New is cool. At least, this is what the advertisers would have us believe. If you don’t have the latest thing then you’re not ‘with the times’, or so the implied message behind the images selling us the thing tells us. And do you know what? So often the advertisers are right. My current phone is a better version of my old phone. It has a longer battery life and a crisper display. The old phone wasn’t bad, per se, but this phone is clearly an improvement upon the old one. In a few months I’m sure I will be told about the latest development and how it’s faster or bigger or slimmer etc. and how much I need it. The march of technological progress soldiers on.

This progress requires change. The change ought to be an improvement on the old, but at the very least it needs to be different from the old. It needs to be distinct. If what is new isn’t different then it becomes hard to sell. If Volkswagen were to believe that their Golf has finally ‘arrived’, that it couldn’t possibly be any better, that it should look and perform this way forever, it would in a few years time look dated and most likely be out-performed by its rivals.

In a world obsessed with things and the production and selling of them, an environment of constant change must be manufactured to keep the supply chains rolling.

Now, change is good, but only whenever it actually is good. I like that my latest car is more reliable than the car it replaced and that the fuel economy is better. I like my new running shoes because they fit well and make running almost a joy again. All change that is good is only good if it is in fact an improvement upon what it is replacing.

But from a marketing perspective change doesn’t need to be good. It only needs to exist. If we can be told that we need something new, simply because it is new, then we can be persuaded to buy it independent of an analysis of what it actually is and whether it really is any good. And when we make a purchase, the company selling to us makes a profit, and can continue to employ marketing experts to go on convincing people of needs that they have, and therefore sell more of their products.

What is sold to us today is most definitely a way of life, being offered through the product being advertised. Adverts don’t just sell to us on the merits of the product, they seek to convince us that we will be better people because we have and use these products. In this world we live in we are told that change is good and life is better when we are playing with the latest thing.

In the current climate, it has therefore become all too easy to assume that things that are old are of lesser value than things that are new. Your first TV will most likely not be as good as your current TV. But so too have changed what you used to think about, say, politics, or your goals in life, or where your ultimate holiday should be. Those old ideas have been replaced by newer, improved, and updated versions. The naivety of our youth is superseded by the wisdom gained throughout life.

Except that not all things that are new are good, are they? Ancient Roman buildings in England have outlived modern buildings, hundreds and hundreds of years younger. I’m sure that in the 1970s, a period I blissfully have no memories of, the taste of the day in interior design was a real high point! Those greens, harvest golds, and burnt oranges etc.. Linoleum: what a wonderful and practical solution for the floor of a kitchen. Fashions come and fashions go, but the reasons for them doing so may seldom be practical or thought through.

So too the ideas, philosophies, and religions of our culture, they ebb and flow. They may be in fashion one moment, and out the next. But we would be foolish to dismiss the great ideas of our past, of our heritage, simply because we prefer the new.

The great author C. S. Lewis was brought to task by his friend Owen Barfield when, as a younger man, he dismissed Barfield’s viewpoint simply because it was old. Lewis came to realise that he was engaging in “chronological snobbery” and that the truthfulness of an idea has little to do with its age”. When contemplating an old fashion or idea Lewis wrote that,

“You must find why it went out of date. Was it ever refuted (and if so by whom, where, and how conclusively) or did it merely die away as fashions do? If the latter, this tells us nothing about its truth or falsehood.”

Perhaps in our nation today faith in the Christian God, although once popular, is now no longer fashionable. We would do well to heed Lewis’ advice and not dismiss it because of its age or association with previous generations. It must be investigated and examined on its own merits. We can either choose to inform ourselves through careful enquiry, or float along upon the tide of culture, receiving our viewpoints and tastes from the budgets of big companies and the ideas in vogue from mainstream outlets.

This next time you’re at your Dad’s house, look at his photos – the ones in the older albums. Do you see how silly those trousers look? But be warned, the next laugh you’ll hear will be in 30 years when the future generation simply cannot fathom what we were thinking when we donned skinny jeans.

