Knight and Day (Mangold, 2010)

[Sxottlan]

Well this was pretty awful. I figured by the trailer this could go either way as I liked the idea of Cruise playing an inappropriately cheerful assassin/spy.

Unfortunately, just about all of his funny moments were in the trailer. And since I hate Cameron Diaz, that meant that neither half of this duo in this action "comedy" (more like action "romance") really worked. She's the screaming type of heroine who has to be drugged most of the time to advance the plot. And apparently she restores old cars. Oh come on! Really? About half way through, she then suddenly becomes all take charge and it isn't remotely convincing.

The MacGuffin is downright silly and it's about the only part that's treated deadly serious. Just about all of the action is weightless and seemingly without peril. Green screen work was often glaringly apparent. Funny how a truck rolling over is able to catch up and pass a car driving at full speed. You'd think the act of crashing would actually slow down a vehicle. There was precisely one action shot that I found impressive.

Paul Dano, Viola Davis and Peter Sarsgard are all completely wasted here. And when Cruise emerged from the ocean in one scene, I actually thought he was sucking his gut in.

Even with no major desire to see this, I didn't think it'd be as bad as it is.

P.S. The post-script to the film seems to be about the stupidest thing a couple on the run could do. Let's send plane tickets to relatives most likely under surveillance so they'll know exactly where we are!

[balmakboor]

I had a blast watching this. Cruise and Diaz are two of the screens most likeable personalities and they have nice chemistry here. I've seldom found either to be this engaging. The movie has the unwavering quality of a showcase for a superspy who is so confident that no situation however preposterous can affect him (or her?).

It has a nifty structure. We don't know anything about him, but he does amazing spy stuff. We think we know her as a woman on her way to a wedding. By the end, we know quite a bit about him, but we're left wondering who she is exactly. It's gone from him (spy) and her (ordinary) to him (ordinary) and her (spy?). She doesn't have an awkward transition in the middle. She starts to reveal who she really is. She's like a Bond girl who goes from a love interest to Bond's equal.

I loved the way the druggings were used in the movie and how each time she and he would partially regain consciousness it would be to observe a new dire situation before passing out again. It was a very economical way of showing that both could handle anything.

I think the movie found and stuck with a perfect tone.

[Henry Gale]

I was kind of hoping this would be surprisingly enjoyable, despite my lack of excitement for it. There just hasn't been enough innocently brainless and fun movies this summer (bring on The Expendables, I guess).

Also, I was thinking the other day how long Cruise was reliable as a leading man just a few years back. Of course this list is going to be debatable, but to me, it has some of the best examples of mainstream entertainment to all have been headlined by the same huge star year after year:

1999 - Eyes Wide Shut
1999 - Magnolia

Then M:I-II, which I admittedly loved when I was 10, but...

2001 - Vanilla Sky - Not as good as Amenabar's, but even for the fact that it stuck as much to that original as it did, while still infusing and molding its own American music and pop culture textures to it; I think it's still a lot better than most gave or continue to give it credit for.
2002 - Minority Report
2003 - The Last Samurai
2004 - Collateral
2005 - War of the Worlds - I'm not a huge fan of it, but I can appreciate enough major chunks of it enough to see where others are.
2006 - Mission: Impossible III - The best of the series, in my opinion.

And now we're here. Knight & Day taking in a disappointing box office despite the fact that it seems to be the only thing aimed at adults in the last couple weeks (or even the upcoming few), M:I-IV potentially at risk, the spin-off Les Grossman movie looking like it may be the most bankable thing he'll do in a long time...

Oh well.

[soitgoes...]

I was kind of hoping this would be surprisingly enjoyable, despite my lack of excitement for it. There just hasn't been enough innocently brainless and fun movies this summer (bring on The Expendables, I guess).

Also, I was thinking the other day how long Cruise was reliable as a leading man just a few years back. Of course this list is going to be debatable, but to me, it has some of the best examples of mainstream entertainment to all have been headlined by the same huge star year after year:

1999 - Eyes Wide Shut
1999 - Magnolia

Then M:I-II, which I admittedly loved when I was 10, but...

2001 - Vanilla Sky - Not as good as Amenabar's, but even for the fact that it stuck as much to that original as it did, while still infusing and molding its own American music and pop culture textures to it; I think it's still a lot better than most gave or continue to give it credit for.
2002 - Minority Report
2003 - The Last Samurai
2004 - Collateral
2005 - War of the Worlds - I'm not a huge fan of it, but I can appreciate enough major chunks of it enough to see where others are.
2006 - Mission: Impossible III - The best of the series, in my opinion.

And now we're here. Knight & Day taking in a disappointing box office despite the fact that it seems to be the only thing aimed at adults in the last couple weeks (or even the upcoming few), M:I-IV potentially at risk, the spin-off Les Grossman movie looking like it may be the most bankable thing he'll do in a long time...

Oh well.Tom Cruise only has himself to blame for his career's derailment. You only go back to 1999, but really you can extend all the way back to 1986 and Top Gun. He was a box office force for over 15 years, with only a couple missteps here and there. I don't really remember any knocks being said about him when he was at his peak other than his possible gayness. It wasn't until crazy started to escape his mouth in 2005 that his career began to slide.

[balmakboor]

I was kind of hoping this would be surprisingly enjoyable, despite my lack of excitement for it. There just hasn't been enough innocently brainless and fun movies this summer (bring on The Expendables, I guess).

