping her from harm; yes, he still protects her, but he doesn’t leave her behind. It turns into a balancing act of “keeping my loved one alive” and “saving the world.” And holy hell does that create dramatic tension.
And finally, I’m not bothered by the romance, because having a romance isn’t inherently a problem. This didn’t feel tacked on, like so many action movie romances are. They’re partners, and when he falls for her after spending months with her (if not years!) it feels real and heartfelt and vulnerable. And their romance (if you can call it that) actually adds some cool complexity to the plot: he might have months to get to know her and fall in love, but she’s only living one day with him. That’s some pretty scifi shit right there.
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