Live. Die. Repeat

Emily as: Rita Vrataski
Genre(s): Sci-Fi | Action | Thriller
Written by: Christopher McQuarrie, Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth
Directed by: Doug Liman
Other Cast: Tom Cruise, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson, Noah Taylor
Release Date: June 6, 2014
Production Budget: $178m
Total Worldwide Gross: $370.5m
Filming Locations: Hertfordshire, England, UK

The epic action of Edge of Tomorrow unfolds in a near future in which an alien race has hit the Earth in an unrelenting assault, unbeatable by any military unit in the world.

Lt. Col. Bill Cage (Cruise) is an officer who has never seen a day of combat when he is unceremoniously dro pped into what amounts to a suicide mission. Killed within minutes, Cage now finds himself inexplicably thrown into a time loop — forcing him to live out the same brutal combat over and over, fighting and dying again… and again.

But with each battle, Cage becomes able to engage the adversaries with increasing skill, alongside Special Forces warrior Rita Vrataski (Blunt). And, as Cage and Rita take the fight to the aliens, each repeated encounter gets them one step closer to defeating the enemy.

Production Info

Based on the manga and novel All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka.

The entire film was shot in England, primarily at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden. In addition to the facility’s nine soundstages, which offer more than 1,000,000 square feet of stage space, there is a 100-acre backlot, making Leavesden the ideal place to create a large-scale beach invasion, a Heathrow Airport-based military compound complete with an interior combat range and drop ship, and a nearly deconstructed Louvre, among other sets or backdrops.

Tom Cruise admitted that he had long wanted to work with Emily Blunt, and recommended her to the producers for the role of Rita.

It was never stated in the movie, but in the manga, the reason why Rita uses a melee weapon is because during her “resets” she would often run out of ammo, which resulted in her deaths. Keiji (in the manga) also learned about the convenience of a melee weapon and started using one.

While filming the car chase scene which includes a minivan, Emily Blunt was instructed to drive fast and then to take a right hand turn so that the van would shake. However, Blunt missed her mark and she drove the car right into a tree. She later said that it was both hilarious and terrifying, as she almost killed Tom Cruise, who was in the passenger seat, but both of them started laughing after the incident.

Emily Blunt admitted that after putting on the metal suit, she started crying because it was so heavy (it weighed 85 pounds) and that she would be required to perform action scenes in it for five months. She was jokingly told by Tom Cruise to “stop being such a wuss.”

When Emily Blunt’s character is introduced, she is doing a “planche” hold. Although she needed a wire for help on long takes, she is actually capable of doing the maneuver without assistance. In fact, when discussing the introduction, a cast member said, “Em, show that yoga move,” and she casually demonstrated it.

Tom Cruise was one of the first people to learn about Emily Blunt’s pregnancy. The cast and crew had to return a few months after principal photography had wrapped to do some pick-up shots. During the months between the two shoots, Blunt became pregnant and was only a few weeks along when they had to return for the additional filming. Because of the pregnancy, she opted to not do her own stunts for this portion of the shoot, but didn’t tell anyone why, since the pregnancy was still in the early stages. This confused Cruise, since she had done most of her own stunts during principal photography. She revealed to him that she was in the early stages of pregnancy, which, according to her, made him the only person, besides her husband John Krasinski and one close friend, to know about the pregnancy.

The film takes place in 2061.

Tom Cruise spent over $100,000 on a lavish wrap party for the cast and crew. He did not attend himself as he was finishing his scenes for the movie.

The film was released in the U.S. on June 6, 2014, the 70th Anniversary of the D-Day invasion during WWII. The film shares many similarities to the attack on Normandy Beach. Uniquely, it premiered in two sequential events, designed to mirror the D-Day landings within the exact timeline of the historic event. The premieres experienced comparible deja-vu of weather conditions, starting near 06:00 GMT in Imax theatre London.

The default language setup for Cage’s battle armor is Japanese, a nod to the novel’s country of origin.

In the original book, the Mimics are invading Tokyo. Rita is an American nicknamed “Full Metal Bitch” and Cage is a Japanese man named Keiji Kiriya, nicknamed “Killer Cage” by the end.

