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KNIGHT AND DAY **
Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz are reunited for the first time since Vanilla Sky, and with director James Mangold at the helm, a story that has almost everything – including car chases, death-defying stunts, Diaz (for the guys), romance and Cruise (for the ladies) – what could possibly go wrong?
June Havens (Diaz) quite literally bumps into the charming and mysterious Roy Miller (Cruise) at an airport and this fated meeting changes her life forever. After a lot of flirting, she falls for his charms and chat-up lines but it turns out that there is more to Roy than meets the eye, as he is a rogue agent who was sent on a secret mission he was never meant to complete.
Trying to protect himself and June from the agencies that he claims to have set him up, Roy and June travel the globe and their adventure comes complete with double crosses, false identities and near-death experiences as they come to realise that all they can do is depend on each other. The big question, however, is is Miller being honest or is June just another pawn in his intricate plan?
There is a notion knocking around that Tom Cruise has lost his mojo. Knight and Day does not in any way help to discount this theory. Even though entertaining at times, he seems to be a shadow of his former self. The spark, the glint he usually had in his eyes, is not quite present as he romps around beating up the bad guys and trying to charm the love interest.
Which brings us on to the lovely Cameron Diaz – yet again, there seems to be something missing from her performance... maybe it's not quite believable that the 37-year-old is still the cutesy, innocent, nave girl that she seems to portray in a lot of her films. She too lacks the spark that we have come to know and love and expect from her.
Even the action pieces, of which is a major part of this film, feel wooden and contrived.
The support, coming from the likes of Maggie Grace (Taken), Peter Sarsgaard (An Education) and the usually excellent Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood) are grossly underused and they too, seem to be going through the motions.
James Mangold's direction is certainly not up to the standard of his previous efforts like the excellent 3:10 to Yuma and the Oscar-winning Walk The Line but in his defence, he is not helped by a below-par script.
It is clear that Knight and Day is relying on the big names of Cruise and Diaz to sell this movie… which will probably work to a certain extent.
However, strong performances, superb direction, and a well-crafted script are what is needed to make a film a success. Unfortunately, for Knight and Day everything seems to be flat and distinctly average, mainly because it lacks anything new and innovative. Everything in Knight and Day has not only been seen before but has also been executed better (the obvious example being Mr & Mrs Smith).
With a little bit of TLC, Knight and Day could – and should – have been one of the hits of the yearand should certainly have re-established Cruise as a major box office attraction.
But, alas, this run-of-the-mill movie misses the target by more than a country mile.
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