Movies: Knight and Day Review

Score: ***1/2 out of *****

Long Story Short: Knight and Day is one of the most enjoyable movies of this summer. Cruise and Diaz both give strong performances, the action is fun without being overwhelming, and director Mangold manages to make a fresh film in an oversaturated genre. Beware: if you cannot tolerate lapses of logic (I'm talking physical and geographical ones rather than human behavior), you may not like this. But it completely accepts what it is, and excels in that (admittedly limited) role.

I know I'm a little late on seeing it, but Knight and Day is the newest Tom Cruise action film. It was directed by James Mangold, who also directed 3:10 To Yuma, one of my favorite movies of the last few years. This movie is a classic example of a summer movie; nothing to wrack your brain over, but very entertaining. It becomes clear very quickly that this is not meant to be a realistic film; however, it doesn't try to be, nor does it wallop you over the head with unrealism (?), and along with how fun it is, it's probably better that way. Just relax, grab a snack, and have a good time.

The movie begins with Roy Miller (Cruise) strolling around an airport; just the way he walks tells you he is Tom Cruise Action Hero. He bumps into June Havens, a somewhat awkward, otherwise normal woman (Diaz), several times suspiciously, and the two end up on the same, nearly empty plane. Chaos ensues, and Miller makes a crash-landing into a corn field, where he drugs Havens and returns her home. June is approached the next day by FBI agents (naturally), but Miller rescues her and they go on the run together (after June's understandable reluctantance and a humorous detour with her ex).

We eventually find out that Miller was framed (!) for stealing essentially a super Duracell (capable of powering a nuclear submarine), when in fact he was protecting it from rogue FBI agents, which is why he and supposed-accomplice June are on the run. They go to some pretty locations in their running, including his tiny tropical island, Austria, and Spain. As always, I don't want to spoil all the fun for you, but there is a happy, tame ending to these adventures.

Knight and Day is led by some very capable actors. Despite the fact that this movie was custom-made for Chuck Norris in the lead, Tom Cruise is a perfectly good (albeit a distant second) choice for the role. Cruise may be off his rocker in real life, but he is a pretty damn good actor, especially in this type of movie, and his strength yet vulnerability, sense of humor (which good-naturedly kind of pokes fun of himself), and good-guy aura make a better action hero than most these days. Diaz does just as well here, playing an overwhelmed and slightly ditzy June with credibility early on, and slowly, naturally breaking out of that damsel-in-distress mode as the film moves along. The two stars get the vast majority of screen time, but others are also very well cast, such as Marc Blucas (June's ex), Peter Sarsgaard (bad guy), and Paul Dano (Duracell nerd). Very well done all around.

I don't want to get into too many specifics to spoil the film, but the action and stunts are quite entertaining. I would say in general that Knight and Day doesn't rely nearly as much on CGI and over-the-top stunts (with a few exceptions) as many other similar films. And Tom Cruise (and his stunt double) looks very natural doing them, as well as Diaz. Mangold does a very good job of spreading the action out (so the audience isn't numbed by it), and knowing what to show explicitly and what to leave to the audience's imagination. Mangold also uses a plot device, which I won't reveal specifically, that makes the audience feel like they are experiencing the film through June's perspective, which is neat. Knight and Day also has a good sense of humor, especially from Cruise, as crazy (but not self-referential) and exasperated action hero, and June's ex; Diaz's humor fell flat for me personally (a little too forced), but others may disagree.

***

Knight and Day is a very entertaining film, and a satisfying experience for me as a return to some classic summer action popcorn fun. Cruise shows that he is still a top-notch action star, and Diaz is a strong counterpart. In addition, Mangold keeps the pacing great in a run time of a little under two hours, minimizes (though not eliminates) many of today's action film cliches, and brings a lot of freshness to the genre. I think perhaps the most important aspect, which is somewhat difficult to explain (or understand before you've seen it) is the attitude of the film. There are things that just happen, people that just appear, etc., with no explanation as to how, and one immediately realizes the impossibility of said certain events. But I think the film is just saying, "hey, let's have a good time; if you want every move explained and rationalized in detail, go watch Jason Bourne." And I was perfectly OK with that. It's not trying to be an Oscar winner, but it does exactly what it set out to do, and damn well at that. Now, if they would just remake it with Chuck Norris...