An effective film that works reasonably well, but still feels like a pretext for massive CGI.
In recent years, it seems to have become a convention that it takes an insane amount of special effects to make a good movie. There are a lot of movies that look like excuses or pretexts for a ton of effects, CGI and amazing graphics, without great content to give them a solid foundation. This film, where we have an alien invasion and a soldier who discovers he can control time and relive the same day over and over again, is essentially another one for this list.
In fact, the film feels like a cross between “Stargate” and “Groundhog Day”. It's a little preposterous in its premise, stretching the laws of physics to near fraying. The invasion of aliens is nothing new, even that idea of a single organism, with a single mind that needs to be killed. The thing is, despite the huge amount of action, it all feels pretty empty. The film compensates for this with a pleasant pace and puts a lot of effort into the effects, CGI and technical aspects.
Tom Cruise is in his element. He is again a likeable soldier, very cute and good looking, pleasing to the female audience. I don't like him as an actor, and this movie won't change my opinion of him. Emily Blunt does a decent job, but it will never be the best of the actress, who doesn't seem to have been cut out for action movies at all. Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson and Jonas Armstrong provide effective and welcome support, but little else. Their characters are not well developed and are incidental.