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'Edge of Tomorrow' With Sean Fennessey and Chris Ryan

March 23, 2020 · Edge of Tomorrow (2014) · Action · Adventure · Sci-Fi · 1:22:30

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Chris Ryan▶ 25:33Discussed the movie's place among time loop/Groundhog Day movies and noted qualities that make it rewatchable - you can watch it analytically (counting deaths, tracking what Cage learns) or just turn off your brain during exposition scenes.
Sean Fennessey▶ 22:29Eight screenwriters contributed to the screenplay, starting with Dante Harper's $3 million spec script that made the 2010 Blacklist. Multiple writers including the Butterworths, Simon Kinberg, and Christopher McQuarrie all worked on it, with McQuarrie likely responsible for most of the final dialogue and comedic tone that compares Cage's deaths to Wile E. Coyote cartoons.

Most Rewatchable Scene

Chris Ryan▶ 38:38Agrees with another host's picks and adds the poker hand reading scene where Cage walks into J-Squad camp and reads everyone's cards, showing he's become the smartest guy in the room
Sean Fennessey▶ 30:47Multiple scenes including: Major Cage's first meeting with General Brigham, waking up in J-Squad for the first time, the airdrop and first battle sequence, Cage seeking out Rita and training montage, drive to Lyon/farmhouse, return engagement with General Brigham, and the final action shot with grenade rings

What's Aged the Best

Sean Fennessey▶ 47:18Blunt

What's Aged the Worst

Chris Ryan▶ 48:28The loop stuff in the dark Louvre sequence where the internal logic becomes unknotted and characters survive impossible falls
Sean Fennessey▶ 47:24The alien plot scaffolding, the romantic subplot/kiss, unoriginal mimics, blah techno score, and especially the ending in general as the key flaw

Casting What-Ifs

Chris Ryan▶ 51:48Brad Pitt — Brad Pitt would need to be the winking fun version from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, not the self-serious World War Z version; Gosling would be cool if it's the comic Nice Guys version, not the blank Drive/Blade Runner version
Sean Fennessey▶ 52:11Brad Pitt — Cruise is just better and a clearly better fit than Brad Pitt; glad they didn't go with Pitt

Dion Waiters Award

Chris Ryan▶ 54:41Bill Paxton — Bill Paxton - praises his performance doing the 'feral speech' and his soldier character work
Sean Fennessey▶ 54:18Bill Paxton — Gleason initially, but switches to Bill Paxton after discussion

Joey Pants Award

Chris Ryan▶ 1:04:31Tony Way — Discussed Terrence Maynard, Kimmel, and Charlotte Riley as possibilities but deferred to Tony Way
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:05:30Tony Way

Best Quote

Chris Ryan▶ 1:12:42Griff's quote 'I've never been with two girls at the same time before. But you can bet when that day comes, I'll make it work' and 'Come find me when you wake up'
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:11:58Multiple quotes including 'On your feet, maggot', 'I think there's something wrong with your suit... There's a dead guy in it', 'Have I got something on my face, soldier?', 'What do we do now? I don't know. We've never gotten this far', and Paxton's 'Battle is the great redeemer' speech

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Chris Ryan▶ 1:17:01Major Cage died something close to a year of deaths (using Rita's 300 deaths of Hendrix as baseline and 10,000 hours rule), and agrees the movie caused the 2016 election outcome
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:16:54How many times Major Cage died, and whether the movie is responsible for the 2016 election results because it showed Hillary Clinton as president

Apex Mountain

Chris Ryan▶ 1:19:21Doug Liman — Doug Liman - The Bourne Identity, and Emily Blunt - this movie (Edge of Tomorrow) or Sicario
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:19:37Discusses Emily Blunt's career trajectory through various action movies but doesn't give a definitive apex pick

Who Won the Movie

Chris Ryan▶ 1:20:43Tom Cruise — Cruz (Tom Cruise), but could be talked into Blunt
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:20:52Tom Cruise — Thinks Cruise, Lyman, and Blunt all have a lot to be proud of; notes it's probably one of the most liked Emily Blunt and Doug Lyman movies, while for Cruise it fits somewhere in his top 20

Movies Referenced (55)

Aliens (1986)

11 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan▶ 3:29IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Alien (1979)

10 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan▶ 4:28IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Groundhog Day (1993)

7 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan▶ 22:04IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Uncharted (2022)

