Combine 2 of the biggest movie stars on the planet in an action movie and you’d think James Cameron’s Avatar would be quaking in it’s blue skin. Well, amidst non too complimentary reviews Stateside, Knight & Day arrives in Irish cinemas, not with a bang, but more of a cap gun crack. That said, it’s not the disaster it has been made out to be.
The Cruise machine plays a super spy, Roy Miller, that is more Jason Bourne than James Bond. Cameron Diaz plays the all too hapless innocent bystander, June, who get’s entangled with Mr. Super Spy. And said Mr. Super Spy is not supposed to survive his latest mission and the twosome meander across the globe constantly being hunted down by the powers that be. And why? Something to do with the fact that Cruise is carrying a battery that is 30 times more powerful than the sun…or something. Basically, you wouldn’t shove this into the Energiser bunny. And of course the bad guys want to harness that power to make killing small animals a bit more spectacular or whatever. The powers that be, from time to time catch up with Jude and explain that Miller is gone bonkers and she’s better off if she goes with them to a safer place. But each time, she escapes or is picked up by Miller and the chase continues.
Ever since The Mask I’ve had a huge crush on Cameron Diaz, and whilst a movie of this calibre won’t win her any awards she doesn’t exactly shine throughout either. At times, she borders on absolutely annoying with poor dialogue and poor delivery. Her chemistry on screen with Cruise is average at best and the love scenes seem awkward and contrived. On the physical side of things though, she excels a bit and keeps up the pace with Cruise, but time and time again, Mr couch jumper out performs her on the big screen. While Knight & Day won’t exactly have Tom Cruise back where he belongs, it’s certainly a goodish start. Roy Miller is like a combination of Martin Riggs and Jason Bourne, and Cruise pulls this off quite well and really does impress with physical scenes and set pieces. As a matter of fact he is quite bad ass.
And it’s the set pieces that stand out in Knight & Day. Crash landing’s, car chases, bull chases all satisfy in large dollops of adrenalin. The biggest criticism I have is what goes on in between the set pieces. It’s a bit bland and mundane and the love story element is equally bland and pointless. The actual plot is quite complicated with the various twists along the way, but is too predictable and is constantly let down by what happens in between the action madness. It feels like it’s dumbed down a bit for the audience, which is fine but certain dragged out scenes have you twiddling your thumbs. And it’s these scenes that completely slow down the hole movie. It feel’s like a car thundering down the road, then it stalls, and then it gets going again and slows down and goes and stops and so on. As for the ending, well, there’s enough cheese in the final minutes to make a cheese sandwich for the entire planet.
Knight & Day isn’t a bad movie. It’s not a complete missed opportunity as Cruise is good and the action is great. While it’s no A-Team either, if you can get over the non action scenes and the poor pacing, it’s rather enjoyable.