Knight and Day (2010)

Simply A Masterpiece

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Disturbing yet enthralling

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

I saw this with a friend. We both loved it. I ended up buying the movie. I love both of the actors in this. And, it has great comedy. If you like action packed comedies, knight and day is perfect for you.

Vanilla Sky 2? Hmm...maybe not. Charlie's Angel? Nope, not feeling that either. Mission Impossible 4.5? Getting warmer. Tom Cruise: Typical Action Movie 9? Much better! I mean what do you expect Cruise to be doing in an action blockbuster other than shooting enemies, riding a motorbike in the middle of Sevilla with Diaz on top on him, jumping off cars in rush hour and well...just being himself. Nothing new here. A secret agent is on the run from the CIA who are tasked with obtaining Zephyr, a modernised perpetual energy battery. An innocent woman boarding a flight gets caught up in the shenanigans...and so the mindless action commences. This is easily Mangold's weakest directorial effort. I appreciate the buoyancy of his style, the pace and narrative felt light as it speeds along a nearly two hour runtime. The action set pieces and sequences were executed cleanly, maintaining frantic chaos with subtle visual comedy that is accompanied by Powell's Parisian score. Cruise commits to the stunts and explosive action as always, which is the primary appeal for this films. His chemistry with Diaz is perfectly satisfactory as the two bounce off each other well. However, no film will convince me that Diaz is a good actress. Again, like her previous credits, she overacts every little emotion. Shocked? She'll start screaming flailing her arms around. Sad? She'll drop to the floor in a puddle of tears. Happy? She'll laugh for about an hour. I just can't warm to her, it's all so false. The plot is a typical formulaic secret agent story where the rapid pacing conceals its genericism. The A-list supporting cast were wasted and sidelined to solely focus on the main stars. And, to top it all, the usage of green screen was highly noticeable and detracts from the production's authenticity. Yet, I simply just cannot hate this film. Sometimes a lighthearted mindless blockbuster just does the trick to fill that empty gap in our minds. Knight and Day consistently does that for me.

Got to say this is pretty much the same kind of formulaic undemanding fodder which kept all those Sixties, Seventies and Eighties James Bond films going for so many years, though being 2010 fodder the special effects are, courtesy of CGI, rather more spectacular.It has the usual impossibilities, a ludicrous plot, one-dimensional characters, corny dialogue, cornier jokes, plenty of chases, gunfights and fist fights and loads of different locations - Wichita, Boston, a tropical island, Austria, Seville, and the Lord knows where else. And absolutely nothing bares more than a second's thought: ask any sensible question and the whole thing falls apart. But then it isn't supposed to be anything other than that kind of film and if you like the formula, you might well enjoy it. Me, I only watched the full film out of duty because I knew I would be writing this review.Tom Cruise does his Tom Cruise thing, Cameron Diaz her Cameron Diaz thing and the rest of the cast follow orders and provide the scenery. I'm giving it a 5 because, 5 is halfway - it isn't bad for the kind of thing it is, but it's not very good either. Don't let me put you off: if you went for all the 007 schlock, Knight And Day is perhaps for you, but if I never have to see another potboiler like this ever will still be too soon.I only started watching it because it was directed by James Mangold who made the far, far superior - and highly recommended - Identity. Here he just does a workmanlike job and collects his paycheck.

Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz star in this romantic action-comedy about an unfailingly polite (and somewhat crazy) spy and the girl next door he falls for. No matter your opinion on Tom Cruise, he is a hoot here as he spoofs his own "invincible action hero" screen image as well as his own eccentric real-life persona. In no other film has he made me laugh so hard. Diaz, for her part, evolves slowly from damsel-in-distress to a strong and courageous action heroine, and she is a surprisingly good comic and romantic foil for Cruise. Their chemistry, terrific action sequences, and very funny dialogue carry the film over its rather formulaic plot, some slow patches, and wide gaps in the narrative. Knight and Day is a great date movie for those looking for a balance of laughs, thrills, and romance. Audiences should know that there is brief strong language, a couple of innuendos (and the stars briefly appear in swimwear), and a good deal of violence, though the tone of the latter is so over-the-top that it is clearly dark humor and parody of the ridiculousness of "invincible action-hero" movies. Still, those troubled by any of the above should look elsewhere.