Tom Cruise Runs Away From Fire In First All You Need Is Kill Image

Though we're in a lull between Transformers movies, and Real Steel wasn't all the goofy fun it was cut out to be, nobody can deny that they like robots. And that doubles when it comes to robots you can actually go inside-- you know, like Ripley's power loader from Aliens, or if you're really committed to the cause, Robocop. So now when you're offering up one of the most intense movie stars we have, inside a robot suit, running away from a fireball… that's pretty much gold right there.

So, without any further introduction, here's the first image of Tom Cruise in Doug Liman's All You Need Is Kill (click on it to see a larger version):

The image comes directly from Warner Bros., so we know that it's the real deal. Given that cruise is known for his intense, straight-ahead running in virtually every movie he does, asking him to do it while strapped to heavy robot armor seems like almost a joke-- but of course, a joke that looks completely awesome in the meantime. We don't know anything else about the context of this photo, but the synopsis for All You Need Is Kill-- which is based on a manga by Kiroshi Sakurazaka-- has been out there for a while. Take a look below:

The story unfolds in a near future in which a hive-like alien race, called Mimics, have hit the Earth in an unrelenting assault, shredding great cities to rubble and leaving millions of human casualties in their wake. No army in the world can match the speed, brutality or seeming prescience of the weaponized Mimic fighters or their telepathic commanders. But now the world’s armies have joined forces for a last stand offensive against the alien horde, with no second chances.Lt. Col. Bill Cage (Cruise) is an officer who has never seen a day of combat when he is unceremoniously demoted and then dropped—untrained and ill-equipped—into what amounts to little more than a suicide mission. Cage is killed within minutes, managing to take an Alpha down with him. But, impossibly, he awakens back at the beginning of the same hellish day, and is forced to fight and die again…and again. Direct physical contact with the alien has thrown him into a time loop—dooming him to live out the same brutal combat over and over.But with each pass, Cage becomes tougher, smarter, and able to engage the Mimics with increasing skill, alongside Special Forces warrior Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt), who has lain waste to more Mimics than anyone on Earth. As Cage and Rita take the fight to the aliens, each repeated battle becomes an opportunity to find the key to annihilating the alien invaders and saving the Earth.

The movie is set for release on March 14, 2014. And while we're here, we may as well check out that montage of Tom Cruise running. It seems there will be a truly excellent addition to it come 2014.