At the edge of the Groundhog Day

First thing that will emerge in your mind while you watch Edge of Tomorrow (and I am sorry for the spoiler but this must be said) is: “Well, this is SF action version of Groundhog Day”. The concept is similar and I understand how the younger audience can be excited by that very same concept of time loop. As teenagers, both me and my brother get excited in the middle of unhappy ’90s, when we warmly embraced any escape from murky realities of near-by war, social unrest and poverty, especially in this kind of fantasy that is, by the way, so funny. Bill Murray is brilliant in Groundhog day. We watch him repeatedly on VCR and later when internet entered the game we watched CD until it simply rejected to be played anymore. More then five times a year at one period. More then Bladerunner and Shining. Through that repeated viewing we stared to respect all the beauty and layers of the movie. To be honest, I don’t think that Edge of Tomorrow have that quality. Edge of Tomorrow is simply an action movie with a good concept. In Groundhog day we don’t get explanation how does it happen for egomaniacal Phil Connors to get into a time loop (like an explanation in Edge of Tomorrow that is, true, very well put), but in this comedy explanation have no significance. It is a warm human story with sparkling humor that prevents from being pathetic. And storyline is so consistent. There is no flows. Not a single mistake.
Every repeated day is a progress of Bill Murrey’s character toward being a better person and for Tom Cruise’s character every new-same day is just getting him closer to a supreme action hero. So, the message is deeper in comedy then it is in action.
Buddhist love this concept of self-improvement and they just love the movie. How can you not love the story that will bring you to what is important in life without nagging like a strict parent, but through healthy humor?
On the other hand, visuals in Edge of Tomorrow are amazing, I will not argue about that. Design of battle suits and war vehicles are not too showy, exactly how it suppose to be and worth watching, in 3D if you are into adrenaline thrill, but there is one thing that will stay constant. The cult following of Groundhog day is getting stronger as time pass by and that will not happen for Edge of tomorrow. “Groundhog day” become a phrase that is used in common language for any situation when something repeats or looks the same. It has entered a daily lives dictionary. That is part of a legacy. It is also part of slang the US army stationed in Iraq use, because of their daily routines. Bill Clinton used it in one speech. So it is still with us. Only great movies can do that.
So, if you didn’t watched this 1993 comedy I motivate you to do so and to do it repeatedly. You can watch Edge of Tomorrow once.