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Edge of Tomorrow: Book vs. Movie

Though it’s no longer in theatres in most places, this is a comparison of the “Edge of Tomorrow” movie and its All You Need is Kill counterpart. I only read the book because I liked the movie so much. Which is odd because Tom Cruise is in it, and I’m really not a fan of his. Before I even start the review, the movie and book are starkly different. Sure they hold the same general idea, but completely different events occur. Let’s get into it. 

I’ll start with the movie first, because that’s what we saw first. Edge of Tomorrow, starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt, is a dystopic future full of a world war against the Mimics–an alien species here to destroy the humans. All the world comes together to fight this threat, creating the United Defense Forces (UDF). The Mimics basically know how the battle will go, due to their ability to communicate-time travel in the past and let them know not to do certain tactics. This makes them almost unbeatable. Almost. Even though half the world is ravaged, there is still hope.

That hope is in the form of Emily Blunt and Tom Cruise. In separate occasions, they both have the ability to “restart.” This means that if they die, they’ll simply wake up on the day before. For Tom Cruise, it happens when he gets the “blood” of a server Mimic all over him. And then he gets stuck in the loop of being in training to going to battle to dying. Over and over and over. However, the movie does an excellent job with humor and relatability which made it truly enjoyable to watch. Eventually, Emily Blunt and Tom Cruise get together once they realize they’ve been through the same thing and do a final end-all mission to destroy the Mimics forever. But I won’t spoil any more for you. 

Now let’s move onto All You Need is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka, the book the movie is based on. And that’s not even the original. It’s originally Japanese that has been translated into English, which, of course, changes it. The book starts with a fresh recruit in the Japanese part of the UDF (Tom Cruise was a Col., and he was American). He’s green as can be, not ready for battle but without much of a choice. Just as in the movie, he goes into battle and gets killed. But…he wakes up on the previous day! At first, he thinks it’s  just a weird dream, but then it keeps going for another 160 days. The same problem still exists–Mimics are killing all humans on the planet so they can xenoform the planet. However, the book is much more crude–lots of swearing, all written in 1st person. There is a lot of focus on the loneliness that these “time-looped” people have to endure. The ending events in the book are completely different from the movie. I don’t want to say much more, but I was surprised. It was much more heavy, I guess would be the right word. 

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All in all, I would probably choose the movie over the book. You will rarely ever hear me say that, especially a movie with Tom Cruise in it, but I have to be honest. It could be part of the translation from Japanese to English, but the movie engaged me more. Though, I’m starting to like the book’s ending more and more as I dwell on it. There is a graphic novel of All You Need is Kill that I wish I got instead of the paperback. It would be more fitting, I think. 

The concept of both the book and the movie is great–it grabs onto you and keeps you there. It’s a nail-biter and it makes you laugh. And Emily Blunt was freaking awesome. I would absolutely see the movie again and would recommend the book to anyone. And as always…stay hungry and fit!

BONUS PUPPY PIC

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