What seems right in our day will seem old in the future. Change cannot alone be the measurement for truth. We might cringe when we look back on our old fashion choices, but how much more will it hurt when we realise we dismissed God only because he was ‘so last century’.

It’s funny how things come along in twos! Twice this week I have heard the idea that it would be good to be born with the wisdom of old age and, as time goes by and we become younger, using that wisdom to benefit our more youthful years.

The first instance was watching a DVD set of the original Forsyte Saga – in black and white and with very dated sets and production but also with such excellent acting that it still leaves you gripped! The other instance was less impressive – remembering the Mork and Mindy Show where Mork’s son is born old. As you all know – if you remember back to 1982! – Orkans like Mork age backwards, starting with elderly adult bodies but, in this example, with the mind of a child and regressing back to feeble “old” kids as they “aged” – or should that be “young-ed”!

If you are a little bit on the older side, what advice or wisdom would you give your younger self if you could? Would it be to make different choices? To right wrongs never addressed? Or would it be simply to take things less seriously and enjoy life more? Perhaps you would advise following a different path, but, for me, apart from a few daft things I would rather forget, as one of the fortunate ones, I would not change a thing!

“For through wisdom your days will be many, and years will be added to your life.” Proverbs 9:11

As Bob Dylan said, the times they are a-changing. What a wise man he is, although he also sang this:

Now you see this one-eyed midget
Shouting the word “NOW”
And you say, “For what reason?”
And he says, “How?”
And you say, “What does this mean?”
And he screams back, “You’re a cow
Give me some milk
Or else go home”.

So maybe he’s not all good. Anyway, here at Demolition Squad HQ, the times are indeed a-changing. We’ve reached thousands of people with our blogs and podcasts over the last 18 months, and we are now on the verge of a new season.  At the end of June, I (Andy) will be leaving my role as blogger to focus on a new project we’ll touch on in a bit. I’ll still be contributing semi-regular pieces, and Jonathan Sherwin will continue writing regularly. This will also leave room for some new voices to contribute pieces to the Demolition Squad.

So, this new project! Duh, duh, duuuuhhhh…

New Book

At The Gathering 2015, CVM will be releasing a new resource in the form of the Demolition Squad Survival Handbook: tackling 25 objections to the Christian Faith. I’ll be spending the next few months collating, editing and adding to some of the articles we’ve written over the last 2 years and turning them into a sharp, neat, concise product for blokes to absorb and share with their mates.

Tackling subjects from ‘Isn’t Christianity Intolerant?’ to ‘You Don’t Have To Be A Christian To Be A Good Person’, the DSSH will take a look at key objections to Christianity and deal with how to respond to them. A lot of my time will go into transforming key arguments into everyday language, compressing them into bitesize nuggets, with a focus on practical application.

Defending the Gospel isn’t something that needs to be left to the lawyers and scientists. Every Christian bloke – whether a builder, a bricklayer or a brigadier – should be properly equipped to give a reason for the hope that he has. The Demolition Squad Survival Handbook will be geared towards that. An apologetics book by blokes for blokes.

New Blog Series and Talks

In addition to the new book there will be brand new articles on the blog as we continue to tackle the tough questions that we currently face with sharing our faith. We’ll hear from some top thinkers in the UK on tackling those hard objections.

In addition, we are rolling out new talks for the CVM conferences as well as an accessible introduction to apologetics talk that we can give at your church or men’s group. More news on that soon.

We’ll keep you updated with Andy’s progress as we go along. After this year’s excellent Gathering we we’re really looking forward to TG15, which, from the sound of it, is already bigger and better than last year. We can’t wait!

Perhaps I should stay out of the kitchen.

I’m not talking about our kitchen at home; I’m talking about church kitchens, where my brothers and sisters in ‘the tea-towel’ are our church family. It can get hot in there.

