Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Movie Mayhem with God Part 10: Edge of Tomorrow

Just last week, I had been joking with a friend over his hamster. With regard to these creatures, a common image we have of them are their vigourous regimes on those wheels in their cages, as they bound apparently towards nowhere.

I’ve completed a latest cycle on this treadmill of life. It was three years ago that I watched the movie Source Code and was personally touched. Now in 2014, the movie Edge of Tomorrow has brought back the same effect, as it is perhaps of no coincidence that my current state of life is highly similar to that three years ago.

Seems like really nothing has changed. Just like William Cage in Edge of Tomorrow, I’ve been living this full cycle, and not being able to break out of it, and as the cycle comes to conclusion soon, it is time to “die again”. The sole, yet critical difference: it’s less shameful, painful and excruciating. As William Cage trains up in the movie, his survival span lengthens each time round, slowly and surely, and his methods of dying get less humiliating and more honourable along the way.

During the middle of the show, Rita asks him whether he knows what’s in store next, and he replies “Well, I’ve never gotten this far.” Indeed, I’ve also never gotten this far in my current state in life, despite the impending “death” in the cycle coming up.

It was a delight to watch the movie. In fact, I felt Edge of Tomorrow surpassed Source Code, as William Cage’s character is much more believable and relatable, being that he isn’t an out and out hero as the lead in Source Code. In fact in the early parts of the show displaying William Cage’s lack of effectiveness with cockiness (plentiful examples), I was laughing till my sides split, as I had déjà vu moments of looking through a time portal of sorts, replaying all those horrendous mistakes I’ve made in my past.

Then there are the latter parts of the show which made my heart ache for his character. His dejection as he doesn’t bother with training and escapes to a café to drown in his misery but is nevertheless killed again. And then his selfless brashness in deciding to take on the duty all by himself, as he doesn’t want to get any other people involved to spare them the torture. At the risk of coming across as though I’m boasting, on certain days in life, I personally experience emotions and thoughts along these frequencies on a regular basis.

In the trailer’s monologue, William Cage states simply “For me, it’s been an eternity”. Indeed it has seems like I’m perpetually getting nowhere in life. When thinking along these lines, I can really envision God smirking at me saying “Be careful when you define the term ‘eternal life’, and pray carefully…” This year marks the 6th year of my life as a daughter of Christ, and I guess the fact that at completion of the latest three year cycle, I’m still bothering to want to identify myself as a believer, is already cause enough for rejoicing. Think the conversation between Rita and William in the movie kind of summarises what God has up his sleeve for me, though frankly, I still don’t get it that clear. Well, if I got it that clear, I wouldn’t still be dying I guess. However, yes, this is an official announcement of sorts that the Movie Mayhem with God series is resurrected. Amen!

William: But I’m not a soldier!
Rita: Of course you’re not a soldier! You’re a weapon.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8 (NIV)

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