Edge of tomorrow - Opening two minutes analysis

Edge of tomorrow

Opening two minutes analysis

As the titles are showing there is dialogue of a news report of a man who seems quite worried, as the titles fade there is a buzz of static before the screen flickers to a bright light flying across a dark town. This draws the viewer in an makes them wonder whats going on, it conforms to the conventions of action as there seems to be destruction and panic. There is no music (non-diegetic) showing that the news reports are key and must be heard without any destraction suggesting they are of great importance, the main news reporter is drowned out by the sound of explosions and we can see its 'breaking news', we again see the bright light in the sky from before but are still unsure of what it is, this is building suspense and drawing the viewer in. More and more news reports flood in overlapping each other but all repeating the same story showing it's of up-most importance but we, as the viewer, are still not completely sure what's going on. We are finally given a clue as the news headline 'panic as meteor strikes Germany' pops up on the screen but this poses more questions than it answers. 

There are lots of long shots used to show the devastation and chaos in the world and give the viewer a broader insight into this new world and let them see more of the environment. As this is set in a different environment, whilst most other films are set in a world we already know, the viewer needs to familiarise themselves with the surroundings not just the characters. Characters are important but setting is key, once the viewers have seen more of the setting the characters are introduced as they begin to get a feel for this new environment. There are mainly long shots in the opening but also lots of medium shots so you can get to know characters and learn more about them and the environment.

This film can be recognised as an action film but it is not as obvious as there is no fast paced action scene or car chase to identify the genre - instead because this is a sci-fi action it is common for there to be news reports to give us a quick update on the environment we have now entered. There is explosions, smoke, panic and destruction to identify the genre but they come in the form of a news report rather than real time events in the story so subvert slightly from action genre conventions. Action films are usually unrealistic and far-fetched, a way for people to escape from everyday life so showing news reports and mirroring normal life is different and attracts a slightly different audience from the usual action film fans as this film has slightly more of an intriquete plot than most action films as it possess a sci-fi side. Using quick cut editing of news reports and explosions is enough to keep the viewer intregued and caught up in this new world so they don't get bored but have enough background information to understand the plot coming afterwards.

The sound (non-diegetic) of all the news reports is chaotic and overlapping and creates a sense of disorganisation and panic and leaves the viewer feeling tense and nervous for whats going to happen next. A close up of the word 'terror' and showing UN officials meeting up shows something really bad is happening and this may be the end of the world, this would interest people as they have probably thought about what would happen if this was real and so now get the enjoyment of watching other people have to deal with these issues whilst they sit back eating popcorn enjoying this film, knowing their world is okay. This would be a key selling point of the film, exploring a common fear that many people wouldn't know how to act in. 'All of humanity's at stake' is your cliche over dramatic line that throws the whole world into even more chaos and is usually followed by a dramatic cut to choas or panic somewhere (as this film does) or a dramatic bass thump to build tension (very common in trailers).

This is then largely contradicted by people talking of victory and images of people clapping as the chaos seems to have faded and optimism shines through as after five years of fighting the war is over. Viewers are told 'we can win' as they learn more and more about this world, it's like giving them a 60 second overview of everything that has happened in the past 5 years in a news clip montage. This s the easiest and most effective way of portraying all this new information to the viewer whilst keeping them interested and intrigued to know more.  BBC news is featured again which draws back to the fact that this is mirroring issues that could happen in our world and leaving the viewer curious to know what happens. 

We are then introduced to our two heroes (who haven't met yet), Tom Cruise's official looking person from the US army who is talking about a new hope in this war, this then cuts to images of our other hero, Emily Blunt's character. She subverts from female stereotypes and is strong, dominant and fearless. Cruise's character whereas conforms to male stereotypes as he is intelligent, in a powerfull position and seems to be in charge.

As more news reports flash up on screen the non-diegetic sound overlaps again like before and shows hope to the viewer as the characters on screen seem to have devised a way to survive against enemy attacks and the overlapping simply shows how much they have developed to defend their world. 'We will be victorious' is another brilliant cliche phrase and empasises the fact they probably wont be victorious as that wouldn't make a very interesting film. The editing seems to slow down the more we progress into the film so not to overwhelm the viewer, like with anything one you learn the basic everything else becomes easier to understand - they fast editing as the beginning gave the viewer a lot of information but now they have nearly all the information they need on this new environment the editing slows down and individual news reports last longer and there's less overlapping.

The story focusing on it being like WW1/WW2 all over again is another way of making this film about one of the issues people don't like to think would actually happen (a war) but enjoy watching other character having to figure it all out whilst they're safe in their own world. 'Thousands lined up to enlist' could remind people of what it was like back in 1914 when they thought they could win the world war but it turned into a blood bath with over 888,000 men dying. The classic recruitment phrases, a twist on an old classic with 'without you there is no tomorrow' supports the theory that this is mimicking parts of wars to make viewers think about what would happen if this was real and how they would react and they grow curious to see what happens and if they really are victorious.