Time travel is arguably the most captivating and yet most problematic idea in movie history. What’s really curious about films involving time travel is that even the well-made ones often have noticeable plot errors or seem to break the rules they themselves establish.
The 2014 Tom Cruise movie is still one of the most enjoyable sci-fi films around, largely because of its clever and entertaining use of time travel.
Edge of Tomorrow Was Considered a Flop in 2014
By 2014, Tom Cruise found himself in an unusual spot. While Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol in 2011 had seemed to revive his box office appeal after some less successful films in the mid-2000s, his subsequent movies hadn’t consistently performed well. He took a risk playing a wild rock star in the movie Rock of Ages, which didn’t earn back its production costs, and the first Jack Reacher film was only a modest success.
The film was followed by the 2013 science fiction movie Oblivion, which did reasonably well but received harsh reviews, even though it looked stunning. This mixed reaction to Oblivion might explain why Edge of Tomorrow didn’t immediately catch on with audiences, but viewers quickly discovered their initial hesitation was a mistake.
When Edge of Tomorrow first came out, it made $370.5 million worldwide, which seemed okay, but honestly, with a $178 million budget, it needed to make almost double that to actually be considered a success. But you know what’s cool? Over time, more and more people discovered it on Blu-ray and then streaming, and it slowly started gaining a real following. Its reputation totally changed – it went from being a bit of a box office question mark to a genuinely beloved sci-fi flick.
The movie initially failed, but slowly gained a following as a hidden treasure. Over time, it became widely considered one of the most intelligent time-travel films ever made, completing its remarkable transformation in public opinion.
Edge of Tomorrow’s Time Loop Structure is Brilliantly Realized
The movie Edge of Tomorrow takes place in a future where Europe has been invaded by frightening aliens called “mimics.” Tom Cruise stars as Major William Cage, part of the United Defense Force – an army created five years after the invasion to fight these glowing, tentacled creatures. Interestingly, Cage isn’t a particularly skilled or celebrated soldier.
He’s actually a PR officer, and when he’s unexpectedly sent to report on the war firsthand, he attempts to bribe a general into canceling the assignment. It’s both captivating and funny to watch Cruise portray such a self-absorbed and cowardly character – someone who would never even think about being heroic. It’s a refreshing departure from his typical action-hero roles.
Cage starts out as a coward, but he doesn’t stay that way throughout the film, even if he does remain somewhat self-centered for a while. He only truly becomes a hero by learning from his mistakes and repeatedly trying different approaches. This process also leads to a romantic relationship with Rita Vrataski, a celebrated soldier.
In a memorable scene, Cage is quickly killed in action by the mimics while wearing a battle suit – a truly gruesome death involving alien blood and an explosion. Surprisingly, he doesn’t stay dead. He finds himself reliving the same day over and over, discovering the alien blood granted him the ability to reset time whenever he dies.
The movie feels more like an original story than an adaptation of a video game. The filmmakers treat the main character’s time loop ability as if he’s a video game character who simply restarts after defeat. However, with each loop, he learns more about how to defeat his enemies.
The movie features many scenes of Cruise’s character dramatically dying, often in comical ways. But the audience is also drawn in by watching him get better at fighting the aliens with each attempt, learning how and, more importantly, when to react. This journey is similar to a video game player mastering a challenging level with each replay. That’s what makes Edge of Tomorrow unique among action films – it cleverly uses the logic of video games within its time loop storyline.
Edge of Tomorrow Marries Smarts to Delirious Entertainment
The movie Edge of Tomorrow is both incredibly fun and surprisingly smart, which is a rare combination. It started as a Japanese novel called All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka, and getting it made into a film was a complicated process – eight different writers worked on the script at various stages.
Whenever a new writer joined the project, they meticulously refined the story, making sure it was airtight and couldn’t be easily criticized when the film came out. However, the real key to the movie’s success is Christopher McQuarrie, the final writer to work on the script, and someone Tom Cruise collaborates with exceptionally well.
Christopher McQuarrie has directed four Mission: Impossible films and Jack Reacher, both starring Tom Cruise. He’s also contributed to the screenwriting of several other Cruise hits, including Valkyrie, The Mummy, and Top Gun: Maverick. This experience makes him uniquely qualified to help ensure Cruise’s movies are both intelligent and thrilling.
Though he joined the project late, Christopher McQuarrie made important changes to Edge of Tomorrow that greatly improved the film. In a 2014 interview with Film School Rejects, McQuarrie explained that he realized the story needed a stronger setup. “I knew I had to expand the first half of the movie to clearly establish the rules of the world,” he said, “so the audience could experience the story fully through the main character’s perspective.”
The action steadily gets quicker and more intense, building to a crucial scene where Cage starts training with Rita and her team, and asks if anyone recognizes him. This is when both Cage and Rita realize they’ve lived through the same time loops and share memories of them, allowing Rita to explain the rules of the loop to him – and to the viewers. Director McQuarrie calls this the core of the film, explaining that everything before this moment leads up to it, and everything after stems from it. Pretty clever, right?
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2026-02-02 05:37