Tom Cruise’s 113-Minute Sci-Fi Action Masterpiece Is Officially Dominating Netflix

Tom Cruise has been at the top of Hollywood (and on top of couches) since the ’80s. His filmography ranges from coming-of-age films like The Outsiders to the legal thriller A Few Good Men to Steven Spielberg’s science-fiction adventure War of the Worlds, but Cruise might be best known nowadays as an action movie star. Lauded for doing as many of his own stunts as possible, Cruise has starred in eight Mission: Impossible films, upping the ante in each successive entry. Half of the fun of going to check out a Mission: Impossible movie in theaters is seeing what wacky stunts Cruise will pull off next; he’s already hopped from airplane to another while they were in flight, climbed the Burj Khalifa with just one safety rope, and held his breath underwater for six minutes.

One action movie from Cruise’s filmography that stands out against the rest is 2014’s Edge of Tomorrow. The sci-fi action film finds Cruise not playing an indestructible secret agent, but a spin doctor unexpectedly thrown into a war against aliens, with a Groundhog Day-like twist. Edge of Tomorrow didn’t quite get its due when it was released in theaters (it made just $381 million at the box office), but, according to FlixPatrol, it’s currently blowing up on Netflix after being added to the streaming platform earlier this week in the U.K.

What is Edge of Tomorrow about?

Edge of Tomorrow finds Cruise on the frontlines of a war against alien invaders. He plays Major William Cage, a PR officer who has no idea how to fight or wage war against aliens — which is exactly what he has to do after his plan to get out of an assignment fails spectacularly. He’s arrested and sent to the frontlines as cannon fodder. Whereas Cruise’s Mission: Impossible character Ethan Hunt is essentially immortal, Cage dies. In fact, he dies a lot after being stuck in a time loop, reliving the same gory day over and over again. Edge of Tomorrow flips the script on Cruise, which is part of its appeal. Instead of playing a confident and capable character, Cage starts out as meek and unqualified to do anything useful in a fight.

With the help of Emily Blunt’s Rita Vrataski (and his endless deaths), Cage gradually becomes a better fighter and learns more about the alien enemies, called Mimics. Together, they work to break Cage out of his gnarly time loop and to win the fight against the aliens. They do so via some very kinetic action scenes that rank among Cruise’s best action sequences, even if he’s fighting CGI aliens and not an unfortunately real London roof.

Will there be an Edge of Tomorrow sequel?

Image: Warner Bros. Pictures

Edge of Tomorrow is one of Cruise’s best films, with a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, despite that strong reception, a sequel has never materialized. There’s been plenty of chatter in the 12 years since the film came out from director Doug Liman and Blunt about their hopes to get a sequel made. Cruise signed a development deal with Warner Bros. (one of the production companies behind Edge of Tomorrow) in 2024 and the two sides reportedly discussed a potential Edge of Tomorrow sequel, but it’s been crickets since.

If you enjoy the sci-fi action of Edge of Tomorrow and want more, you are in luck, though. Cruise’s film was based on the Japanese light novel All You Need Is Kill, written by Hiroshi Sakurazaka and illustrated by Yoshitoshi Abe. It also received a manga adaptation from Death Note artist Takeshi Obata in 2014.

Released in theaters earlier this year, the anime film All You Need Is Kill is also based on the light novel, though it’s a wildly different experience compared to the Cruise movie. It’s beautifully animated with colorful action sequences that really stand out when put next to the grey, monochrome look of Edge of Tomorrow. Though All You Need Is Kill‘s plot and characters are a bit thin, it’s worth checking out to see a new take on the story.

Edge of Tomorrow is streaming on Netflix in the U.K. American viewers can rent it through platforms like Amazon Prime or Apple TV.