Director:
James Mangold
Cast:
Tom Cruise
Cameron Diaz
Peter Sarsgaard
Jordi Mollà
Rated: PG-13
The film follows the character June (Diaz), who’s on her way to her sister’s wedding. As she is about to board her flight, she has a run in with a man by the name of Roy (Cruise), who appears to be a regular guy, but as the flight takes off we find out that he’s actually a secret agent.
After a series of events, Roy becomes a target of government agencies and subsequently, June becomes one, too, leading the pair on an adventure to discover the real villain of the movie.
“Knight and Day” offers both some typical romcom tropes and a couple fresh ideas, too. The mixture of action and romance, plus the film’s humor from June being the proverbial ‘fish out of water’ in the spy world, makes for an OK picture.
While the movie never feels too stretched out, though, some of the elements remain rather dull causing some boredom here and there. For example, the villain’s plan is just too ridiculous to be enjoyable.
Cruise is best at the beginning of the film, bringing a lot of charisma to the role. Additionally, his character Roy was likable and funny, seeming to never be bothered by the dangerous situations he was in. However, this changes toward the end of the second act where he becomes far less enthusiastic. While this is somewhat understandable, since the stakes are raised, it seemed like too much of a contrast.
Diaz’s character, on the other hand, was somewhat more generic, being similar in a way to other romcom type characters. Additionally, she looks a bit too ditsy at times.. That said, Diaz does have a lot of natural charm that she lends to the role.
The action was really off the wall and over the top. For example, Roy was basically untouchable at every moment in the movie, resulting in less tension. This action, more on the goofy side, was fun, but it starts to slow down as the movie goes on.
“Knight and Day” starts off strong, but loses some steam as it gets deeper into the second act. This is one to rent, rather than rushing to the theater. High 2 out of 5.
This review was first produced for the KSDM-KGHS Radio Station in International Falls, Minn.
