Edge of Tomorrow (12)

TOM Cruise saves the day in Edge of Tomorrow. He always does.

But what is interesting about Doug Liman's sci-fi action film is that the actor plays against type.

A far cry from his usual heroics, Cruise portrays the cowardly William Cage, a PR officer who has never seen a day of combat and will do anything he can to keep it that way.

But when he is forced on to the battlefield in a doomed mission in devastated France everything changes.

The world is at war with a deadly and ruthless alien species called Mimics, some of which can manipulate time.

And when Cage inadvertently inherits their gift (or curse) he is forced to relive the suicide mission again and again – the day resets each time he dies in Groundhog Day style.

But by teaming up with a special forces warrior (Emily Blunt) and improving his skills little by little Cage becomes humanity's best chance of survival.

Edge of Tomorrow is based on a Japanese story by Hiroshi Sakurazaka and although this is an Americanised version it has that kind of Manga or Anime sensibility with the soldiers wearing mechanised battle suits.

The action sequences are astonishing too with the opening battle playing out like a futuristic sci-fi version of the Omaha Beach assault in Saving Private Ryan.

But there is enough humour in the right places to give the film a heart too.

DAVID MORGAN