Dir:

Doug Liman

With: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Lara Pulver

Runtime: 113 minutes

TOM Cruise is not the tallest building in Tinseltown, but as the smart and exhilarating Edge of Tomorrow shows, when it comes to summer blockbuster fun he is still the Empire State Building of action men.

The Mission: Impossible star could probably grin and shoot his way through a movie like this with his eyes closed. What takes Doug Liman's future-set thriller to a new level of enjoyment is that this time Cruise is joined by an equally able heroine. All together now: jings.

Emily Blunt is the name, kicking posterior is the game, and man does she make a good fist of it. Ab for ab, bicep for bicep, old Top Gun is matched by a Brit with none too shabby guns of her own.

This clever move, together with a script that keeps the synapses firing on all cylinders, gives Liman's picture the edge over every other blockbuster currently on offer.

Based on the novel by Hiroshi Sakurazaka, Edge of Tomorrow opens in a world that is being invaded by aliens, fast-moving, ruthlessly opportunistic sorts that crush weaker forces before them. Think a cross between Ukip candidates and giant whirling spiders who have necked too many sugary drinks.

In charge of the counter-attack is a bluff general played by the ever-impressive Brendan Gleeson. With mass casualties expected, he needs a smooth talker to "sell" the mission, and who better than Major William Cage (Cruise), the former ad man who has done so much to boost recruitment levels. Trouble is, Cage can talk the talk about duty and sacrifice, but the last thing he wants is to walk the walk to the front line. Busted down the ranks for insubordination, Cage is shipped out with the rest of the soldiers to the theatre of war.

Liman, the director of The Bourne Identity, delivers an awesome, Saving Private Ryan-style invasion of the beaches. This might be war in the future, with soldiers clad in Terminator type body armour, but the chaos and carnage remain the same. It is not long before Cage is put to the ultimate test and duly fails. He ought never to wake again, but when he does open his eyes he is back at the beginning of the same day. Seemingly doomed to repeat the day over and over, this reluctant mutt of a soldier fears he will never be able to lift the Groundhog Day curse. Enter super soldier Rita Vrataski (Blunt), a woman with a plan.

Using such a familiar narrative device has its dangers. Where is the excitement for the audience if we, like Cage, know what is going to happen next? Liman shimmies round the problem by keeping the pace breakneck and piling on the humour. We are in on the joke, and it is a pleasure to watch Cruise and the rest of the cast riff on it so skilfully. If this is not enough, there are some pretty nifty 3D action scenes in an under-siege London and a devastated Paris. (The film is showing in 2D also, but in this case it is worth the extra to go 3D.)

Just as much of a blast as the action is the chemistry between Blunt and Cruise. Blunt has been in science fiction territory before in The Adjustment Bureau with Matt Damon. This time, however, she is not in a dress and heels being dragged along by a man. By virtue of being the better soldier, she is the one doing the dragging this time. Cruise surrenders to this notion, playing second fiddle to a woman, in a way that only boosts his already turbo-charged charm. Blunt, meanwhile, is so gym-honed she makes Lara Croft look like a slacker. You will really believe a woman can do a push-up without her feet touching the ground.

Cruise and Blunt rub along so well one can easily forgive the bumps in the story and the gaps left by the frenetic editing.

Liman, the director of Mr & Mrs Smith, has delivered a Mr & Ms action movie that offers fun for all.