Tom Crusie Edge of Tomorrow

[Guardsman Bass]

Some of the actual compensation isn't as high as the public figures would suggest. They'll ask some of them to sign "side letters" where they agree to receive only a fraction of the publicly promised payment, while the official amount is still what is quoted. I don't know whether that applies to the absolute top-level stars, but they receive compensation in other ways that might cost less unless the movie does super-well in theaters - Robert Downey Jr got $50 million off The Avengers by getting a cut off the first-dollar gross revenue of the ticket sales.

[Elheru Aran]

I know that in some cases they receive a piece of franchising profits. Jack Nicholson made it big back in the 90s when he angled for some of that on Batman. In fact he made it so big on that one ($100 million plus) that I'd imagine they're a lot more careful now on how much franchising profit-sharing they do, especially with action-figurey movies like Avengers, Iron Man, Batman, etc.

Another possibility is that part of their pay could be fees for appearances at various events to promote the films. They do a lot of that these days.

So it works out something like "what we actually pay you for the movie is x million, and then you get n million for doing this and that on the side, and we'll tell the press you get y million because they don't care about everything you're doing, just the big numbers."

[TheFeniX]

For Cruise's part he's been stuck in the "serious action guy" mold for a while now. Rock of Ages and his bit in Tropic Thunder were departures, but honestly since the 00's I really cannot recall anything that he's been playing that wasn't him looking serious, running around, and blowing up stuff. Well, there's War of the Worlds, but still. I got the impression watching his bit in Tropic Thunder that he was just happy to be doing something different, so he really applied himself to that role.

Even then, Roy Miller in Knight and Day might be another "super-spook" role he's force to play, but I would say it's a much different take on the role. And I don't think it's all that fair to say "well, he's been doing all these serious badass roles, and he only broke out twice and nailed those, but only because he tried really hard." That's kind of the point: he's been type-cast for so long and can still go way out of that element? He's got chops.

This is just my opinion, but I always ask myself "how easy is it to forget X actor is on the screen and has become Y role he/she was cast as." Some actors pull this off immediately, some it's extremely hard to do based on their persona, and some just can't fucking stop being themselves no matter what. Then you have Samuel Jackson who should be cast in every role ever.

For me, Tom Cruise fits firmly in the first category for the majority of his roles. He is Stacy Jaxx, insane, semi-washed up, rock-god within seconds of his reveal. Besides, from what I've seen of Cruise in interview, he's an extremely pleasant and animated person, with a bit of a weird streak. If anything, playing a serious badass is outside of his comfort zone. It's like saying "Hugh Laurie really stepped out of his element with that comedy role."

[Lord Relvenous]

For Cruise's part he's been stuck in the "serious action guy" mold for a while now. Rock of Ages and his bit in Tropic Thunder were departures, but honestly since the 00's I really cannot recall anything that he's been playing that wasn't him looking serious, running around, and blowing up stuff. Well, there's War of the Worlds, but still. I got the impression watching his bit in Tropic Thunder that he was just happy to be doing something different, so he really applied himself to that role.

Even then, Roy Miller in Knight and Day might be another "super-spook" role he's force to play, but I would say it's a much different take on the role. And I don't think it's all that fair to say "well, he's been doing all these serious badass roles, and he only broke out twice and nailed those, but only because he tried really hard." That's kind of the point: he's been type-cast for so long and can still go way out of that element? He's got chops.

Completely agree, and I also think people are generalizing waaay too much when they say he plays the same role of "badass" in each movie. Compare Roy Miller to Vincent from Collateral. They're both spies (or spy-types) played by Tom Cruise and so some people in here would go "yup, playing the same guy again", but the actual characters are completely different. Miller is a happy guy enjoying his spying stuff with sincere gusto; Vincent is an all-business graying ex-spy who has been emotionally deadened by the world around him and the evil in it. They're completely different conceptions of a "badass", even though they would both fit the bill.

[Iroscato]

The reviews are starting to come in, and they're good. Very, very good for the most part. It has a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, though I'm aware that's not the most reliable site. But still, it could well be the dark horse of the summer...
[/Thread necromancer]

[Atlan]

It's good. It's REAL good. I got as much enjoyment out of this as I did from Pacific Rim, and that was the best popcorn movie of last year. I certainly think this is a better movie than X-Men, and Godzilla. It's almost Winter Soldier good.
The only real letdown is the last few minutes, where they fudge their previously established temporal mechanics a bit.