I like to think I have a thick skin, but last Sunday I discovered that the passing of the weeks had not dulled the resentment which I harboured for the instant and multi-voiced rebuke I had received last time round for going through the “wrong” door while carrying the rubbish out to the bins.  The lack of logic (most direct route to the bins), the lack grace on the part of my sisters (was I not taking upon myself a lowly yet essential task?) and (this most especially) the lack of any notification on that door that it was not to be used (how anyone is supposed to know they don’t want you using it baffles me), pressed all the wrong buttons.  As the perceptive among you may have sensed, they seem to have stayed pressed.

In 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Paul tells us what love is like, as personified in perfect form by the Lord Jesus Christ.  Although a staple reading at wedding services, Paul here is not writing about how to love our spouses but how to love our church family.  Love, Paul tells us, keeps no record of wrongs. How many records are you keeping?

“..and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.” Matthew 6:12

In 2005 the Government in the UK opened the door to gambling becoming “an acceptable leisure activity”. I was a gambler for 40 years and believe me when I say that when you are in it, you don’t see the potential harm caused to some vulnerable people until you step back you see it for what it is. For those whose lives are ruined by Gambling Addiction, the notion of it being an acceptable leisure activity is ridiculous.

How can I best channel my burning desire to help those who each day are being harmed by Gambling Addiction?

Please bear in mind that my own experiences are testimony to the damage that may be caused – I have experienced family breakdown, relationship breakdown, debt, prison and I could go on. However let’s also consider some independent sources to understand what I see as some of the problems surrounding gambling in the UK:

• Ofcom research shows gambling commercials have rocketed from 234,000 in 2007 to nearly 1.4 million last year. That is a 600% increase in 6 years.
• In 2009 there were 109,000 children stopped in a betting shop but in 2013 that number had rocketed to 588,000 and 27,000 were stopped after placing their first bet.
• A report, for the Lottery Commission by Ipsos MORI in September 2013, concluded that of over 2,000 11-15yr olds, surveyed from 100 state maintained schools, no less than 15% of young teenagers had engaged in some form of gambling “in the last week”.

What concerns me therefore is that we are now seeing the aftershocks of the 2005 Governement’s policy and in my opinion things are going to deteriorate even more.

I want to share a dream I had; I was in The Spirit and I looked down and I could see the river Thames and there was fire on the water. Big Ben struck 12, and I saw that the fire went under a bridge and into the House of Commons.

Zechariah 4.6 “Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit“, says the lord almighty.

I truly believe that the Lord has heard the cry of those who are suffering from Gambling Addiction and is now asking Men of God to step out and say “enough is enough”. This is what led to the creation of GAMSERVE, a movement that is dedicated to asking serious questions and seeking significant change around the gambling industry in the UK. I spent the weekend of CVM’s Gathering (in a field near Swindon!) talking to people that could see the problem and agreed that something had to be done and I pray that anyone that reads this blog will take time to look at my website.

As Christians, we need to respond to negative developments in our society and one way is to speak out and challenge the liberalisation of the gambling industry. I trust that you will join me and that the Lord will see my prayers answered as I serve obediently in His name.

I was reminded the other day of that moment when you are sitting just outside the breaking surf and look out to sea and see an enormous set of waves heading your way.

There’s a mixture of emotions. On one hand that’s what you’re there for – the perfect wave; but on the other hand there is fear as you contemplate what the wave might do to you.

Your choices are threefold – you can turn towards the beach and start paddling in the hope that you get the ride of your life and live to tell the tale; you can paddle frantically towards the wave in the hope that you can go over the top before it breaks; or you can just sit there, duck dive it and hope everything will be okay (it never is!)

It reminded me of the Christian walk. Sometimes you seem to just sit around in calm water waiting and hoping that something will happen. You’re there, ready for action but with little to do. At other times there’s lots happening but it’s all under control – you may be working hard but it’s nothing you can’t handle. Then there’s the times when you see a great wall of power sweeping towards you and you realise that things are outside of your control.

You’re faced with the same choices – go with it and hope you can ride it, sit there like a sitting duck or move in the opposite direction.

