Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Film and Plot Synopsis

The epic action of this sci-fi thriller unfolds in a near-future in which an alien race has hit the Earth in an unrelenting assault, unbeatable by any military unit in the world. Major William Cage 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. And, as Cage and Rita take the fight to the aliens, each repeated encounter gets them one step closer to defeating the enemy.

‘Edge of Tomorrow’ Movie Summary

“Edge of Tomorrow” is a sci-fi time-loop version of Groundhog Day set in the near-future where humankind stands on the brink of being obliterated by overwhelmingly resourceful and seemingly invincible alien predators called ‘Mimics’.

Major Cage is a lazy soldier but a gifted speaker sent to the front lines to put a positive spin on a major offensive being headed by the no-nonsense General Brigham. When General Brigham demands Cage escort the first wave of the attack and report on the progress, Cage resorts to blackmailing the general to keep from going to war.

Outraged at Cage’s cowardice, the general has Cage arrested, stripped of rank, then thrown in handcuffs into the hands of sadistic Sergeant Farell and his degenerate J-Squad marine recruits. Cage is railroaded all the way into being strapped into a massive metal war skeleton armed with fully automatic weapons and missiles in preparation for the upcoming battle. Cage and the Squad are dropped out of an airplane onto a Normandy-like beachhead swarming with explosions, flying bodies and debris, and the dangerous Mimic army.

It is a slaughter and not in the good way.

The Mimics are destroying the entire army en masse. Cage realizes too late as J-Squad is massacred that he’s the last man standing in the hole with a rare blue “general” mimic. At the last second before the mimic attacks, Cage grabs a claymore mine that explodes, killing himself and the mimic and covers Cage with the mimic’s blood as he dies. Suddenly, Cage awakens screaming.

He is in handcuffs and being brought to Sergeant Farell and J-Squad all over again. As Cage goes full “Groundhog Day” of dying, then dying some more, going from disbelief, to terror, to crazy to… resignation, he comes across uber-soldier Master Sergeant Rita Vrataski – the “Full Metal Bitch” who saved the entire army at the last battle. Through many questions, and many deaths later, Cage convinces Rita he’s reliving the same day over and over.

She surprisingly believes him, because, unknown to anyone else in the army, she had the same experience in the previous battle but lost the ability to relive the day. Rita decides to train Cage to become the ultimate warrior over and over again, killing him herself sometimes to make sure Cage helps solve the mystery of how to kill the mimic army before they destroy humankind on Earth.

As Cage masters movements, weapons, and dies countless times, he and Rita begin to realize this battle is the mimic’s endgame and the enemy is onto Cage’s time loop. As the mimics close in on Cage and Rita as they die continually, Cage forms a plan to destroy the mimic army once and for all. Can they reach their destination to save mankind before they die one last time permanently at the hands of the ferocious, invincible mimics?

Watch “Edge of Tomorrow” to find out.