For embattled Tom Cruise, practice makes perfect

There was a time when Tom Cruise could do no wrong. Whether his films turned out to be good (“Jerry Maguire,” “Collateral”) or bad (“Cocktail”), his chiselled good looks and those pearly whites guaranteed big bucks at the box office. He was the epitome of Hollywood hip and was the biggest star of them all!

But, somewhere along the way, the actor got older and “stranger.” He lost his Midas touch (“Rock of Ages,” “Knight and Day”) and realized that he needed to work harder to satisfy moviegoers’ increasingly skittish tastes.

These days, the 51-year-old superstar still adheres to a certain formula, but puts a zippy spin on it. Doug Liman’s “Edge of Tomorrow,” the actor’s sci-fi costarrer with Emily Blunt, is no different.

Its basic premise shares a similarity with Bryan Singer’s “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” where Wolverine is sent back in time to change the devastating course of history.

CRUISE AND BLUNT. Heroic ardor and thrilling acts of derring-do.

As Major William Cage, Cruise finds himself stuck in a time-loop device that allows him to die repeatedly and go back to a specific point in time—which is the only way to make sure that Earth’s surprise assault against its technologically superior extraterrestrial invaders happens as planned.

The initially cocky Cage, who has no combat experience, is forcibly sent off to take part in the invasion and record our expected victory against the alien invaders called “mimics,” which possess the ability to manipulate time.

Powers

Unknown to Cage and his fellow soldiers, a deadly ambush by the omniscient beings is waiting for them on the west coast of France. But, when he kills a rare Alpha “mimic” and gets soaked in its blood, its time-steering powers are transferred to him—which allows him to go back in time, refine and revise his errors in the established sequence of events, fine-tune Earth’s tactical-defense plan—and win the war!

Meanwhile, Cage must convince Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt), the Special Forces’ most admired heroine, to help him hunt down the Omega, which controls the actions of all “mimics,” and blow it to smithereens. They try and try until they get the sequence right because, as they say, practice makes perfect! Just the same, that doesn’t make their life-or-death mission any easier.

This sci-fi tale spins an exhilarating yarn that unabashedly employs narrative elements from popular futuristic films—from “Aliens” to “Groundhog Day” and Cruise’s recent actioner, “Oblivion.” But, the propulsive action and frenetic pace that Liman (“The Bourne Identity,” “Mr. & Mrs. Smith”) utilizes to move his story from one point to another blend well with Cruise and Blunt’s heroic ardor and thrilling acts of derring-do.

The film depicts a succession of edgy action sequences, but Cruise also manages to display a well-limned characterization that explains Cage’s change of heart. Now that wrinkles and eyebags are beginning to detract from the actor’s still-potent good looks, it’s easier to appreciate Tom Cruise, the competent actor, who has long been lurking in the shadow of Tom Cruise, the movie star! Who says superstars can’t grow old gracefully?