The worst thing you can do is just sit on your surfboard and hope everything is going to be okay – it won’t. You’ll get trashed. Sometimes fear takes over and you just want to be safe and live to see another day. That can be the right choice sometimes when faced with a wall of water. Even though it leaves you feeling disappointed with yourself it’s good to know your own limitations. The very best scenario is when you go for it, it all works out and you get the ride of your life.

The great thing about the Christian life is that God knows our limitations and we can trust Him for the ride of our lives knowing that what He calls us to, He equips for.

 Reviewed by Matt Adcock

Director: Jon Favreau

Cast: Jon Favreau, Emjay Anthony, John Leguizamo, Scarlett Johansson, Sofía Vergara, Robert Downey Jr., Oliver Platt, Dustin Hoffman

Quote:

“I get to touch people’s lives with what I do and I love it and I want to share this with you.”

On the menu today…

Starter:

Decent anticipation for a new, lower budget and more personal movie from the hotshot director Jon ‘Iron Man’ Favreau. Tasty trailer that whets appetite but looks like it might be a little over-sentimental. The thought of seeing jaw-dropping food prepared in high definition on the big screen is enough to make anyone hungry.

Main Course:

Chef sees acclaimed chef Carl Casper (Jon ‘Swingers’ Favreau) unfulfilled cooking for meanie restaurant boss Riva (Dustin Hoffman). He’s also struggling to be any sort of father to his young son Percy (Emjay Anthony) after being divorced by his gorgeous now ex-wife, Inez (Sofía ‘Machete Kills’ Vergara). Speaking of gorgeous there is also Scarlett Johansson on hand as a foxy wine watress.

- When Casper falls fouls of top food critic, Ramsey Michel (Oliver ‘Fargo TV Series’ Platt) his meltdown shouting match goes viral on social media – and wrecks his job prospects.

- Fate sees the Chef flown off to Miami with his wife and son – and handed the chance to rebuild his cooking career by Inez’s other ex-husband (Robert ‘The Avengers’ Downey Jr.) in the shape of a run down food truck.

- Casper’s new mobile food service – making superb Cuban sandwiches and yucca fries – aided by his former soux-chef (John Leguizamo) and his son is an instant hit.

Dessert:

It’s great fun watching Casper get his life back on track – the themes of being inspired by what you love doing and the importance of the father / son bonding shine through in heartfelt style. Favreau eats up the screen and seems to be really enjoying being both behind and in front of the camera.

- The script might be a little heavy on swearing but is genuinely funny and the cinematography encompasses some of the tastiest looking food ever to grace the screen.

- There are additional messages of reconciliation and redemption might be more than some hardhearted types can take but I was moved, inspired and motivated to be a better father to my boys as a direct result of seeing this. In fact the first thing I did upon leaving the cinema was to hug my two sons harder than I ever have before and remind them how much I love them…

- Overall Chef is a excellent, feel good comedy that works on many levels, just be sure not to go on an empty stomach as you could well be drooling long before the credits roll.

Thinking material:

So many children today struggle with the fact that their dads are so busy that there is hardly any scope for quality bonding time to be shared. For others there may be do ‘father’ or male role model in their lives for a host of reasons. Chef does a fantastic job of showing how even just ‘hanging out together’ can be a hugely formative and positive experience for children (and their dads).

For those with faith – the same is true as we relish time spent being with our Heavenly Father!!

Rating: **** 4 out of 5 stars

“The West became a humane civilization because it was founded on the precepts of a teacher who insisted that man was valuable.” – Vishal Mangalwadi

It is without question that Christianity has changed the face of the world, and it has done so on the back of the Bible. This ancient book carefully composed, transmitted, and passed accurately through generations has instigated positive political, social, religious, and economic reform.

Catch Up

• Part One | Part Two | Part Three

For example, In 17th Century Scotland, Samuel Rutherford – a preacher – read his Bible and saw that all men are created equal under God. Rulers weren’t meant to lord it over their subjects. Reasoning from Scripture, Rutherford argued that Kings are not above the law, but that they are held to a higher law. At first rejected in Great Britain (Oxford University burned the book), it influenced the founding governmental systems of the United States of America, and eventually led to political reform limiting a monarch’s power here too.

