Netflix just quietly added Tom Cruise's last big sci-fi movie

Tom Cruise has directed some of the best action blockbusters of all time, keeps stunt work alive in the age of CGI slime, and is arguably cinema's last true superstar… but don't you sometimes just want to punch him right in his smug face?

Admit it. His cheeky grin says he knows how charismatic he is. He's 62 and in better shape than most people reading this. And then there's Scientology and the scandals that come with it, which we all try to ignore because he's really, really good at ramming motorcycles over a variety of objects. You can deny it all you want, but director Doug Liman knows you think Cruise should be dialed down a gear. Why else would Liman cast him in a movie where he gets killed over and over and over again?

Edge of Tomorrow, Released on Netflix just months after its 10th anniversary, the game has been frequently compared to a video game. Major William Cage is trapped in a time loop on the eve of a desperate offensive to repel a long and brutal alien invasion. Cage uses this newfound power to slowly and painstakingly turn the tide of a losing battle by memorizing the moves of the octopus “Mimetics,” becoming more effective against them each time he resets the day he is trapped.

But it would be boring if Cruise started the film as a confident daredevil a la Ethan Hunt, so instead he plays a smarmy mutt who is against type. He's introduced as a PR officer so terrified of combat that he tries to blackmail a general rather than get to know him. He's thrown onto a train that despises him and is promptly killed, on a day that's basically D-Day with aliens and power suits. But he takes an unusual-looking Mimic into the abyss with him, and its black blood gushes into his mouth just before he's awakened by Bill Paxton's cheekiness, just as it was at the start of the day.

It's a fun science fiction twist on the classic And every day the groundhog greets you Premise: Cage slowly finds his feet, learns everything about his comrades, and slowly evolves from hapless rookie to relentless killing machine as he reluctantly accepts the fate imposed on him. And to achieve that, he dies. He dies so many times.

Cage is shot, blown up, bludgeoned, run over, drowned, torn apart and thwarted by gravity. Sometimes his death is predictable, sometimes planned and sometimes it comes completely out of nowhere. Done differently, this could be grim, but Cage makes such a horrific first impression that it's amusing to watch his struggle until his sheer tenacity starts to win you over.

Sergeant Rita Vrataski, portrayed by Emily Blunt as everything Cage is not, stands by Cage's side on his path to competence. The so-called Angel of Verdun, a stoic slaughter machine, led humanity to its only great victory because she was the only soldier to stumble upon the alien's time travel abilities before Cage unknowingly got his hands on her. Since humanity's only advantage is that it inadvertently transformed itself from a one-woman army to a self-centered slimeball, it's up to Vrataski to whip Cage into shape while avoiding the wrath of superior officers who would either dismiss them as crazy or turn them into lab rats.

Cruise's arrogant demeanor is a fun contrast to Blunt's stuffy soldiering, especially when Vrataski doesn't hesitate to take Cage down like Old Yeller and start the day over again whenever a training session goes awry. It's a simple but effective dynamic, as Vrataski's camaraderie encourages Cage to put the rest of humanity before himself, and Cage, in turn, opens her eyes to more insidious forms of warfare.

Watching the duo fight, train, scheme and team up is the highlight of the film, as the stars quickly develop a relationship that makes sure all the death and failure isn't too heavy. Based on the Japanese novel All you need is killing, The film's light, lurid roots are evident in the exoskeletons the soldiers wear and the Cloud Strife-worthy sword Vrataski lugs into battle for no good reason other than to look cool. These details spice up the otherwise rather unspectacular sci-fi action, and although the climax throws out much of what made the rest of the film tick in a clumsy attempt to ratchet up the tension, you'll be engrossed enough in the film by this point to happily finish it.

Edge of Tomorrow was Cruise's last foray into science fiction before he began producing Mission: Impossible sequels, while Blunt, apart from A quiet place and its even quieter sequel, has also left the genre behind. This is a pity, because with all due respect for Blunt's contributions to the art of drama in Oppenheimer, The Man Who Killed And Sherlock Gnomesit would be a joy to see her grimace and grunt as she shoots down aliens again. Cruise, meanwhile, would do well to remember that if he ever gets caught up in a scandal again, he'll only have to play a cowardly fool who we can still root for… if he gets what he deserves.