Edge of Tomorrow, Blu-ray 3D+Blu-ray+DVD+Digital Copy (2014)

Edge of Tomorrow, Blu-ray 3D+Blu-ray+DVD+Digital Copy (2014)

Edge of Tomorrow takes place in the not-too-distant future in which an alien race has attacked the Earth. The alien attack appears unstoppable by any of the world’s military forces. Major William Cage (Tom Cruise) is an officer who specializes in media relations but has no previous combat experience. Cage’s refusal to follow a superior’s orders results in him getting sent into battle, where he is thereafter killed in short order. Cage, however, does not stay dead and finds himself caught in a time loop. The time loop forces him to repeat the same day of battle over and over; each time fighting in vain only to die again. With each battle though, Cage learns, alongside Special Forces warrior Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt), how to engage the aliens with increased expertise and skill. Ultimately, Cage and Vrataski hope that each repeated encounter gets them one step closer to defeating the aliens.

Edge of Tomorrow is a terrific film that surprisingly underperformed at the box office despite receiving high critical marks. A large reason for the under-performance may have been that the name Edge of Tomorrow was a bit confusing and didn’t adequately convey that it was a sci-fi film. In any event, I hope that this film finds a larger audience with its home video release because it is most certainly a fun and exciting movie. It reminds me of being a mash-up between Independence Day and Groundhog Day. Cruise and Blunt are a charismatic action duo and the movie’s audio/video presentation is top-notch. This is a must-own movie for any sci-fi fan. Highly-recommended.  [I personally found it too heavy on the Starship Troopers gung-ho military stuff and a mash-up between that and Groundhog Day, though built around an interesting plot twist…Ed.]

The overall high-definition video quality of the 2D Blu-ray presentation is excellent.  Images are pristine with exquisite detail.  Black levels are velvety-dark throughout the movie.  Colors, intentionally stylized with desaturated hues, are consistent while skin tones maintain a natural appearance.  Picture defect mastering is perfect with no major flaws or compression artifacts.  The 3D video is of the post-conversion variety.  Colors and black levels mirror its 2D counterpart.  Separation, dimensionality and depth of the 3D image are all great.  There are several outward-extending effects (such as taser wires, alien blood splatter, flying glass, dirt, and debris), but the majority of the 3D effects are inward-looking.

The overall audio quality is also excellent with the English DTS HD-MA 7.1 track.  The soundtrack is enveloping, dynamic, and makes wonderful use of all discrete channels.  Dialogue is clearly discernible and properly positioned among the forward channels.  The surround channels are aggressively utilized for the sound effects and music score, plus include numerous split rear effects and directional pans.  The low frequency effects channel is explosive and powerful.

—Calvin Harding Jr.