7 mentions · Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey▶ 1:00:13IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Jack Reacher (2012)

4 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan▶ 11:31IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Oblivion (2013)

4 mentions · Sean Fennessey▶ 11:31IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Chaos Walking (2021)

3 mentions · Sean Fennessey▶ 1:14:53IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Sicario (2015)

3 mentions · Chris Ryan▶ 44:32IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Valkyrie (2008)

3 mentions · Sean Fennessey▶ 11:26IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Vanilla Sky (2001)

3 mentions · Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey▶ 53:36IMDb ↗Lb ↗

World War Z (2013)

3 mentions · Chris Ryan▶ 5:32IMDb ↗Lb ↗

A Quiet Place (2018)

2 mentions · Sean Fennessey▶ 44:43IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Directors Referenced (16)

Doug Liman

26 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan · Known for Edge of Tomorrow, Swingers, Fair Game▶ 2:11IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Tony Scott

3 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan · Known for Unstoppable, True Romance▶ 12:31IMDb ↗Lb ↗

David O. Russell

2 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for American Hustle, Three Kings, Silver Linings Playbook▶ 1:00:20IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Stanley Kubrick

2 mentions · Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey · Known for 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon▶ 14:07IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Bryan Singer

1 mentions · Sean Fennessey · Known for X-Men, The Usual Suspects▶ 15:11IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Cameron Crowe

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire, Vanilla Sky▶ 53:50IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Clint Eastwood

1 mentions · Sean Fennessey · Known for Million Dollar Baby, Gran Torino, Unforgiven▶ 13:31IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Danny Boyle

1 mentions · Sean Fennessey · Known for 127 Hours, 28 Days Later, Shallow Grave▶ 26:29IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Denis Villeneuve

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Blade Runner 2049▶ 1:01:05IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Francis Ford Coppola

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Apocalypse Now, The Godfather Part II▶ 7:14IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Guy Ritchie

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Sherlock Holmes, Snatch▶ 1:04:31IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Oliver Stone

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Born on the Fourth of July, Platoon, JFK▶ 14:07IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Actors Referenced (40)

Tom Cruise

50 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan · Known for Top Gun, Minority Report▶ 2:32IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Emily Blunt

18 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan · Known for Edge of Tomorrow, The Devil Wears Prada, The Adjustment Bureau▶ 2:34IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Bill Paxton

11 mentions · Sean Fennessey · Known for Aliens, Apollo 13▶ 2:34IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Brad Pitt

8 mentions · Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey · Known for Fight Club, 12 Monkeys, Mr. & Mrs. Smith▶ 7:42IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Brendan Gleeson

8 mentions · Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey · Known for In Bruges▶ 2:34IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Ryan Gosling

7 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan · Known for Blue Valentine, La La Land, Drive▶ 52:17IMDb ↗Lb ↗

General

6 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan▶ 30:47IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Noah Taylor

6 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan · Known for Almost Famous▶ 2:34IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Michael Lerner

4 mentions · Sean Fennessey · Known for Barton Fink▶ 23:25IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Urban Dance Squad

4 mentions · Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey · Known for Pump Up the Volume▶ 32:54IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Daniel Negreanu

3 mentions · Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey▶ 38:47IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Jeremy Piven

3 mentions · Sean Fennessey▶ 50:15IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Writers Referenced (9)

Christopher McQuarrie

8 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan · Known for The Usual Suspects, Mission: Impossible - Fallout▶ 2:22IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Jez Butterworth

4 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan · Known for Edge of Tomorrow, Fair Game▶ 2:22IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Dante Harper

3 mentions · Sean Fennessey▶ 22:43IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Jon Favreau

2 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Chef, Iron Man, Swingers▶ 1:18:33IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Tom Holland

2 mentions · Sean Fennessey · Known for Child's Play▶ 1:15:17IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Charlie Kaufman

1 mentions · Sean Fennessey▶ 1:15:15IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Dan Gilroy

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Nightcrawler▶ 20:23IMDb ↗Lb ↗

James Cameron

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Avatar, Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgment Day▶ 57:07IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Simon Kinberg

1 mentions · Sean Fennessey · Known for The Martian, Logan▶ 24:16IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Cinematographers Referenced (1)

Todd Heater

1 mentions · Sean Fennessey · Known for Mercury Rising▶ 37:24IMDb ↗Lb ↗