10 Sci-Fi Movies That Had No Right To Be This Good

Everything about Edge of Tomorrow screams cinematic calamity. This writer vividly recalls seeing its trailer all the way back in 2014, and groaning in dismay at what appeared to be the usual contrived attempt at a "fresh" take on the genre, one that would inevitably turn out to be a steaming pile of the unspeakable.

For starters, the film features Tom Cruise. Thanks to his trademark run and corny one-liners in the Mission Impossible franchise, Cruise is forever typecast as the action man, even when said genre leans towards sci-fi. Then, there's the flick's ridiculous premise: following an alien invasion, Cruise's character is shanghaied into military service and sent to the front lines, where he discovers that every time he meets a grisly demise in combat, he is "reset" to the moment just before the invasion ensues, seemingly doomed to repeat the same Promethean cycle before he meets Emily Blunt's Rita Vrataski.

Defying such pessimistic expectations, Edge of Tomorrow somehow manages to remain fresh and vibrant despite essentially playing the same scene over and over again for large chunks of the movie. It's no mean feat to keep a time loop interesting! Factor in some gorgeous visual effects work and superb performances from the leading duo, and Edge of Tomorrow is a surprisingly enjoyable sci-fi romp that far exceeded even the most cynical of expectations.