The new Tom Cruise sci-fi blockbuster is directed by Doug Liman and also stars Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton and Brendan Gleeson. In the near future, a powerful alien army invades Earth. Officer Will Cage (Cruise), who is used to sitting in the sidelines by being a media liaison, suddenly finds himself forced into active duty. Not knowing how to correctly operate his high-tech body armor, Cage is killed by an alien -- but not before the latter' blood is absorbed by his body. Now, he finds himself in a time loop, able to reset that same day by dying. The only person who understands, and believes, what he's going through is Rita Vrataski (Blunt), one of the army's most decorated soldiers, who experienced this phenomenon herself. The two must work together to harness Cage's abilities to locate the mother ship and destroy it before the aliens wipe out the human race. As far as sci-fi popcorn flicks go, I actually enjoyed this one. It's smarter than your average alien film, and feels a lot fresher, too. Are there plot holes? Absolutely (one of my favorites: your species is in grave danger of being eliminated, and your only hope is arming soldiers in state-of-the-art armor suits. Do you really force someone with zero experience and training to go into combat immediately?). However, if you take it for what it is -- a film meant to entertain, not educate -- then it's definitely worth the ticket price. It is highly entertaining and well-executed sci-fi fun.
Should you see it: Yes
Grade: B
