Though it has all the feel of a Mission Impossible IV, Knight and Day walks that fine line between action suspense and romantic comedy. This is also its main problem, as the film aimlessly veers from one to the other, while things aren't exploding.
Knight and Day Brief Synopsis
June Havens (Cameron Diaz, Shrek Forever After) is on her way to a dress fitting for her sister's wedding, when she has a literal run-in with a dashing stranger named Roy Miller (Tom Cruise, Valkyrie) at the airport.
While she finds him quite the charmer, she doesn't quite realize that Roy is in fact a rogue agent on the run from his handlers, accused of having stolen an artifact called The Zephyr, essentially a perpetual battery power source.
With a growing number of dead bodies piling up around them, and June unsure as to whom she can trust, she and Roy must stay several steps ahead of a group lead by Agent Fitzgerald (Peter Sarsgaard, An Education) -- June because she's considered guilty by association, Roy because he's their target -- all the while trying to ensure the safety of the battery's creator, a young eccentric genius named Simon Feck (Paul Dano, There Will Be Blood).
With their mad race away from the feds taking them from Wichita to Brooklyn to Spain to the Alps, the runaway duo is in for quite a ride as they try to stay alive -- and falling in love in the process.
Knight and Day Overall Analysis
While watching this movie, one gets the impression the project had started as either an action thriller or romantic comedy, before slowly being re-written into the other genre. All of the stunts and explosions which Cruise fans have become accustomed to after three Mission Impossible films are here, however there's an added element of romance and comedy viewers aren't used to seeing him in.
Diaz does feel in her element during the softer scenes, where she tries to decide whether this sensitive man of mystery is Mr. Right. Otherwise, she literally gets in the way of most action scenes, having no real idea as to how to handle a gun or other spy accessory.
Peter Sargaard barely gets any screen time as a former partner of Cruise's, with an undescribable accent which comes and goes for no real reason. Were he any bigger a threat script-wise, director James Mangold would have given him more screen time. Alas, most of the camera allocation gets focused on the film's leads, as they journey around the globe with this summer's Macguffin, "The Zephyr".
Most of the film's problems lie with its indecision in figuring out what genre it wants to be, and its difficulty in incorporating two very distinct film types. Not too many successful action-thriller-spy-romantic-comedies out there, but Knight and Day sure does give it a try.
One redeeming aspect of this film? Cruise seems to have impeccable comic timing, as seen in his recent portrayal of Les Grossman in both Tropic Thunderand the latest MTV Movie Awards. In Knight and Day he has fun with the role, and does provide a few laughs with his banter opposite Diaz..
The Final Word on Knight and Day
This film tries very hard to be the feel good action adventure of the summer. It falls short, having to deal with its messy narrative, while trying to focus on a non-existent love story amidst a flurry of bullets and fireballs. It's sad to see such a lack of chemistry between Cruise and Diaz (who had similar problems in Vanilla Sky) as both appear to have great fun onscreen.
Were they to have been offered a stronger script with less emphasis on romance, this film may have been a contender for the top action spot currently held by 20th Century Fox's other tentpole hit, the much more coherent A-Team remake. All the same, fans looking for a diversion may find it here, while others may have similar gripes about the various plot holes.
Knight and Day: 2 out of 5
Dominic Messier - Dominic Messier is a Toronto-based Film & TV writer, Sci-Fi TV and Film Dramas Topic Editor, and creator of PopCultureLandscape.com
