Official Synopsis:
Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz star in the action—comedy KNIGHT AND DAY. During their glamorous and sometimes deadly adventure, nothing and no one – even the now fugitive couple – are what they seem. Amid shifting alliances and unexpected betrayals, they race across the globe, with their survival ultimately hinging on the battle of truth vs. trust. KNIGHT AND DAY is now shooting in Massachusetts, and will also film on other locations around the world including, Spain, Austria, and the tropics.
Review:
Knight and Day is a fun action romantic comedy that plays to both Cruise and Diaz’s strengths, the pair had great chemistry in Vanilla Sky and it’s only fitting that they should bounce off each other again. Tom Cruise (who, if you can believe it now is 48!) proves he can still kick and swing with the best of them, is excellent as the unhinged super spy Roy Miller.
Tom Cruise has taken an unfair amount of bashing as of late… and why? For stumbling out of a nightclub coked off his mash? No! Ending up in the slammer for drinking and driving? Nope! Wife beating and having phone calls leaked on the web? Naaa…. it’s much worse! Tom Cruise fucking jumped up and down on Opera Winfrey’s sofa because he was getting married to Katie Holmes (a lady half his age). Really?? Who gives a fuck? A superstar who has just about everything, meeting the woman of his dreams and jumps up and down on a sofa? Honestly… if you won the lottery would you not have a little outburst!?
So while the media continues to try and burn Mr Cruise because they have nothing better to do, I’ll continue to sing his praises. He’s awesome in this, he’s totally likeable as our protagonist and far more capable at action than people twenty years his junior. Cameron Diaz may not be straying out of her comfort zone in playing June, but she’s excellent none the less. I’m not sure the restoring muscle cars as a profession was completely convincing… (but, that’s opening a whole other can of worms) and anyway…. that’s to do with the writing not her performance.
Which brings me to Knight and Days only downfall, the writing….. You see with this amount of talent behind it – James Mangold, Cruise, Diaz…. it never really climbs the heights of excellence I feel it should have attained. The whole rogue agent approach to Roy Millers character wasn’t really employed as well as it could have been. We all know which side Cruise’s Miller is on, so there’s no real threat. Lots of the jokes come off great, especially the scenes where our heroes are falling in and out of consciousness. But again, unfortunately, not all the jokes work.
But, a few beats missing out of the storyline is the films only downfall, so!don’t let that put you off! James Mangold (Walk the Line, 3:10 to Yuma) direction is awesome. The action scenes are great, he maintains great geography and the choreography is always great. There are some great moments I’m not going to spoil. And look, at the end of the day Knight and Day is all about the action – and it delivers action in spades.
It may not be the next True Lies, but that doesn’t stop Knight and Day being an enjoyable romp
*** ½ (3½ out of 5)
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