Schools and Universities have been established by people reading their Bibles. Hospitals and healthcare programs have been created also. The Salvation Army tackles poverty. William Wilberforce, reading his Bible, campaigned to end the Slave Trade, and while he was at it set up the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA).

So how is it that the Bible, a mere book, can cause so much change? It is because, in short, the Bible gets the answers to the basic and grandest questions of life right. It’s not that men read a parable or a Psalm and have a creative idea in the shower that sets their whole life on a path to reform (although that may happen), but that when we read the Bible as a whole, as a complete book, we see it speak accurately to three key areas of life: our value, our condition, and our hope.

Our True Value

Firstly, the Bible tells us that human beings are valuable. Being made in “the image of God” (Genesis 1:26,27) endows human beings with dignity, worth, and value. No other part of Creation is made in God’s image. All of Creation is made “good” but humans are set apart, marked as special.

This goes a long way to a firm ethical foundation for the treatment of humans. Why is it wrong to enslave other people? Because all human beings are equally valuable. Why should we not murder? Because all human beings are equally valuable.

In the New Testament the true value of humans is marked by the extraordinary sacrificed of Jesus Christ. God’s own son, come to die to save us. The philosopher Alvin Plantinga calls this the “greatest good” – the best thing we can think of our imagine – and it happened for us.

Two Excesses

Humans are prone to two excesses when we remove the Bible as the yardstick for our worth. Firstly, we can think too little of ourselves. One could reduce humans to be of equal value to animals, or other living things like trees. After all, if all we are is simply another type of animal – albeit more highly evolved – then let’s treat each other like animals. Perverse sexual ethics, ethnic cleansing, and slavery all become hard to argue against when we take this position. If we aren’t any more special than any other random collection of atoms, then why should we treat each other as special?

Equally, we can also think too much of ourselves. If there is no God, perhaps we are God! We might think that we are the very best, and we can do what we want. We could argue that we can dominate nature because we are God. When our value is too high we make all other things serve us. Why bother, for example, about taking care of the environment when it is there only for us to use as we like?

The Bible values humans correctly, neither too high nor too low. On this base we have built civilisations that protect and defend human rights, and argue against excesses committed both against and by us.

Our True Condition

The second question that the Bible accurately answers is the question of the condition of humans presently. That is, what state do we find ourselves in today?

The Bible tells us that humans are both fallen and finite. These are worth looking at, so let’s unpack these two attributes.

When talking of our fallen nature, the Bible says that the condition of man is marred by sin. We were created as “very good” but when sin entered the world, our condition deteriorated. We were created as good, and for good things, but now we operate in an affected state. This means that our intentions are not perfect. Our actions don’t always hit the mark. We are capable of great good, but equally we are capable of great harm.

Because we know this, we can create systems to help limit the damage done by our bad choices, and promote those things that are good. We can limit our governments from making harmful decisions, whilst investing in them the power for positive change.

Coupled with this, the Bible tells us that we are finite. We are created with a beginning, and with limits. Only God is infinite. We have not always existed. This properly articulates our limitations, that is, we have this one life. The life we’re living now is the one that we have been giving. The years we live on this earth on these bodies are the only years we have. We have existed before and we will be reincarnated in the future.

What happens in this lifetime is therefore of great importance. This is our life, now.

Two Excesses

Again, without the Bible humans can go one of two ways when attempting to answer this question for ourselves.

Firstly, we can say that there’s nothing wrong with us. We aren’t in any way broken. Perhaps we’re on an evolutionary scale, getting better and better, but we’re not inherently restricted. If only we were to “free our mind” or “realise our potential” we can alleviate the suffering of ourselves of and of others. If we try really hard, we can create perfection because at our core we are perfect.

