Knight and Day

Director: James Mangold

Writers: Patrick ONeill

Genre: Action, Comedy, Thriller

Tagline:

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Review: I just came back from an advanced screening of “Knight and Day” and I have to say, I was extremely impressed. I, as well as you, are tired of formulaic Hollywood movies that are disposable and provide little to no new elements to the table. This is the exact opposite of what the final product is of this film. “Knight and Day” brings many twists and turns, it is far from by-the-numbers, and is easily unforgettable. For starters, the action is quite remarkable and pretty darn satisfying. And the movie was just hilarious and had great comic timing. It should mean something when I tell you that the crowded audience was laughing. Not just a few people, the WHOLE audience and they took up almost all the seats. “Killers”, a movie that fits under the action/comedy genre was one that I was looking forward to, but was a huge letdown. “Knight and Day” definitely doesn disappoint and brings the laughs, with the big action. This movie is probably the most fun Ive had in a while, and this is coming from a very harsh grader and someone that is let down very easily due to high expectations.

“Knight and Day” revolves around Cameron Diaz, who is boarding a plane to see her sister April get married. At first, she is forbidden to board the plane, but then the flight attendant finds a seat for her. And guess who Diaz sits next to? The inevitable Tom Cruise. After having a little “talk” with the pilot, the passengers, and the flight attendant, him and Diaz seek out to hunt down the antagonists, one which is played by Peter Sarsgaard. Although, Cruise warns Diaz that the bad guys will say that they are the “FBI” and will pretend shes in a safe place. However, through further investigation, Diaz may think that Cruise is unto something. In the meantime, the bad guys are looking for the battery and are not too thrilled about who holds its possession.

First, lets get to the positives. First off, I liked that this movie established character development. Most action/comedy films fail to fully flesh out are leads and then we aren registered with them. 3:10 to Yuma director makes us care about these characters, and when put in a tough situation, we just hope the best. Second of all, I thought the script was great. I thought this movie had some really funny one-liners and the film had great comic timing. It couldn have been better. Thirdly, I thought that the performances were great. All the characters did their job and even stood out, especially Cameron Diaz and Tom Cruise. Diaz and Cruise also had wonderful chemistry and their relationship never felt forced or phony. It came out as very authentic rather than artificial and syrupy. Moreover, I thought the films pacing was excellent. The film is shy of two hours, yet feels like half of that. After the film was over, I thought there would be at least another hour added. Furthermore, I thought the action was awesome. It definitely delivered and this is the best action Ive seen in a long time. And lastly, the cinematography was just amazing. I loved the scenery and great production values I must add.

There are very minimal flaws with this movie. However, there are some. First of all, I know this film is intentionally nonsensical, but some scenes went so over-the-top, that when it occasionally was meant to be serious, it came off as cheesy or laugh worthy, fortunately, like I said, occasionally. Second of all, I enjoyed this movie so much that I just wish it were longer.

Overall, “Knight and Day” is a great film because of its fresh script, great performances, amazing action, great comic timing, breathtaking cinematography, and a fascinating direction. And for the first time, its actually not mindless! If you keep your brain on, youll still thoroughly enjoy it. If you were disappointed by “Killers”, don worry, so was I, because you will still like this movie. Shoot, I enjoyed it so much I think its even better than “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” which I liked. “Knight and Day” is one of those rare movies that just works on every level and is one of those rare movies that is worth full admission. See it at night with a large crowd, with a big bucket of popcorn, and a drink, and youll have a blast. I enjoyed the movie so much that I wanted it to last from “Knight” to “Day”. It comes highly recommended.