Released in theaters: 6/23/2010
Knight and Day, directed by James Mangold (Walk the Line), is an action comedy starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. This movie starts out fantastic with a great setup to the story and some funny and action packed sequences on a plane. The plane, like the film, starts a slow descent to land where it makes a crash landing. What I thought was going to be a slightly original fun movie turned out to be the same old story that I feel like I’ve seen a million times in the past 10 years. It’s like a more outrageous comedy version of the Bourne Identity. The first act was really entertaining and what I expected from a summer blockbuster, the second act is filled with ridiculous action sequences and the third act is predictable and cheesy. The supporting cast also adds nothing to the movie and in the end this summer flick lands in mediocre territory.
June Havens, played by Cameron Diaz finds her everyday life tangled with that of a secret agent Roy Miller, played by Tom Cruise who has realized he isn’t supposed to survive his latest mission. When they separate Roy warns June that the FBI will come looking for her and tell her she is in a safe place. They meet up again several times as June learns that Roy is on the run with a super battery in his possession, which was designed by a kid genius. June can’t figure out whom to trust so she accepts her fate and stays in the company of Roy. As their campaign to stay alive stretches across the globe, they soon learn that all they can count on is each other.
Tom Cruise is the highlight of this movie and he really does save it from being completely terrible. In the TV spots they called Cruise’s performance his best since Jerry Maguire, I’m not sure about that but it definitely was nice to see him doing some fine acting again. Ever since his comedic turn in Tropic Thunder he has been interested in doing more comedy, he puts in a decent comedic performance while still showing off his action side. This performance was like a combination of his Tropic Thunder funny side and his Mission Impossible action side. There is one scene in a diner where Cruise had me cracking up. When you forget about his crazy real life, he really is a great actor and I look forward to seeing him trying out some more comedic roles.
The supporting roles were definitely a weak part of the film. Peter Sarsgaard as the good/bad FBI agent Fitzgerald was a horrible antagonist. His character was never properly developed and horribly written. Viola Davis’ character Director George served no real purpose and was just another boring character. Paul Dano played the kid genius and at times he was pretty funny but ever since There Will Be Blood I just feel like he is overacting in every movie he has ever been in. My favorite performance he has ever had was in Little Miss Sunshine and he didn’t speak until the end.
James Mangold has made some solid films in the past with Walk the Line and 3:10 to Yuma. This is just a little skid mark on the underpants of his career. He needs to find a new screenwriter and get back to his roots of making solid dramas; I don’t know maybe he needed a little extra cash and thought he’d have a little fun and try out a summer blockbuster. If you are a fan of shutting off your brain and watching a ridiculous action comedy then you might enjoy Knight and Day more then I did. James Mangold didn’t really succeed with this summer flick but he didn’t fail miserably. Hey, he’s still making better films than M. Night Shyamalan, and doesn’t quite make it to the WHACKED category.
IMDB: 6.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 53%
Moviewiseguys: 6.0/10