Time Crisis: EDGE OF TOMMOROW

Welcome back to Time Crisis, the series about time travel movies and what they tell us about the human experience of living in time. In our last installment, we discussed Terry Gilliam’s pre-deterministic vision of time travel and its implications in Twelve Monkeys.

This month, in the interest of exploring the full gamut of time travel cinema, we’re going to examine one of its peripheral sub-genres: the twenty-four hour time loop movie. Compared to the films we’ve talked about so far, time loop movies deal with the concept of time on a much more practical level. Ultimately, these films are about the choice that we all must make each day: what do we do with the time that we are given?

To illustrate this, we’re going to look at a recent example that builds on the sub-genre’s established conventions: 2014’s Edge of Tomorrow, directed by Doug Liman. But first, let’s review the typical narrative structure found in these movies. 

The Groundhog Day Formula

The most culturally dominant example of the time loop film is inarguably Groundhog Day, which since its release in 1993 has become a template for many others with the same basic premise: a protagonist finds themselves living the same day over and over, traveling back in time each night to the previous morning in an apparently endless loop.

While time loop movies by definition involve the manipulation of time, they rarely fall into the realm of science fiction, setting them apart from most versions of time travel cinema. In Groundhog Day and most of its progeny, there isn’t a scientific or technological reason for the day to repeat itself – the phenomenon is an implicitly supernatural happening.

However it comes about, the time loop functions within the narrative to catalyze the character arc of the protagonist. This frequently involves the character iteratively improving the events of the day, often for their own gain at first, but eventually with less selfish motives. Once the protagonist finally learns the lessons they need to learn, the loop is broken and time continues as normal. Other characters marvel that they’ve become a better person in what, from an outside perspective, was just one day.

Edge of  Tomorrow: The Time Loop Movie Goes Sci-Fi

While most recent iterations of the sub-genre have hit these beats on the head pretty predictably (see the recent Happy Death Day and Before I Fall for example), Edge of Tomorrow uses its science fiction premise to add nuance and thematic weight to the formula. Combined with an airtight action script and charismatic performances from its leads, Tomorrow is the best time loop movie since Groundhog Day.

The story takes place in the near future, when a cadre of intelligent and hostile aliens known as Mimics have invaded and occupied much of the earth, prompting the world’s powers to unite in a war to defend the human race from destruction. In order to combat the Mimics, militaries have adopted exoskeletal mech suits that turn recruits with minimal training into literal fighting machines.

At the forefront of the fight is Sergeant Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt), a soldier who has become legendary as the Angel of Verdun for her exploits in the first and only victory in the war against the Mimics. In a departure from his typical roles, Tom Cruise plays Rita’s polar opposite in William Cage, an ex-advertising executive hired by the military to help sell the idea of an invasion to the public. Although he holds the rank of Major, Cage is unapologetically squeamish about combat – he can’t stand the sight of human blood, let alone alien carnage.

Cage is given the assignment to embed with a London unit slated to invade the beaches of France, and is dragged kicking and screaming to the army camp. In the next day’s battle, Cage surprises himself by killing a special Mimic which we later learn is called an Alpha. Rita witnesses Cage’s kill and tells him to “find me when you wake up”. Cage is then killed himself by another Mimic, but instead of simply dying, wakes up the previous morning.

With this setup, let’s delve into how Edge of Tomorrow adds to the standard time loop plot.

Time Travel in Edge of Tomorrow

There’s a lot of sci-fi hand-waving involved, but the time travel rules of Edge of Tomorrow are essentially a more specific and layered version of the classic Groundhog Day formula.

The Mimics are all controlled by one uber-Mimic called the Omega, which has the ability to manipulate time – it can reset the clock for itself and all of the other Mimics to a specific point (in this case, the day before the invasion of France).  A class of special Mimics called Alphas act as extensions of the Omega, carrying its time-resetting abilities. Jumping back in time is how the Mimics have become so unbeatable in battle – they are able to learn their opponents strategies and adjust accordingly.

By killing an Alpha and being exposed to its blood, Cage absorbed the Omega’s power, making him able to live the same day over and over. However, the only way for the day to reset is for him to physically die (hence the film’s much catchier alternate title, Live Die Repeat).

In a departure from most time loop films, Cage isn’t the only person aware of what’s happening to him – Rita has previously experienced the same phenomenon, which allowed her to hone her fighting skills to unstoppable levels at the battle that made her a figurehead of the war. Although it’s new information to her in every iteration of the day, she is able to help Cage get further in his quest to destroy the Omega with each time loop.

Edge of Tomorrow doesn’t let the inevitable repetitiveness of the time loop genre slow down its propulsive action. As Cage lives the day over and over, gaining skills and knowledge that he needs to continue further in his quest, the film shows just enough so that we understand any new information learned and roughly how many loops have passed.

Another notable improvement is the way the film addresses how interpersonal relationships play out when one person is experiencing the same day over and over and the other isn’t. Edge of Tomorrow navigates this potentially creepy terrain head on – Rita feels betrayed at Cage’s failure to disclose how many days they have spent together from his perspective. For her, they’ve still just met. Cage’s displays of affection, however well intentioned, are invasive – he’s abusing the fact that he knows her very well while she doesn’t know him at all.

Time as a Daily Choice

At the core of every time loop movie is the protagonist’s realization that they must choose how to spend the seemingly endless amount of repeated time that has been given to them. They can wallow in depression, become hedonists, or choose to become better.

Cage’s power, however, is much more broadly consequential – it has made him the only person (with the help of Rita) capable of saving the world from the Mimics. This puts a huge weight of responsibility on his shoulders. He’s forced to use his time wisely not just for his own sake, or the sake of the people in his own life, but for the good of humanity.

The repetitiveness of modern society can make our daily lives feel like a time loop. Even though we often feel trapped in our routines, it is still up to us to choose how to live each day. No one is forcing us to go to work or school, take care of our families, or better ourselves personally. Ultimately, time is all that we have, and the choices we make about how we use it determines who we are.

Each time he woke up in the army camp, Cage could have chosen to escape the entire situation, fleeing the war and allowing the army to fend for itself. Instead, he chose to help humanity, and like Rita, become a hero.

What is your favorite time loop movie? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!