REVIEW - EDGE OF TOMORROW (DOUG LIMAN)

Borrowing from the best, Doug Liman's sci-fi action movie may not have an original bone in its body, but that body is powerful and efficient, and the head that controls it sage and steady. A functional thriller, not without a taste for flair. That's the kind of action movie I want, and when it delivers the requisite special-effects spectacle, it's also the kind that audiences want. All that borrowing doesn't go unnoticed, which seems to be the intention. Liman and his screenwriters (adapting from a Japanese manga) direct our focus toward the similarities between their premise and the films that have inspired it, as if to encourage us to make comparisons - an ambitious gambit, and one which pays off. The manner in which the film's inspirations, connected by a plot device that sees time repeating itself, are integrated into the general premise is enthralling, and Liman's execution displays an appreciation for sophisticated effects filmmaking that's unusual in someone not wholly accustomed to working with extensive CGI. He's aided by James Herbert's editing, which is appropriately, in fact necessarily flashy, but which is integral in ensuring that the film keeps its grip on clarity in the midst of frenetic action. The crux of achieving a high quality of action filmmaking is in said clarity; the crux of achieving a high level of tension is in establishing the stakes and maintaining a breathless pace. Combine the two, and you've got yourself a successful piece of entertainment, as we have here. The addition of a high level of intelligence in the utilisation of certain copycat narrative elements is a further triumph for Edge of Tomorrow. On the whole, the film is rather less than triumphant - there's plenty of hammy acting, the screenwriters couldn't resist the temptation of developing a romance, however mild, between their two leads (though you can feel them try to resist), and no matter how hard we try, it's impossible to escape the fact that this is another bloody Tom-Cruise-saves-the-world movie - but its victories among films of a similar ilk are noteworthy.