DeniReview: Knight And Day
June 29th 2010 02:37
Rating: ** (2) out of 5 (2/5)
To put it simply, Knight and Day lacked heart. I wanted to like it but I found more enjoyment watching an ant crawl across the table with a crumb. It's annoying watching a movie with so much potential fizzle out within the first 15 minutes.
The film follows Roy Miller (Tom Cruise) and June Havens (Cameron Diaz) who bump into each other at the airport
twice - coincidence? Both are on the same relatively empty flight and share a special "moment". While June is in the bathroom weighing the pros and cons of meeting this charming stranger, Roy is attacked by the other passengers and dispenses with them quickly, killing all of them including the pilots. June's attraction dies a quick death, for now, when she realizes that everyone is really dead, Roy is crazy and that it's up to him to land the plane.
After crash landing the plane in a corn field, Roy drugs June and delivers her home safely but not before telling her that there will be agents who will come to her looking for him. He tells her that if they say, and keep repeating that she will be "safe and secure" they will either kill her or have her imprisoned. And thus begins the adventure of June, a Bostonian who fixes up cars and how she gets caught up in the world of espionage and who eventually into the arms Roy Miller.
Somewhere in-between all the CGI and drug inducements, the secrecy and gun fights there is a plot that involves a young
genius, Simon (Paul Dano) who invented a perpetual energy battery, called the zephyr that intelligence agents want to get their hands on - some agents are good guys and some are bad guys pretending to be good, it's not hard to figure out who's who and after being chased and pursued across the globe almost and getting out of scrapes - at the end of the day, what matters is not the zephyr but the fact that June and Roy fall in love and ride off into the sunset together. I guess that's what the movie is supposed to be about and I get it but why throw in all the cloak and dagger if you're not going to utilize it?
Knight and Day is supposed to be a fun and mindless comedy adventure love story. I even had a few laughs at Cruise's whacky exploits but all this movie really does is throw these two into one ridiculous situation after another and add a few lines of cute dialogue. It's just 90 minutes of them being chased and tracked down and chased some more. At best this is supposed to be intrigue and secret agents and spies, but there are no mind games, no double crossing, no game faces, no bluffing, no danger, no thrills; all of which could have been used to build up the relationship between these two but, I just didn't care what happened to anyone in this movie. There's literally nothing but CGI.
Cruise and Diaz are okay in their roles, they are charming enough but I'm so sad to see the talents of Viola Davis, Peter Sarsgaard, and Paul Dano wasted in this film.
I guess all the signs of failure were written on the wall considering that it spent months or maybe even years in development hell with multiple writers working on the script and an almost endless list of actors up for the leading roles before settling with Cruise and Diaz.
I'd seriously give this one a miss.
The film follows Roy Miller (Tom Cruise) and June Havens (Cameron Diaz) who bump into each other at the airport
After crash landing the plane in a corn field, Roy drugs June and delivers her home safely but not before telling her that there will be agents who will come to her looking for him. He tells her that if they say, and keep repeating that she will be "safe and secure" they will either kill her or have her imprisoned. And thus begins the adventure of June, a Bostonian who fixes up cars and how she gets caught up in the world of espionage and who eventually into the arms Roy Miller.
Somewhere in-between all the CGI and drug inducements, the secrecy and gun fights there is a plot that involves a young
Knight and Day is supposed to be a fun and mindless comedy adventure love story. I even had a few laughs at Cruise's whacky exploits but all this movie really does is throw these two into one ridiculous situation after another and add a few lines of cute dialogue. It's just 90 minutes of them being chased and tracked down and chased some more. At best this is supposed to be intrigue and secret agents and spies, but there are no mind games, no double crossing, no game faces, no bluffing, no danger, no thrills; all of which could have been used to build up the relationship between these two but, I just didn't care what happened to anyone in this movie. There's literally nothing but CGI.
Cruise and Diaz are okay in their roles, they are charming enough but I'm so sad to see the talents of Viola Davis, Peter Sarsgaard, and Paul Dano wasted in this film.
I guess all the signs of failure were written on the wall considering that it spent months or maybe even years in development hell with multiple writers working on the script and an almost endless list of actors up for the leading roles before settling with Cruise and Diaz.
I'd seriously give this one a miss.
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Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
As silly as the rest of the plot is I do think Cruise and Diaz have some chemistry together so that counts for something. I admit I found it reasonably entertaining in parts but blockbuster action films are certainly in one hell of a rut at the moment. Let's hope this trend doesn't continue..................... ah, who the hell am I kidding - of course it will!
And you're spot on - so sad to see Viola Davis on the back of the Oscar nom going straight into the kind of nondescript, generic role that any Z-grader could have pulled off with their eyes closed.
Comment by Deni
Abstract Magick
Cinema Herald
I admit I'm a bit more harsh with it only because they could have done so much more. I did like Cruise and Diaz together.
Definitely better than The A Team, I agree. It just lacked the substance that makes a good spy movie work.
I hope you do write something up, more in detail. I look forward to reading it, if you do.
I'll try not to expect too much when the next action flick comes out.
Cheers,
Deni
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
I do like this type of film when there is an edge but these two stars repulse me because of their inability to understand subtlety and only pantomime. (Granted both have exceptions to the rule, Diaz i liked in The Last Supper and Cruise was good in TAPS)
From the trailer it looks too cookie cutter and I can't even imagine having mindless fun with it...that being said i am sure The A-team will get a screening eventually and even The Losers so just file me under hypocrite
Comment by Deni
Abstract Magick
Cinema Herald
I hear ya. There was just no substance here that kept me on the edge of my seat.
I'm all for The Losers though! That one rocked for what it's worth.
Cheers,
Deni
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight