Next Level Narrative
Edge of Tomorrow builds an entire movie out of the restart, the most videogame idea of all.
For years, videogames have strived to emulate cinema.
Perhaps now the tide has turned a bit, as one industry waxes strong while the other wanes. The current influence of videogames on film is first aesthetic and then, indirectly, narrative. Avatar employs the videogame idea of an avatar for a videogame-esque experience, but its narrative remains a Dances With Wolves mash-up with pulp sci-fi. This year’s Hardcore Henry is like going over to a friend’s house to watch them play a FPS. Except you have to buy a ticket.
Although it’s going back a couple years, it’s worthwhile in a discussion of games’ growing impact on cinema to take a closer look at 2014’s Edge of Tomorrow. Why? It might be one of the first films to intentionally deform its core narrative with a concept that is inherent to videogames: the restart.
