Grade: C

This past Friday I saw yet another summer Hollywood blockbuster. Doug Liman’s 113 minute science-fiction film, “Edge of Tomorrow,” starring Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt and Bill Paxton , sought to amaze its viewers through thorough plot and character development, accompanied by heavy action sequences, stunning visual effects and comedic confusion.

Initially amazed and surprised by the film, my expectations were soon cut short, as the ending to an otherwise great film was nothing more than an extremely incoherent, and frankly put, botched cliché.

Tom Cruise plays Major Cage, a cowardly officer who must overcome his fear of battle when forcibly thrust into the front lines of an ongoing war between humans and an invading alien force called mimics.

Although he is no soldier, Cage’s skills and courage rapidly improve as he finds himself in a groundhog’s day-esque time loop, forcing him to face the same foes and battle scenarios every time he wakes up from his previous death.

With the help of his new power and an astoundingly skilled and beautiful warrior named Rita (Emily Blunt), Major Cage is the only thing that stands between the human race and its complete annihilation.

I have never been one to enjoy the work of Tom Cruise, especially in his later years, but in this most recent installment, I found him to be thoroughly entertaining and believable. His character, Major Cage, is initially a man who is an esteemed member of the military, but by rank only.

We are quickly shown that Cage is nothing more than a public relations puppet who figuratively (and in all likelyhood, literally) wets his pants at the thought of true heroism.

However, the film does an excellent job of taking the time to develop his character into that of a true hero, and we see Cruise embody this paradigm shift extremely well.

As the viewer initially hates Cruise for his cowardly and conniving ways, Cruise’s believable willingness to face death and horrific battles every day to save his fellow men quickly brings the viewer back to his side.

Emily Blunt also delivers a great performance as the heel to Cruise’s face.

Unlike Major Cage, Blunt’s character Rita is a warrior in every sense of the word, and must work extremely hard to not only do her part in the destruction of the mimics, but to turn Cage from a squabbling baby to the world’s only hope.

As we know, opposites attract; the soft, fearful Cage and the hard, courageous Rita make for excellent chemistry as the characters clash, grow and learn from and with each other.

Although Blunt and Cruise have the honor of the playing the film’s lead characters, the film would not have been the same without Bill Paxton’s performance as the Kentucky-grown, bloodthirsty and awkwardly funny Master Sergeant Farell.

Although Paxton is only on screen for no more than a total of 30-45 minutes, his character keeps the audience laughing as he insults and drills Cruise and other cast members throughout the film.

As for the key elements of the film, director Doug Liman utilized a plethora of quick shots and shaky camera work which kept the viewer involved and in awe during the heavy action sequences.

The machinery, as well as the alien creatures within the film, highly resembled that of a post-apocalyptic, yet modern and futuristic tone.

Radiant with lime-green and bright, neon-purple colors, the creatures resembled that of a mystical demon, crossed with quick and furious movements resembling that of the sentinels in “The Matrix” (1999).

Due to the film’s stunning visuals, wartime cinematography and venues that resembled the Beaches of Normandy as well as the futuristic hardware similar to that of “District 9” (2009), the film acted as a great cross between war stories of old and fresh science-fiction.

Although the film did a number of things extremely well, it was almost completely ruined by the non-exaggerated, horrific ending.

Without giving anything away, “Edge of Tomorrow” ends in an extremely blunt and confusing fashion. Not only are there numerous things about the ending that make no sense in regards to the rest of the film, but the ending doesn’t even make logical sense.

The viewer is left with unanswered and confusing questions which the film made no attempt to clarify.

Endings are extremely important in film; they are the last images and feelings the viewer is left with before they leave.

The only thing the viewer is left with after this particular, sad excuse for an ending, was a stale taste and a demand for an explanation as to what they saw in order to bring closure to the rest of the film.

Although the ending was extremely poor and damaged the potential prestige of this film, it should not deter other viewers from seeing it. There were a lot of things done well within the film, including the acting, cinematography and above all, the impressively intriguing visuals.

I encourage those who wish to see a visually stunning and action-packed blockbuster to see “Edge of Tomorrow,” but be weary and expectant of its disastrous ending.