Knight and Day
Oh, it's a clever pun
Review
We've tried but there's no other way of putting it, Itchy is confused. We understand comedy, we understand romance, we understand high-octane action, and yes, we even understand pastiche. What we don't understand is what Knight and Day is supposed to be, other than a payday for Cruise and Diaz and a convenient summer filler with some nice scenery thrown in. We can only surmise that it's trying to be a quirky caper of the old school, but it's a lazy interpretation, with more cracks in the storyline than could be filled with all the plaster in B&Q. We know it's not supposed to be high art, but neither do we think it was aimed at 9 year olds.
Diaz plays the self-centred June Havens, the garage owner with a passion for classic cars and a hopeless record with men. Well, that's original. She's travelling home for her sister April's wedding (April and June, geddit?) when she bumps into Cruise's Roy Miller at the airport and events take mysterious - and dangerous - turns, involving plane crashes, shoot-outs, car chases and bull-running, nipping between Boston, Salzburg and Seville. And you guessed it, there's a love story thrown in for good measure. *sigh*
You can't help but feel that Cruise is using the film as a means of self-promotion, aiming to be reborn as some kind of wacky goofball buddy, but in doing so he somehow comes across as Tom Cruise playing Hugh Grant (who for most of the second half we could see playing this role). It's just not convincing. And yet he's probably the most positive aspect of the film.
Diaz is, well, Cameron Diaz. Is there a more over-rated, one-dimensional actress out there? (Keira Knightley aside). Whilst on one level we could understand her confusion, not knowing who to believe - the suave, charming yet seemingly unhinged Roy Miller, or the government agents with the faint whiff of an agenda – the reality was that we really didn't care.
Now for the shocker....for all of the above, we didn't absolutely hate the film. The action sequences are pretty slick, Cruise is clearly having a ball, and there is just enough doubt as to who's the baddie to keep you sitting there until the credits. It takes a long time to get going, and the second half is infinitely superior to the first, but it's actually not the worst way you could spend two hours this summer.
Just make sure you leave your brain at the door and release your inner 9 year old.
www.KnightandDayMovie.co.uk
You can't help but feel that Cruise is using the film as a means of self-promotion, aiming to be reborn as some kind of wacky goofball buddy, but in doing so he somehow comes across as Tom Cruise playing Hugh Grant (who for most of the second half we could see playing this role). It's just not convincing. And yet he's probably the most positive aspect of the film.
Diaz is, well, Cameron Diaz. Is there a more over-rated, one-dimensional actress out there? (Keira Knightley aside). Whilst on one level we could understand her confusion, not knowing who to believe - the suave, charming yet seemingly unhinged Roy Miller, or the government agents with the faint whiff of an agenda – the reality was that we really didn't care.
Now for the shocker....for all of the above, we didn't absolutely hate the film. The action sequences are pretty slick, Cruise is clearly having a ball, and there is just enough doubt as to who's the baddie to keep you sitting there until the credits. It takes a long time to get going, and the second half is infinitely superior to the first, but it's actually not the worst way you could spend two hours this summer.
Just make sure you leave your brain at the door and release your inner 9 year old.
www.KnightandDayMovie.co.uk