Oh, and a buff and almost completely amoral Emily Blunt really makes me wonder how things would have been if she'd taken the Black Widow role.

[Mr Bean]

The reviews are starting to come in, and they're good. Very, very good for the most part. It has a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, though I'm aware that's not the most reliable site. But still, it could well be the dark horse of the summer...
[/Thread necromancer]

It would not be the Dark Horse of the Summer if they had kept the original name...
OAN this is very good news for the "take good Japanese thing and Americanize it crowd" even if All you need is kill was one corndog short of already being set in America anyway.

[Atlan]

The reviews are starting to come in, and they're good. Very, very good for the most part. It has a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, though I'm aware that's not the most reliable site. But still, it could well be the dark horse of the summer...
[/Thread necromancer]

It would not be the Dark Horse of the Summer if they had kept the original name...
OAN this is very good news for the "take good Japanese thing and Americanize it crowd" even if All you need is kill was one corndog short of already being set in America anyway.

It's... set in Europe

[CaptainChewbacca]

Anyone think it is a coincidence that a movie about a massive invasion over the beaches of France came out this particular weekend?

[Atlan]

Anyone think it is a coincidence that a movie about a massive invasion over the beaches of France came out this particular weekend?

It's been out a week over here in Europe.

[Nari]

That was fun!

It's not entirely clear why exo-skeletons on infantry would be preferable to armoured vehicles that can carry a whole lot more ammunition but that's a pretty minor quibble.

And yes, Tom Cruise got to play himself again ( or at least the movie version of himself) but that normally works for me.

[dragon]

That was fun!

It's not entirely clear why exo-skeletons on infantry would be preferable to armoured vehicles that can carry a whole lot more ammunition but that's a pretty minor quibble.

And yes, Tom Cruise got to play himself again ( or at least the movie version of himself) but that normally works for me.

It's most likely due to the fact that a armored vehicle take s alot of money and time to build while the exo-skeletons can be rolled out by the 10's of thousands if not millions given the scope of the invasion

[Elheru Aran]

That was fun!

It's not entirely clear why exo-skeletons on infantry would be preferable to armoured vehicles that can carry a whole lot more ammunition but that's a pretty minor quibble.

And yes, Tom Cruise got to play himself again ( or at least the movie version of himself) but that normally works for me.

It's most likely due to the fact that a armored vehicle take s alot of money and time to build while the exo-skeletons can be rolled out by the 10's of thousands if not millions given the scope of the invasion

Uh, I'm not sure how that makes sense. Assembling an armoured vehicle is far simpler than an exoskeleton-- while it's a bigger vehicle, the mechanics of it are well understood and extremely straightforward. Wheels go at the bottom, engine goes somewhere in the front or the back, and you stick a bunch of armour around it.

An exoskeleton, on the other hand, not only has to be articulated through nearly the full human range of motion, it has to be fitted to the person wearing it (while there's certainly possibility for a "large, medium, small" type of range, there's enough individual variation that you would have to allow for some custom fitting). It has to have an engine (and fuel source!) light enough that it doesn't steal too much power simply keeping itself upright, but strong enough to give the exoskeleton more strength than an ordinary human already has. You have to incorporate balancing mechanisms. You have to allow for armour-- but the armour can't be too heavy, or you lose all the benefits of the exoskeleton.

Frankly? It's the tanks vs mecha thing all over again. Unless there was some remarkable technological advance that made the exoskeleton thing extremely easy to produce, there's really no serious logic that could make them more practical than APC's, IFV's or tanks.

[Gaidin]

Uh, I'm not sure how that makes sense. Assembling an armoured vehicle is far simpler than an exoskeleton-- while it's a bigger vehicle, the mechanics of it are well understood and extremely straightforward. Wheels go at the bottom, engine goes somewhere in the front or the back, and you stick a bunch of armour around it.

An exoskeleton, on the other hand, not only has to be articulated through nearly the full human range of motion, it has to be fitted to the person wearing it (while there's certainly possibility for a "large, medium, small" type of range, there's enough individual variation that you would have to allow for some custom fitting). It has to have an engine (and fuel source!) light enough that it doesn't steal too much power simply keeping itself upright, but strong enough to give the exoskeleton more strength than an ordinary human already has. You have to incorporate balancing mechanisms. You have to allow for armour-- but the armour can't be too heavy, or you lose all the benefits of the exoskeleton.

