Director: James Mangold
Starring: Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Paul Dano, Peter Sarsgaard
This review by Scott Bytes.
On the whole, Knight and Day is reasonably enjoyable fare. It’s an escapist send-up of 80′s romantic action comedies (‘Romancing the Stone’ is a prime example). In that light, the film works quite well. The two leads (Cruise and Diaz) show surprising charm….and also reignite some of the fiery chemistry that made their limited screen time together in ‘Vanilla Sky’ imminently watchable (I realize some folks hate ‘Vanilla Sky’ but I did enjoy the tragic and destructive co-dependent nature of their relationship).
In fact, being someone who isn’t entirely a fan of Tom Cruise, I found myself pleasantly surprised…this is Tom Cruise at his easiest and most confident; essentially a comedic send-up of his Ethan Hunt (Mission Impossible) character but done in a light of fun and humility that shows a willingness to not take himself too seriously (and, for Tom, that’s a very good thing). Likewise, Cameron Diaz goes back to the sarcastic innocence she displayed in films like ‘There’s Something About Mary’ and produces a character that is as independent as she is overwhelmed (her increasing desperation and panic is played for laughs throughout the duration of the film).
There are several other running gags throughout the movie (most notably, Tom Cruise’s repeated drugging of Diaz to help her ‘deal’ with the mortal peril they’re constantly in). But, perhaps the most fun, is the conceit of teasing Cruise’s insatiable need to kill the bad guys – this seems obvious, but sits in direct contradiction to his ‘Ethan Hunt’ character who tended to avoid violent exchanges whenever possible (the character Matthew Knight kills scores during the 90 minute running time despite Diaz’s urgent pleadings).
As for plot, it’s limited….but then, the plots of such films are always meager and merely designed to tack together the ‘odd couple’ until such time as the situation warrants them becoming emotionally involved. The same could be said for ‘Knight and Day’: an aging single mechanic (Diaz) boards a red-eye flight filled with a few hapless passengers…and one handsome rogue spy sitting just across the aisle from her. Before you can say ‘Xenu’, Cruise has killed everyone on the plane (who were all assassins sent to terminate him) and is forced to take Diaz with him as he flees corrupt FBI agents, Spanish thugs and a German hitman (she becomes his unwitting sidekick after being mistakenly identified as his accomplice). But questions quickly arise about Matthew Knight’s mental stability…is he crazy? A double agent? Or truly trying to save a brilliant young inventor (Paul Dano) from being murdered? No real surprises here…but there’s enough plot to keep things moving.
The action set-pieces are fun…but not necessarily fresh or inspired (with possible exception of a late sequence involving a motorcycle chase through bull-laden Spanish streets). The cinematography adequate and the soundtrack limited but not distracting. The locales, however, are great (and in perfect keeping with the spy genre): tiny European streets, tropical islands etc. Nothing new here…but the cliches are fun and tend to work more often than not.
The supporting performances range from terrific (Paul Dano) to pointless (Peter Sarsgaard); Peter, playing the film’s primary antagonist, is perhaps the movie’s weakest link – his character is beyond one dimensional (you could easily imagine him twittling a greasy handlebar mustache while tying Diaz to some railroad tracks). But, to be fair, his character’s issues are likely more a reflection of the often-times limited screenplay.
Which brings me to my primary complaint with the film. Having seen it only a week ago, I truly could not recount a single memorable line or moment. And that’s the film’s primary negative: the screenplay just doesn’t live up to the talent of the actors involved…they’re given little more to do than smirk and make flirty eyes at each other while bullets zip by (making this film an enjoyable but ultimately forgettable guilty pleasure). But don’t listen to all the negative criticism of the so-called “top reviewers” – The A-Team shared much of that bile but turned out to be a fun Summer romp….this movie manages to entertain (mostly) and so I can easily recommend it as a matinee or rental, if nothing else. Not a bad time waster, all things considered.
2 ‘bytes’ out of 4 for charismatic leads that almost manage to salvage a fun but forgettable film.
