3D Blu-ray Review Edge of Tomorrow Blu-ray 3D Review (1 Viewer)

Edge of Tomorrow Blu-ray 3D Review

Every summer movie season, there’s one movie that, despite good word of mouth, fails to deliver at the box office. Last summer, it was Pacific Rim from director Guillermo del Toro. This summer, it was Doug Liman’s Edge of Tomorrow, which failed to fill movie houses despite the presence of Tom Cruise in the starring role.

Studio: Warner Brothers

Distributed By: N/A

Video Resolution and Encode: 1080P/AVC, 1080P/MVC

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Audio: English 7.1 DTS-HDMA, Spanish 5.1 DD, French 5.1 DD

Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Other

Rating: PG-13

Run Time: 1 Hr. 53 Min.

Package Includes: Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray, DVD, UltraViolet

Double Spindle Blu-ray keepcase with lenticular 3D sleeve

Disc Type: BD50 (dual layer), DVD-9 (dual layer)

Region: A

Release Date: 10/07/2014

MSRP: $44.95

The Production Rating: 4.5/5

The world has been invaded by an alien race known as Mimics that have all but devastated the planet. As a final hail mary assault, the United Defense Force launches an air and sea attack reminiscent of the Omaha Beach assault in Normandy during World War II. Assuring the public that this assault will succeed is Major William Cage (Tom Cruise), who is nothing more than a PR rep for the war effort. Commander of the Western Allies is General Brigham (Brendan Gleeson), who decides to put Cage into action, demoting him to Private and assigning him to J-Squad, led by Sgt. Farrell (Bill Paxton) after trying to escape and being arrested as a deserter. Cage gets killed in battle fairly quickly after being attacked and his body dissolved by a Mimic’s blood. Cage awakens to find himself back to square one, where he meets Sgt. Farrell for the first time, reliving the events leading up to his death over and over, each time getting farther and farther into battle, eventually meeting up with the war’s poster girl, Sgt. Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt), dubbed “The Angel of Verdun,” who tells Cage, just before he dies, to come find her when he wakes up.To explain anymore of the plot would spoil the fun of the movie, other than the movie does continue with its Groundhog Day premise up until the third act, leading to a fun and satisfying conclusion. I have to agree with Ron Epstein, that this is the movie that, despite its poor US box office, should catapult Tom Cruise back on top as a headliner, as he truly does carry this movie. That’s not to say that the performances by Blunt, Paxton, Gleeson, or any of the other supporting players don’t carry their weight (they do, in spades), but Cruise is in almost every scene of this movie, and as his character undergoes the change from smarmy PR rep to experienced soldier, he becomes more likeable and sympathetic. The visual effects are top notch, headed by Sony Pictures Imageworks, especially in the design of the Mimics, which are never derivative, something in this day and age that is hard to accomplish. Oliver Scholl’s production design, particularly the battle armor, weapons, and vehicles, are something we haven’t seen before. Doug Liman’s direction and James Herbert’s editing keep the pace brisk, but do give enough pauses long enough for the audience to catch their breath before the next action sequence.

Video Rating: 5/5 3D Rating: 3/5

The 2D version, which can be viewed on the standard Blu-ray disc, is very close to reference material. Filmed in 35mm with Panavision and Arriflex cameras, the AVC-encoded 1080p transfer is faithful to the movie’s intended aspect ratio of 2.35:1. As expected of a big studio release, colors are consistent and well-saturated without ever blooming or bleeding, and contrast is spot on with nice deep blacks that never crush and bright whites that never clip. Detail is exquisite, as well, with every grain of sand flung up in the air and bead of sweat on an actor’s face visible.The 3D version, available on a separate disc, has the same qualities as stated above. Edge of Tomorrow was not shot in native 3D, but was converted by Prime Focus World (the same team responsible for Gravity and I, Frankenstein), and while not quite as good as Gravity (which was more of a hybrid), there is a good deal of depth, especially in the action sequences. Pop out is minimal to virtually non-existent, with the exception of the end credits sequence which is much more lively than in the 2D version. Ghosting was minimal on my Samsung 60F7100, especially after adjusting the 3D settings on the TV and using XpanD Universal RF 3D glasses rather than Samsung’s included battery-operated ones.

Audio Rating: 5/5

The 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track is definitely my latest go-to disc to demo my sound system, even folded down to 5.1 by my Marantz SR5008 receiver. The battle sequences are immersive, with excellent placement of discrete surround effects and a very aggressive low-end that will give your subwoofer a good workout. Even with such an aggressive mix, dialogue remains clear and understandable, never getting drowned out by sound effects or music.