Frankly? It's the tanks vs mecha thing all over again. Unless there was some remarkable technological advance that made the exoskeleton thing extremely easy to produce, there's really no serious logic that could make them more practical than APC's, IFV's or tanks.

As I understand it it makes perfect sense. It's something they only got access to after five years of war, at the Battle of Verdun. And something they believed they needed to armor their infantry with to have a chance. It wasn't about just their vehicles. You spill the infantry out of the carrier and great, the aliens just tear them up. Good for you, but the vehicles have no traditional support because the infantry don't get to do what infantry is supposed to do. However the point of the movie is two members of the infantry, and we never see deeply enough into the invasion to see the vehicles and armor do their work.

[Dass.Kapital]

In some of the invasion scenes we see ( I think ) Tiger attack helicopters coming in with the transports (And not lasting long because it's an ambush).

In one scene Tom is K.O.d by a truck. So they would seem to be trying to land bigger equipment than just guys in suits.

Also, in some concept art, I saw something looking like an 'LTV' style landing ship slung under one of the carrier planes/craft. No idea if the image made it into the movie.

So, there's the possibility that there were 'Whippet' style small tanks being deployed along to support the infantry...but ending up the same way as every one else because the aliens already knew they were coming.

I liked the movie. Though I have a friend who doesn't like the 'Tacked on' Western/Hollywood ending. My thoughts are that perhaps Tom should have woken up in the landing chopper twice? Though with no actual need for any more 'Filler'/'Action' scenes, just let the audience fill in the exposition via the differences of the two? First landing virtually a repeat of the opening of the film, second the sound of the bells etc.

Much cheers to all .

[AniThyng]

I don't quite understand your point, you mean that the movie should end with the loop still ongoing just from an earlier point?

[AniThyng]

As I understand it it makes perfect sense. It's something they only got access to after five years of war, at the Battle of Verdun. And something they believed they needed to armor their infantry with to have a chance. It wasn't about just their vehicles. You spill the infantry out of the carrier and great, the aliens just tear them up. Good for you, but the vehicles have no traditional support because the infantry don't get to do what infantry is supposed to do. However the point of the movie is two members of the infantry, and we never see deeply enough into the invasion to see the vehicles and armor do their work.

Frankly I think the correct approach here is "Why not both?". There's plenty of helicopters and heavy landing craft and I'm pretty sure we see LAV's around, so there's no particular reason to assume there isn't also a wave of heavy armor following up. I doubt they'd necessarily be any more survivable, given that the mimics aren't merely scary tentacle monsters but actually have plenty of heavy weapons.

[2000AD]

And yes, Tom Cruise got to play himself again ( or at least the movie version of himself) but that normally works for me.

He gets to play himself twice, going from 'smarmy, slimy, cocky Tom Cruise who you want to punch' to 'action hero Tom Cruise'.

I really liked it and as has been pointed out by several others it is the most video game like movie that has nothing to do with video games, he's basicly save scumming his way through a hard level.

[Gaidin]

Frankly I think the correct approach here is "Why not both?". There's plenty of helicopters and heavy landing craft and I'm pretty sure we see LAV's around, so there's no particular reason to assume there isn't also a wave of heavy armor following up. I doubt they'd necessarily be any more survivable, given that the mimics aren't merely scary tentacle monsters but actually have plenty of heavy weapons.

Are we saying the same thing? The issue as far as the humans know is that standard inafantry can't do what standard infantry does because the mimic tear them up to easily(see house scenes). Thus they've spent five years researching and producing exoskeletons so infantry can again do what infantry does. They've got the entire american continent for production if they so desire so I'm fairly indifferent there. They are under the impression such technology is demonstrated to turn the tide by a previous battle because, well, I'm willing to believe there's not onl still armor, but now there's infantry as far as they believe. They just don't know everything.

The thing is, as far as the movie is concerned, the movie has the main characters far and away gone from the beaches before we'd se a beachead, much less the real presence of armor because they've given themselves their own mission and can't involve anyone else because nobody else with the skills will really believe them. Fair enough. Still fun.