Communism is an idea that wants perfection. It desires harmony. It longs for unity. But without correctly diagnosing the condition of humans that we face, it fails to understand that left alone, we can’t arrive at perfection, because we don’t have the capacity for perfection within us. All of the education, all of the money, all the goodwill and charity in the world will not solve our problems, because our problem is much deeper. Our problem of sin hampers all of our efforts.

On the opposite side, we can observe all of the problems and conclude that we are totally broken and beyond help. Life quickly becomes meaningless when viewed this way. Pessimism leads to despair. “Why bother?” is the operating slogan. We have all these problems and nothing to fix them with.

When the Bible describes our fallen states, it doesn’t say that we lost all of ability for good. Although the Bible says that we aren’t and can’t be good enough to fix our problem, it doesn’t say that we can’t use our minds, our finances, our time to help others, to cause there to be more good in this world.

By correctly labelling us as both “good” and “broken” the Bible shows us our limits, and points to the need of outside help. We’re not too optimistic about our condition, but neither are we too pessimistic.

Our True Hope

After answering the questions of our value and our condition, we need to ask, “Where is our hope?” What are placing our trust in?

When the Bible tells us that are both valuable and broken, it doesn’t leave us to wallow in the theatre of “what could have been” dreams. We aren’t resigned to pondering “If only …” thoughts.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, ESV)

Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God come as a man, we are given a true and dependable hope. We will be restored to completeness again, our sin-condition will be removed once and for all. This isn’t something that we achieve for ourselves, but something that God does for us. We can’t earn it; God freely gives it.

We have reason to live, a reason to strive for great change and resist evil, and we have assurance of this too.

Man with God can do great things. Man with God can face the problems, the terrors, the horrible things that blight our world, and say that they won’t always be this way. We can wake up, and with God’s help make a change this very day. A true change that leave its mark for all eternity.

Because history is going somewhere our efforts have lasting value. Because we know who is leading us to salvation, we have true confidence.

Two Excesses

Without God involved in the picture humans have to place their hope in either something else, or nothing at all.

If we decide to say there is no ultimate hope, no chance of redemption or salvation, then all of our efforts operate under the banner of “It’s all for nothing”. We can ignore our conclusion and try to eat and be merry, for tomorrow we shall surely die. Or we can stare this harsh conclusion square on and live congruently with our conclusions. “What really is the point of anything, then?” we muse. Such painful answers lead to despair and misery, and sometimes insanity.

The other angle humans explore is that of placing our hope in something else. This could be ourselves and our good deeds, or our children, our countries etc. Anything good can become God in this case, our ultimate hope and answer for meaning.

These other areas may hold up for a while, but under the enormous pressure of ultimate hope every good thing collapses. Our marriages, our careers, our hobbies – they were never strong enough to save us. We might invest large chunks of our lives in the belief that if we apply ourselves diligently to these or other areas they will deliver. On the day that they let us down, devastation can reign. Stockbrokers who lose it all in a crash can contemplate taking their own lives. Children who disappoint can overwhelm their parents with a wave of grief that they don’t recover from.

A good thing can become a terrible curse when we expect it to deliver us to the promised land. Instead of enjoying it for its goodness, we promote it to Saviour and when it fails us we can simply fall apart. Our hope evaporates and sucks our security with it.

The Bible has a term for the misapplication of hope to finite things: idolatry. We make idols out of other things and, in a way, through our time, money, energy worship them. When the Bible forbids worshipping idols it’s not the laws of a tyrannical, needy despot who cannot stomach the loss of attention, but the best guidance from a loving Father who knows exactly what we need and tells us exactly where we can find it.

By answering these questions correctly the Bible properly describes reality to us. We can see ourselves as God sees us, as we really are.

This self-knowledge is vital for when we answer the basic questions incorrectly we can not live the best way, and our efforts will fail. Our views of the world and of each other are deficient until we see God and in his reflection see ourselves.

The Bible has changed the world because humans have read it, discovered how truly valuable they are, learnt of their broken condition, and delighted themselves in the assurance of the great promise of Jesus Christ of ultimate salvation and redemption.

