Last night I went out with a few friends to watch the new film with Tom Cruise and Emily Brunt,
Edge of Tomorrow. It's based on the Japanese light novel
All you need is Kill (which I have not read). As such I can't compare it to the source material; judged on its own merits, however, I enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it.
The premise can be described as Groundhog Day meets alien invasion flick, with Cruise starting out unlikable and gradually growing thanks to his experiences. The alien invasion side of things provides our context for the repeated day, as well as a clear motivation for our characters. The aliens in contrast are not particularly well developed, and don't need to be for this movie. They do prove clever enough to serve as worthy antagonists and force our heroes to be smart.
One thing I strongly liked about this film was Emily Brunt's character, Rita Vrataski. She is a soldier, believably hard both in combat and character, who spends her time wearing realistic military clothes and armour. In short, she is a strong action character who happens to be a woman, and whose main relationship with Cage (Cruise) is as a mentor figure.
(Spoilers follow below the fold)
