Knight and Day
Starring: Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz
Knight and Day is part of Tom Cruise’s attempt to convince the world he’s not a joyless control freak.
Following his turn as the hideous Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder, the actor pokes fun at his action persona in Knight and Day, a fast-paced comedy designed to remind us of Cruise’s on-screen charm. It’s a PR exercise that might have worked if the material wasn’t so damned formulaic.
When car mechanic June Havens (Diaz) runs into a charming bloke called Roy Miller (Cruise) at an airport it kickstarts a mad adventure as the two are pursued by the CIA, who are adamant that Miller is an agent who has lost touch with reality.
As the pair are forced to crashland a passenger jet, escape a stampede on a motorbike and dodge bullets, Havens starts to realise she might have found the spy of her dreams.
After a promising start during which Cruise and Diaz generate some good, believable chemistry Knight and Day becomes a generic action flick in which witty dialogue takes a backseat to overblown action set pieces. It’s by no means a disaster thanks to the likeable leads but Cruise needs to do more to secure the image change he’s after.
3/5
GOOD FOR: Those with a short attention span.
Watch the Knight and Day trailer here.
Review: Pierre de Villiers