The truth is discoverable, it is knowable, and it is available in a bookshop, a library, or a bed-side cabinet near you.

In a materialistic society what interests you most, what and are you passionate about?; Football, food and drink, theatre and music, fishing, gambling, holidays, internet/computing, Jesus Christ, money finances, etc.

Or are you Passive about; Religion, politics, watching TV, motor racing, going to bingo, volunteering, Facebook, Twitter, etc?

Whether we are old or young we prioritise what we do through listening, email, tasks, lists, phone calls, writing, talking, reading, watching etc. These actions allow us to move our interest and calling from being passive about something to being passionate.

There is always a will to find the way. The newness of that phone, computer, car, there is no need to hear that word of encouragement our expectations rise. Transferring those expectations to allow our Christian walk to top the priority list can be helped by

• Praying – Keep our prayer task list up to date
• Bible – Use an App and have it with you all the times
• Fellowship – Join an active Christian group and share testimony

At times I feel as the man in Act 2:17 old men will dream dreams, and find it hard to get motivated

Then we read what Paul wrote, ‘We are fools for Christ…’ (1 Corinthians 4:10 NIV). God uses radical people who don’t care how they look: people who’ve survived difficult pasts, defied the odds, held onto their vision, and declared, ‘My God is able!’

Together we can each be one of those people

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

Director: Doug Liman

Cast: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Dragomir Mrsic, Charlotte Riley, Jonas Armstrong

Quote:

“Come find me when you wake up!”

Plot:
Hotshot but cowardly military PR specialist Major Bill Cage (Tom Cruise delivering over and above the call of duty) – is a spin doctor who can certainly ‘sell’ the war against an alien invasion but who really isn’t keen in actually getting thrown into the action.

But that’s exactly what happens when he tries to weasel his way out of covering the fighting live from the front line. Rather than getting to record the events, Cage is shipped off with a bunch of cannon fodder losers called J-Squad to actually take part in a massive counter strike against the aliens who have taken over mainland Europe.

It’s no spoiler to tell you that Cage gets himself killed within minutes of hitting the ground in a massive Saving Private Ryan-esq beach landing but for some reason he finds himself inexplicably thrown into a time loop-forcing him to live out the same brutal 24hrs of combat over and over.

This is where it gets really interesting… What if you could fight a battle again…and again – each time learning better how to engage your ferocious adversaries, building your fighting skills and helping those around you possibly stand a chance?

Legendary Special Forces warrior Rita Vrataski (Emily ‘Looper’ Blunt) takes Cage under her exoskeleton-ed wings to try and find a way to take the fight to the aliens, and through repeated training and battle encounters get closer to defeating the enemy.

Reaction:
Prepare for a dazzling adrenalin overload of an alien invasion movie. Based on the Japanese novel “All You Need Is Kill” by Hiroshi Sakurazaka, Edge of Tomorrow is this year’s hot sci-fi ticket.

Edge of Tomorrow is a superb high concept thrill ride that delivers mass alien vs mech infantry carnage with stunning special effects. Once you get your head around the genius Aliens and Starship Troopers meets Groundhog Day plot – all you need to do is sit back and let the heavy duty action mixed with dark humour light up your cinematic pleasure receptors.

There is much to enjoy from the supporting cast too who include Bill ‘Aliens’ Paxton as Farrell – a hard as nails Staff Sergeant and Brendan ‘In Bruges’ Gleeson as British General Brigham who is directing the war effort from London.

What are you waiting for? Live. Die. Repeat (watch) the sci-fi film of the year…

Thinking material:
The concept of repeated life / death / regenerate is one that can be traced through to both several religious teachings and is the essence of video-games where players ‘die’ but immediately get to respawn and continue the fight. It’s an interesting concept that embraces our deep wish fulfilment to have the chance to go back and do things better the next time after we mess up!?

Rating: ***** 5 out of 5 stars

Related Films: Aliens, Starship Troopers, Looper, Groundhog Day

Check out our Movie study resource: ‘Cinemania’ here…