Tom Cruise’s innovative sci-fi movie Edge of Tomorrow perfectly captures what it feels like to respawn in a video game. Edge of Tomorrow is highly inventive, relying on a familiar movie premise seen in Groundhog Day in which the protagonist essentially wakes up on the same day over and over. In the case of Cruise’s protagonist William Cage, he is forced to fight in a seemingly unwinnable war against an alien invasion, resulting in him starting each day from square one after dying, typically in combat.

Directed by Doug Liman (Swingers, The Bourne Identity, Mr. & Mrs. Smith) and co-written by Mission: Impossible director Christopher McQuarrie, Edge of Tomorrow combines action, sci-fi, and comedy to create a one-of-a-kind and highly entertaining viewing experience. Edge of Tomorrow has the highest critic and audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes out of any Tom Cruise sci-fi movie. Critics praise Edge of Tomorrow for being highly original, concept-driven, and unexpectedly smart.

Watching Edge Of Tomorrow Feels Like Playing A Video Game

Edge of Tomorrow captures the frantic and repetitive pace of first-person shooters

Even though Edge of Tomorrow is great as a movie, it already has a solid foundation to become a video game franchise as well.

The style and structure of Edge of Tomorrow enable it to capture more of a video game feel than some modern video game adaptations in film and television do. The movie’s slogan “Live-Die-Repeat” is essentially what the order of events are when playing most video games, particularly those like Call of Duty and other first-person shooters that have an element of respawning after dying in combat. Even though Edge of Tomorrow is great as a movie, it already has a solid foundation to become a video game franchise as well.

Although Cruise has not starred in too many sci-fi films throughout his extensive Hollywood career, he has appeared in some of the best of the genre, including Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report in 2002. Cruise’s other notable sci-fi entries include 2013’s Oblivion, 2005’s War of the Worlds, and 2001’s Vanilla Sky, which blends sci-fi with several other genres. While there has been talk about a sequel to Edge of Tomorrow 2 for the past decade, the film has yet to come to fruition although Cruise’s recent deal with Warner Bros. may spark new life in expanding the franchise.

Tom Cruise’s William Cage Dying & Repeating Is What Respawning Looks Like

Edge of Tomorrow is not based on a video game but feels just like one

Edge of Tomorrow captures the frantic and repetitive pace of first-person shooter video games, which makes the movie even more enjoyable for fans of those types of video games. The film is also enhanced by Cruise and Emily Blunt’s strong lead perfomances matched with great supporting roles for Bill Paxton and Brendan Gleeson. While some of the most celebrated video game adaptations in film and television capture the story worlds and authentic characters from the video games, Edge of Tomorrow actually replicates the energy and the user experience of playing video games, unlike many video game movies.

Edge of Tomorrow is streaming now on Netflix.