Special Features Rating: 3.5/5

All special features can be found exclusively on the 2D Blu-ray disc, which starts out with trailers for Mad Max: Fury Road and The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies.Operation Downfall - Adrenaline Cut (1080p; 2:34): Sections of the Operation Downfall sequences, cut together with only the successful parts of the battle.Storming the Beach (1080p; 8:59): Director Doug Liman takes us on a brief look behind the scenes.Weapons of the Future (1080p; 8:25): A look at the battle armor suits and weapons designed for the movie.Creatures Not of This World (1080p; 5:38): A look at the development and design of the Mimics.On the Edge with Doug Liman (1080p; 42:37): A much more comprehensive look at the making of the movie, focusing more on director Doug Liman.Deleted Scenes (1080p; 7:38): A series of seven scenes left on the cutting room floor, many with incomplete effects shots.DVD Copy: The movie in standard definition, plus the bonus features Weapons of the Future, Creatures Not of This World, and trailers for Mad Max: Fury Road, The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies, Into the Storm, Godzilla, Batman: Assault on Arkham, and LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham videogame.UltraViolet Digital HD Copy: Redemption code must be used by October 7, 2017.

Overall Rating: 4/5

The movie, Edge of Tomorrow, is definitely highly recommended, but the big question is whether the premium price for the 3D version is worth it (at press time, the 3D edition was selling for around $8 more than the 2D Blu-ray/DVD combo), and that is definitely up to the reader to decide. The added depth does add somewhat to the impact of the action sequences, but for this reviewer, with the current price difference, I’d have to say I would be more than happy with the 2D version.

Reviewed By: Todd Erwin

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Picked up the Best Buy-exclusive edition last night (with the additional bonus content), and will be giving it a spin very soon. One of the best movies of this whole summer, no question, and very underrated.

Thanks for the review, Todd. I didn't get to see too many films at the cinema this past year, but I made a point to go see this and loved it. I picked up the 3D version because, even though it isn't the best 3D, I liked the depth (particularly on the beach battle sequence(s).)

The domestic box office take may have been a disappointment for Warner Bros., but it ended up over $100MM and that was not expected to happen after its opening weekend numbers. The word of mouth was good. This film will be discovered on home video (rightly so) and will eventually endure as a favourite of folk I am sure (regardless of what Warner Bros ends up calling it next.)

2D viewing for me, i think most who know me on here will not be surprised by that.

Internationally, the film pulled in another $279 million, and it's still playing! So the term for this one is "long legs". Good movie that just took awhile to find its audience...it has a very rosy future on home video.

Agree with all your other review comments though Todd. This disc was a pleasure to watch and listen to, even on my modest rig.

FYI: The 3D Blu-ray version is on sale at Target stores this week for $19.99 - I just picked mine up a few minutes ago.
The standard Blu-ray is on sale for less (9.99 I think).
For those like me that have not yet watched this film, but have heard great htings about it, it's a good time to buy a copy.

Amazon has the 3-D BD on sale for $19.99 too.

I got this for Christmas and watched it this afternoon. Very enjoyable movie from beginning to end (I might have preferred a slightly different ending, but that's me; the ending works just fine). The lack of big domestic box-office was rather surprising since the sci-fi elements were so different but melded to the Groundhog Day scenario which I would have thought people would have really turned onto. It's a thrill ride.

But I will say that finally, at long last, Tom Cruise is starting to show his age. Not badly, and not disagreeably, but it is starting to creep up on him around the eyes and neck. Maybe folks want their action heroes to be younger. This might have done $500 million worldwide with Channing Tatum. Who knows?

I knew the film was a 3D conversion. Nevertheless, I ducked a couple of times when flying debris was coming right at me, and overall I enjoyed the 3D experience. The next time I watch it, I'll likely try the 2D just to see what that's like. I almost always prefer 3D to 2D when I have a choice.

Matt Hough said:

Maybe folks want their action heroes to be younger.

Click to expand...

I think it's the overexposure of Cruise's personal life & his religion (Scientology is the one religion that anyone can publicly trash with impunity) that has made a chunk of US audience members lose interest in him.

I thought this a very solid movie from cruise. I agree with the previous poster who said 'underrated'.

Nice review Todd, Edge of Tomorrow, soundtrack dtsHDMA 7.1 I noted was smooth LCRS-SB-LFE balance without being distracted from the story. The loudness was reasonable unlike the loudness of deafening on STAR TREK into deafness.

I have a packaging question about the 3D version of the movie. I just noticed that the lenticular has scotch tape at the top and bottom. The tape goes under the lenticular and does not appear to have anything to do with holding the lenticular on the sleeve. It seems to be attached just fine without the tape.

I don't remember doing this myself and it looks odd, doesn't seem like something that would be done during manufacture. Anyone else notice this. I probably got this from Amazon, but I'm not sure.