Night and Day

Knight and Day" is a comfort food movie. It's a pleasant diversion, a fun time at the cinema that doesn't ask a lot of of it's audience and offers an enjoyable ride. We've seen it all before, but it worked pretty well then, and it works pretty well now.

June Havens (Cameron Diaz) is an average perky blonde romantic comedy heroine who runs into the charming and mysterious Roy Miller (Tom Cruise) at the airport, and is sucked into a series of misadventures when Roy turns out to be a secret agent fighting rogue elements in his own agency . . . or maybe HE's the rogue agent . . . It depends on who she listens to. there's a mysterious device called the Zephyr that Roy is either protecting or trying to steal. All of this is fairly predictable, and, again, nothing new. But director James Mangold ("Copland", "Walk the Line", "3:10 to Yuma") always knows how to make a film play, and his skills haven't deserted him here. His pacing is brisk and fun, and he stages some terrific action (including one sequence from Diaz' point of view that did feel genuinely new).

Of course, this is a star vehicle, and whether you enjoy it will depend a lot on how you feel about Tom Cruise. Dismissing his personal life as utterly irrelevant, I find him to be a solid and dependable actor who does action better than almost anyone in Hollywood. And, here, he gets a rare chance to flex his comic muscles, and hie's quite funny (though too much of the best material is in the trailer). Diaz is pleasant, but tries a little too hard to be cute. And, occasionally, the film itself has the same problem.

But, overall, it's a funny little spy movie. part adventure, part romcom. Not destined for any Ten Best Lists, but enjoyable summer entertainment.

Although far inferior in both concept and results, "Knight and Day" has its roots in the classic screwball comedies of the 1930's. Cute, seemingly coincidental airport encounters connect an attractive blonde, Cameron Diaz, who is en route to her sister's wedding, with a handsome man of mystery, Tom Cruise, and a series of wildly improbable events ensues. An early scene aboard a near-empty airliner is perhaps the film's highlight, as Cruise does battle with unknown assailants, while a blissfully unaware Diaz primps in the restroom, intent on seducing Cruise. Perhaps if the humor and pace of this scene had been sustained, the film would have been more successful. If Cary Grant were the dashing stranger and Katharine Hepburn the unwitting accomplice, the film would have been classic.

However, while they are attractive leads, Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz are not Grant and Hepburn. Although the pair have undeniable star power and seem to be having fun, their eyes were likely focused more on the paycheck than on the superficial script which lacks the witty exchanges of classic screwball comedy. Also appearing for the money is a talented supporting cast that includes Viola Davis, Peter Sarsgaard, and Paul Dano; unfortunately, none of these gifted performers have roles that stretch their acting skills. With chases, gunfights, and rapid cutting, director James Mangold keeps the film moving at breakneck speed as the cast chases a "McGuffin" in the form of a super battery, whose importance is often lost in the sometimes confusing proceedings.

Although even the classic screwball comedies stretched credibility, Mangold's film uses CGI to create sequences that are beyond preposterous. At times, Cruise seems to be a super-hero with supernatural powers; his close encounters are unbelievable even for a Batman or Fantastic Four. As the complicated plot unfolds, the characters' motivations seem to shift, and the audience is kept guessing as to who can and cannot be trusted and who is working for whom. The action, light comedy, and appealing performers will hold viewer interest throughout, although, like cotton candy, this fluffy piece will fade from memory before the closing credits finish rolling.

While not a success at US cinemas, the film performed very well overseas and is enjoyable romp, which does not take itself too seriously. Despite the fact that the film's script went through as many as ten different writers, the final script, no doubt with the director James Mangold having a pretty big influence, is fun and entertaining, despite some typical tent-pole summer release plot contrivances (most notably a crass attempt at playing a plane crash for laughs, and silly plot twist at the end of the film that leads to a corny and stereotypical climax).

These weaknesses are largely offset by fun performance of Tom Cruise, who is very good in the role of a darker, shiftier, wittier and a more morally ambiguous version of his Ethan Hunt persona from Mission Impossible. He handles himself very well throughout the film and his character makes for a good foil for Cameron Diaz , who has fun playing a car mechanic version of Cameron Diaz. The trajectory of her character in the film is far too obvious, but despite this there is a lot of fun to be had watching her get there, and the on screen chemistry between her and Cruise is charming and draws the audience along.

The plot, as I have already mentioned is hardly original, but despite the aforementioned problems it is pretty impressive for one that has gone through a whole slew of writers. Normally these scripts come out very bad. Director James Mangold is the individual who deserves credit for fashioning the script into an entertaining and satisfying caper film, even if the fate of Peter Sarsgaard (the CIA/NSA type operative sent to apprehend/kill the Tom Cruise character, and who is pretty good in the role) is obvious almost within the first ten minutes of the movie.

Action sequences are well handled, (kudos to second unit director Brian Smrz)and the digital visual effects are by and large pretty good, being handled by a variety of different companies. Editing is polished , and Jon Powell's score helps keep the proceedings brisk and enjoyable, and there are subtlety amusing nods to both Bourne and Bond in the music. Director Mangold, as usual, marshals all these elements together with style and panache to produce a slick, fun final product that while hardly original, is very enjoyable and leaves you feeling emotionally satisfied when it is over.

This is a film that if you simply allow yourself to lap up the experience, will find it to be a fun and entertaining experience, albeit hardly a profound one.

Great blend of action and comedy. I never felt that the humor and the small bit of romance (that they had to throw in to make the relationship between the two protagonists believable) detracted from the action. It seemed that every time I was about to think "when's the next action scene" the movie would stop the thought with a well timed laugh or another action sequence making me never feel like I was waiting for the story or the action to resume.

It was also refreshing to see Tom Cruise play a part that wasn't meant to be almost completely emotionally impotent. I've never before seen him play a character where his face actually SHOWED such a full spectrum of emotions. Cameron Diaz also runs a gamut of emotional and psychological states as she progresses from the sheltered, Midwestern blonde who's in way over her head to the semi-savvy (albeit awkward) companion/sidekick of a rogue spy trying to clear his name.

I found myself applauding at the end.

I was sort of influenced by the somewhat bad reviews I had read about this movie, but decided to watch it anyway, because both Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz usually make good movies. So I sat down and watched it, and I am glad that I did.

There is action all throughout the movie, from the beginning till the very end, and it is the sort of action that is in your face and keeps your adrenalin pumping without being too much over the edge. And the action scenes were well choreographed and worked well.

Also, the comedy in the movie was well used at the right times, adding a lot of flavor to the movie. This aspect gave the movie so much charm and it worked wonderfully. Both Cruise and Diaz were good with these comedy twists.

The story is pretty straight forward and easy to follow, leaving some up for you to guess and speculate about, and that was good.

As for the cast, well as always, Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz put on magnificent work. I personally think that this is actually one of Tom Cruise's best movies. But of course, we all have our own preferences. The supporting cast also did well.

My friend said that this movie seemed like an imitation of the "Mission Impossible" movies, but I think it is in a whole other league. This one is an action-comedy while the others are pure action.

This movie is good for an evenings entertainment with lots of action and laughs. And the chemistry between Cruise and Diaz makes it worth it just for that alone. If you haven't seen this movie already, get to it!