If there's one theme that we can take away from this summer's crop of films, it's that everyone seems to want to play it safe and revert back to their regular old roles. There's the 80s nostalgia films, the endless sequels, multiple movies involving computer generated animals talking, and even Russell Crowe reverted back to historical action pieces. So it should come as no surprise to see Tom Cruise jump on the bandwagon by doing once again what brought him to the dance - playing the macho action hero. From Top Gun to the Mission: Impossible franchise, Cruise has spent nearly 30 years succeeding at wowing audiences.
In his latest, Knight and Day, Cruise once again comes out guns ablazing with a whole lot of stuff blowing up around him. For a long time, I never understood Cruise's appeal. I always had an odd disconnect with his films where I would typically love the story but absolutely loathe his character. Here, I was pleasantly surprised by the likability of his Roy Miller character; a man who's intentions are unclear throughout most of the film. Is he a spy for the government, a traitor, or someone just mentally unstable?
Cameron Diaz, who plays June Havens, asks herself these same questions as she unwittingly globetrots around the world with him trying to avoid danger. While there are many points in the film where it seems unlikely that she would continue to just go along with everything that's happening, Diaz has a winning chemistry with Cruise, so you're happy to see her play a happy (albeit sometimes drugged) camper.
Your enjoyment of the film will likely hinge on whether you buy into their relationship. The plot is barebones and used to basically loosely connect the multitude of action sequences in the film. If you care, Cruise is trying to protect the first perpetual motion battery from falling into the wrong hands. Never once did I really care what happened to the battery, but I found myself consistently entertained by the various perilous situations it led to for the two leads as they try to keep it safe.
Director James Mangold, who also did 3:10 to Yuma, keeps the film moving along nicely. Just as he did in his western, he knows how to set up a decent action piece and then just let his actors do the rest.
Perhaps a weak summer movie season this year has allowed me to see this film as being better than what it is, but I'm not going to let that bother me. This is pure escapism, which is perfectly acceptable in my book for a summer movie. It doesn't strive to be anything more than to keep you entertained for two hours. While this material could have suffered with weaker talent on screen (as proven by Killers), Cruise and Diaz still have enough star power to make this an enjoyable romp. Cruise, in particular, seems to be having fun playing a slightly askewed version of past characters. He doesn't take himself as serious here and accepts the preposterous nature of the events unfolding. It's just a shame that it took for everyone else to stop taking him seriously for him to stop himself. That aside, this is fun time at the movies and a better option than most of the dreck that's being offered in theaters right now (Yeah, that's right I'm looking directly at you Twilight!) Grade: B
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