In the movie, Rita appreciates having coffee at the farmhouse. This is a nod to her character in the book, who is a coffee lover and had been introduced to coffee at an early age by her coffee addict father. In the world of the book, where coffee growing has virtually ceased because of the Mimic invasion and people drink artificial substitutes, Rita still has some supplies of exotic real coffee beans and her only personal possession is a coffee grinder.

Character Quotes

Find me when you wake up.

You don’t talk to anyone about this but me. The best-case scenario is you’re gonna end up in a psych ward. Worst case, you’ll get dissected for study. Are we clear?

Now listen carefully. This is a very important rule. This is the only rule. You get injured on the field, you better make sure you die. Last time I was in combat I was hit. I was bleeding out. Just not fast enough. I woke up in a field hospital with three pints of someone else’s blood and I was out. I lost the power. Do you understand? Think we better start over.

You don’t have time to think. Remember. It’s not enough knowing where they’re going to be. You have to know how to kill them.

You’re not being specific. You need to be specific. Otherwise, I’m dead.

Cage, I do not need to get to know you. And if you knew what was good for you, you wouldn’t want to get to know me either. It’s the only way you make it through this thing.

I’m a soldier. I volunteered. I’m not walking away.

Rita: Who said you could talk to me? Have I got something on my face, soldier?
Cage: You did. You did. Tomorrow. At the beach. Tomorrow. At the beach. We meet. You said to find you when I wake up. You do know what’s happening to me.
Rita: Come with me. Now.

Rita: What happened to you happened to me. I had it. I lost it. Okay?
Cage: That’s great. There’s a cure. How do I get rid of this?
Rita: First, I need your help.
Cage: Help with what exactly?
Rita: Winning the war.

Cage: You know, I’ve been thinking. I mean, this thing’s in my blood. So maybe there’s some way… I can transfer it to you.
Rita: I’ve tried everything. It doesn’t work.
Cage: I mean, have you… you know… tried all the options?
Rita: Oh, you mean sex. Yep. Tried it.

Cage: You don’t talk much.
Rita: I’m not a fan.
Cage: Of talking?
Rita: Not a fan of talking. No.

Cage: What about Hendricks? You get to know him?
Rita: How do you know that name?
Cage: You mentioned him.
Rita: That’s not possible.
Cage: Then how do I know his name?
Rita: When did I mention him? Under what circumstance?
Cage: Is he why you won’t talk to me?
Rita: Don’t ever mention his name again.
Cage: Why? Are you… in love with him?
Rita: He’s dead. And I watched him die 300 times… and I remember every detail. I remember everything. So I don’t need to talk about it.
Cage: I’m sorry.
Rita: It’s just war.

Rita: I think we should just reset. [Pulling out gun]
Cage: Whoa! It’s a dead end. If it’s all the same to you…
Rita: I’m tired. I’m in pain. I’d rather just start fresh.
Cage: Tell you what. Take a few minutes. Coffee’s ready. I’ll look around for the keys. That’s productive.
Rita: Ten minutes.
Cage: Okay.
Rita: Then I’m killing you.

Cage: I thought you were dead.
Rita: Not yet.

Quoting: Emily Blunt

On her character: Rita doesn’t even wear a helmet in the film because she knows it’s not going to help her. Now that is one tough lady. And there was something quite empowering about putting on that armor and marching along with 20 enormous guys behind me.

On her character: Her fight style is very aerial based and very martial-art based. So my character fights with an enormous helicopter blade that she salvaged from a crash. She believes that in order to kill them and actually cause some damage you got to get up close. You can’t shoot from a distance. You got to get inside the tentacles… and it’s a very brave, courageous way to fight.

On Rita and Cage’s relationship: She’s really using him because he’s able to reset the day, and she sees this as an invaluable weapon. Through his experiences, she can change tactics in order to get further along each time and hopefully go on to survive the battle and then win the war.

On the challenges of the role: She was always meeting Cage for the first time, so building a character whose interactions with another existed in an environment that was essentially the same again and again made it a challenge to progress the relationship. How does she change toward him, how does their familiarty grow if she can’t remember him? It was tricky for me to play that and to find the right measure of intimacy.

