Knight and Day

It might be easy to forget but at one time Tom Cruise wasn't just the best actor on the planet, he was also the coolest. Girls wanted to be with him, and guys wanted to either be him or be like him. That reputation has been tarnished thanks to dorky sofa hopping shenanigans and his choice of religious practices. His once cool demeanor has been replaced by a guy who always seems a bit frantic and frazzled. After MI:3 failed to reinvigorate his stagnate career, Cruise had fun for the first time in a long time as Les Grossman, the rambunctious Hollywood agent in Tropic Thunder. The role catapulted him back to the attention of younger viewers, and reminded us why we ever liked him to begin with. Knight and Day continues that trend, teaming him up with Cameron Diaz for a slick actioner that's packed with star power and charm.

Cruise is back into the mode of secret spy guy as Roy Miller, a government operative on the lam, accused of going rogue and stealing a valuable energy device. Cameron Diaz is June Havens, one of those movie cliche hot women with a quirky job(she builds classic cars) who can't ever find the right guy. She's about to play second banana at her sister's wedding, and is desperately trying to hop a plane to make it back in time. But she literally keeps bumping into Roy on her way to the terminal, and while this is normally the cutesy setup for a romantic comedy the likes of which these two stars have seen plenty of, in this case all is not as it seems. Or as Roy would say, "Things happen for a reason". Manipulated onto Roy's flight by the people chasing him, June is obviously hot for the mysterious traveller she keeps running into. After some awkward flirting, Roy is forced to fight off an entire plane full of hitmen, and June realizes that the potential man of her dreams might actually be a nightmare.

The question is: Who's side is Roy really on? He's being pursued by his former partner, Agent Fitzgerald(Peter Saarsgard), who wants both the device and the man who created it, Simon Feck(Paul Dano). Roy is determined to protect both, but for what reason? Has he really gone rogue, looking to sell the device to the highest bidder as the government claims? It isn't hard to figure out, really. The script by first time writer Patrick O'Neill doesn't throw any curveballs. It's straight ahead, breezy action from start to finish.

On the surface, Knight and Day has a lot in common with Killers, another star studded spy flick with a gorgeous couple at the forefront. The two approaches taken, however, couldn't be more different. Where that film couldn't decide whether it was comedy or action and does neither successfully, Knight and Day is clear from the start that it's meant to be ridiculously over-the-top. Director James Mangold, who most recently gave us the high impact western 3:10 to Yuma, shows he's better with huge, globe spanning action than one would think. Knight and Day plays often like a video game, with Cruise flexing his gun muscles picking off would be attackers or skidding through the streets of Spain on a souped up motorcycle.

None of it would've worked if not for the sexy chemistry of Diaz and Cruise. Both actors looking to bounce back, this is the first time I've enjoyed Diaz in any film since Charlie's Angels. She's at her best playing strong, but cheerful and bouncy women. June might be a bit airy at times, but when Roy's allegiances are thrown into question she makes a surprising turn for strength that made her far more interesting. Cruise is back in top form, but the best part is that he's not the super sleek, cool spy reminiscent of Ethan Hunt. Roy is confident without being cocky, and his sense of humor...well, it's a little out there. The running gag is that June is constantly being drugged into unconsciousness in order for Roy to make their escape from some untenable situation. He seems to take a perverse pleasure in it.

The plot is about as generic as they come. Don't even worry about the device Roy is smuggling. It only matters for a second or two at the film's conclusion. Indie faves Sarsgaard, Dano, and Viola Davis aren't really given a lot to work with. But then this isn't really a movie about them. It's about Cruise and Diaz, and that star power is what makes Knight and Day so much fun to watch. I can imagine hating this film with the heat of a thousand suns if it starred Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl. As pretty as Kutcher and Heigl might be, they aren't movie stars. It's been a summer of major disappointment for the most part, but Knight and Day is one blockbuster thrillride that is worth the price of admission.