[Cykeisme]

An exoskeleton, on the other hand, not only has to be articulated through nearly the full human range of motion, it has to be fitted to the person wearing it (while there's certainly possibility for a "large, medium, small" type of range, there's enough individual variation that you would have to allow for some custom fitting). It has to have an engine (and fuel source!) light enough that it doesn't steal too much power simply keeping itself upright, but strong enough to give the exoskeleton more strength than an ordinary human already has. You have to incorporate balancing mechanisms. You have to allow for armour-- but the armour can't be too heavy, or you lose all the benefits of the exoskeleton.

Aren't those more considerations of design, rather than manufacture?
If we presume that it comes in a few ranges (Large, Medium, Small) and additionally is designed to have easily adjustable portions, that should cover all the able-bodied personnel. And if the technology for the compact power source already exists, then it's not a problem; they could even be existing off-the-shelf units.
Generally, perhaps exoskeleton technology already exists in that world, perhaps for construction or mining purposes?
So if the technology and designs are already mature, assuming there's a raw materials shortage, they could indeed be less resource intensive than armoured vehicles.

Lastly, unless the aliens have the ability to easily cut through whatever materials we have, then having heavy armour that causes you to "lose the benefits of the exoskeleton" (strength, speed, agility, etc?) should be all right, because it's already giving the wearer the benefit of having that heavy armour!
Oddly, from the movie posters and trailer it looks like they're pretty terrible armed and armoured for strength-enhancing exoskeletons, and I'm wondering why.

Note that I haven't seen the movie yet, so I may be wrong on multiple counts here!

[Darmalus]

From what I saw the infantry were toting the kind of heavy weapons I normally associate with vehicles, heavy machine guns, cannons, mortars, grenade launchers. They seemed to use assault rifles as a side arm. Plus they were strong enough to overhand smash a speeding car to a complete stop. Given how easily the mimics seemed to tear through basically everything they got their tentacles on, "kill them first" seemed to be the defense of choice.

[AniThyng]

Frankly I think the correct approach here is "Why not both?". There's plenty of helicopters and heavy landing craft and I'm pretty sure we see LAV's around, so there's no particular reason to assume there isn't also a wave of heavy armor following up. I doubt they'd necessarily be any more survivable, given that the mimics aren't merely scary tentacle monsters but actually have plenty of heavy weapons.

Are we saying the same thing? The issue as far as the humans know is that standard inafantry can't do what standard infantry does because the mimic tear them up to easily(see house scenes). Thus they've spent five years researching and producing exoskeletons so infantry can again do what infantry does. They've got the entire american continent for production if they so desire so I'm fairly indifferent there. They are under the impression such technology is demonstrated to turn the tide by a previous battle because, well, I'm willing to believe there's not onl still armor, but now there's infantry as far as they believe. They just don't know everything.

The thing is, as far as the movie is concerned, the movie has the main characters far and away gone from the beaches before we'd se a beachead, much less the real presence of armor because they've given themselves their own mission and can't involve anyone else because nobody else with the skills will really believe them. Fair enough. Still fun.

Well basically I'm saying that there's no need to beat the dead "conventional tanks >>> mecha" horse because there's no evidence at all that the suits compromised investment into conventional heavy armor. (and again, there's really no reason to believe that a 60 ton tank would be any less as dead when hit with those swarms of explosives the mimics have, much less any APC-grade armour).

[SylasGaunt]

Pretty much every time I can recall a trooper taking a hit they died, so there's that.

In the book at least the Mimic Javelins were supposed to be strong enough to blow holes in tanks.

[Cykeisme]

From what I saw the infantry were toting the kind of heavy weapons I normally associate with vehicles, heavy machine guns, cannons, mortars, grenade launchers. They seemed to use assault rifles as a side arm. Plus they were strong enough to overhand smash a speeding car to a complete stop. Given how easily the mimics seemed to tear through basically everything they got their tentacles on, "kill them first" seemed to be the defense of choice.

Pretty much every time I can recall a trooper taking a hit they died, so there's that.

Ah, so the purpose of the suits in the movie was to allow infantry to carry sufficient firepower to take out the alien troops.

Damn, now all this has got me interested, I'm gonna try to catch the movie tomorrow!

[Lost Soal]

Saw it last night and aside from the copout ending it was really good. Well paced, they repeated things enough times to see them learning then moved to a new set of repeating scenes so it didn't get repetitive. Perfect mix of action, comedy & drama. And Bill Paxton, need I say more?