On preparing for the role: You can train all you want, run a million miles, and I don’t think anything quite prepares you. You just have to get used to it. And it’s hard. Rita’s fight style is very aerial-based-lots of sliding under alien tentacles, jumping, flipping over them, slicing as she’s in the air. We wanted it to look intense, but yet there was a kind of beauty to it. Trying to capture the choreography and the sheer skill with which she fights was a tremendous challenge.

On the wardrobe: These suits are supposed to make us fight harder and faster and that’s the whole illusion. There’s something really empowering about it.

On working with green screen: It took some getting used to, hurtling around on wires, swinging a huge sword but never actually impacting anything.

On working with the stunt team: I loved working with Simon Crane and Wade because they are always trying to stay away from the generic or something that you’ve seen in another movie. I had this fantastic guy called Liang teaching me martial arts with a sword.

On working with Doug Liman: Doug was exhilarating to work with, I never knew what he was going to throw at me or what shot he’d want to try next, and that made it possible for me to really find the different layers in Rita. He also veers away from things ever looking too perfected or glossy; instead, there’s a messiness and a humanity that allow him to capture very spontaneous moments, and I think audiences can feel the truth in that.

On working with Tom Cruise: I’ve never met anyone with such a commitment to making the best movie he can. Tom strived for the best version of every moment, every scene, every day. He played Cage in a way that wasn’t at all whiny or tedious; even though the character was useless and inept at first, he tried. I think that makes him all the more compelling to watch.

Quoting: Cast and Crew

Director Doug Liman: I’m committed to strong female characters, and I think Rita is the strongest in any of my films thus far. She is a true veteran combatant who has led the charge and killed thousands of Mimics. Now, she must also be a mentor to Cage, training him to be as strong a fighter as she herself is, or they’ll have no hope of winning the day. Emily came to the table with incredible strength of character and was every inch the warrior Rita was reputed to be.

Director Doug Liman: Tom and Emily began working out months ahead of shooting. They both took it very seriously. The first day of shooting, they were both ready for the action the film required, and that is a dream come true for any director. They are both fantastic actors. Despite all the dramatic elements surrounding the story, many of the film’s more humorous moments come from their great chemistry together.

Co-star Tom Cruise: Emily was terrific. I love what she did with Rita, it was perfect for this journey. You see and feel her humanity, and it’s quite moving. On top of that, Emily’s never done action, but you’d never know it. She was thrown into the deep end and it was no easy feat, but she was wonderfully uncompromising. She’s just a brilliant actress and she has a great wit. It was a pleasure to work with her.

Critical Response

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Cage is forced to relive that same day until he gets it right. That means getting to Rita before the battle in question, persuading her to train him for combat and then, of course, falling in love. The cornball stuff never gets in the way, thanks to Blunt’s grit and grace. She’s a force of nature.

Richard Corliss, Time: In a complicated scenario with just four prominent roles (Cruise, Blunt, Paxton and Gleeson), the two leading players must radiate star quality and sex appeal. Solemn and toned to the max, Blunt proves a strong partner for an actor who can still earn the sobriquet Tom Terrific.

Justin Chang, Variety: Blunt is alert, energized and emotionally present in a none-too-taxing role; while a bit more action for Rita would not have gone awry, the pleasure of “Edge of Tomorrow” is that it’s not an action movie first and foremost, but rather a cheeky little puzzle picture in expensive-looking blockbuster drag.

Ann Hornaday, Wall Street Journal: The centerpiece of Edge of Tomorrow is the burgeoning relationship between Cage and Rita, whom Blunt invests with just the right mix of machisma and soulfulness. (Between this, The Adjustment Bureau and Looper, she’s apparently the go-to girl when it comes to busting the time-space continuum.)

Awards and Nominations

Below is list of all accolades Emily has received for her role in the film.

NOMINATED: Empire Awards – Best Actress
NOMINATED: London Film Critics Circle Awards – British Actress of the Year (also for Into the Woods)
NOMINATED: Saturn Awards – Best Actress
NOMINATED: Teen Choice Awards – Choice Movie Actress: Action Adventure

WON: Alliance of Women Film Journalists – Kick Ass Award for Best Female Action Star
WON: Critics Choice Awards – Best Actress in an Action Movie