Also, I was thinking the other day how long Cruise was reliable as a leading man just a few years back. Of course this list is going to be debatable, but to me, it has some of the best examples of mainstream entertainment to all have been headlined by the same huge star year after year:

1999 - Eyes Wide Shut
1999 - Magnolia

Then M:I-II, which I admittedly loved when I was 10, but...

2001 - Vanilla Sky - Not as good as Amenabar's, but even for the fact that it stuck as much to that original as it did, while still infusing and molding its own American music and pop culture textures to it; I think it's still a lot better than most gave or continue to give it credit for.
2002 - Minority Report
2003 - The Last Samurai
2004 - Collateral
2005 - War of the Worlds - I'm not a huge fan of it, but I can appreciate enough major chunks of it enough to see where others are.
2006 - Mission: Impossible III - The best of the series, in my opinion.

And now we're here. Knight & Day taking in a disappointing box office despite the fact that it seems to be the only thing aimed at adults in the last couple weeks (or even the upcoming few), M:I-IV potentially at risk, the spin-off Les Grossman movie looking like it may be the most bankable thing he'll do in a long time...

Oh well.

It doesn't sound like you've seen it. Maybe it still could be surprisingly enjoyable.

I figure I'll be a dissenting opinion around here on this one. But I found Mangold's direction smooth and assured, even clever. Btw, I like almost all of Cruise's movies.

[Henry Gale]

It doesn't sound like you've seen it. Maybe it still could be surprisingly enjoyable.

I figure I'll be a dissenting opinion around here on this one. But I found Mangold's direction smooth and assured, even clever. Btw, I like almost all of Cruise's movies.

You're right, and I like Mangold's stuff I've seen. And having not seen it, it is the overall sound of the positive responses to it (such as your own) that have made it out to be the sort of thing I hoping it would be. So I am left hopeful, but just can't see myself going to the theatre and checking it out, even with little else to choose from. I'm also a bit disappointed in a way that its performance may put things like Brad Bird's Mission Impossible in a less desirable position. I definitely don't see a string of films like the 1999-2006 one happening any time soon.


Tom Cruise only has himself to blame for his career's derailment. You only go back to 1999, but really you can extend all the way back to 1986 and Top Gun. He was a box office force for over 15 years, with only a couple missteps here and there. I don't really remember any knocks being said about him when he was at his peak other than his possible gayness. It wasn't until crazy started to escape his mouth in 2005 that his career began to slide.

Oh, I'm not saying I don't know why his career has suddenly taken a downturn. It just all seemed to happen so fast. Plus, when it comes to Scientology, the average person doesn't seem to even know what it is, let alone why there's controversies that stem from his association with it. They'll more likely just say "oh ever since he jumped on that couch...". Is it because he jumped on Queen Oprah's couch with shoes on? I'll never quite get it.

[soitgoes...]

Oh, I'm not saying I don't know why his career has suddenly taken a downturn. It just all seemed to happen so fast. Plus, when it comes to Scientology, the average person doesn't seem to even know what it is, let alone why there's controversies that stem from his association with it. They'll more likely just say "oh ever since he jumped on that couch...". Is it because he jumped on Queen Oprah's couch with shoes on? I'll never quite get it.
That coupled with his Brooke Shields comments, and his complete dismissal of psychiatry as being "a Nazi science" pretty much did him in for many.

[Sxottlan]

By the end, we know quite a bit about him, but we're left wondering who she is exactly. It's gone from him (spy) and her (ordinary) to him (ordinary) and her (spy?). She doesn't have an awkward transition in the middle. She starts to reveal who she really is.

I can see what you're getting at, but I can't help but think of that as a little "art by accident."

On the plus side, Dale Dye!

[balmakboor]

I can see what you're getting at, but I can't help but think of that as a little "art by accident."

On the plus side, Dale Dye!

Or maybe I've been watching so much Brakhage lately that all films are benefitting from my interpretive state of mind. ;)

[number8]

But is it better than Killers?!

[Rowland]

Just in terms of a steady stream of sharply executed action set pieces, this thing trumps the likes of Iron Man 2 and The A-Team, and it's also ingenious for indirectly acknowledging and integrating the public's perception of Cruise as something of a kook directly into the fabric of the piece. I'd say it goes down smoothly, but it's never terribly involving, and it fades from the mind pretty much instantaneously.

[Ezee E]

Disappointing. Tom Cruise almost solely makes this watchable with his batshit insane character that I think only he would be able to pull off. However, the movie always tries to maintain a "high moment" without actually having any buildup.

Still. It's somewhat fun for it going all over the globe, the ridiculousness of its action sequences, which it's obviously doing on purpose, and that includes the trucks flipping over a car. It's sort of satirizing the action sequences we've seen over the past few years that do take itself seriously. I think this one may have been a little misunderstood.

Strange that Cruise's character basically gets the okay to drug his girlfriend into getting her to do what he wants.

[Ezee E]

You know? Tom Cruise's character is basically like the guy in the Old Spice commercials.

uLTIowBF0kE

This one.

[Skitch]

I had pretty low expectations for this going in, and I think that helped in me finding it enjoyable. Nothing to get terribly excited about, but had some funny moments, and Cruise was a genuine badass.

[eternity]

That was twenty minutes of "HOLY FUCK THIS IS AWESOME" and ?? minutes of "holy fuck...this is terrible. :/"

[Ezee E]

That was twenty minutes of "HOLY FUCK THIS IS AWESOME" and ?? minutes of "holy fuck...this is terrible. :/"
Opening twenty minutes?

[eternity]

Opening twenty minutes?
More or less. It still felt too restrained even then, but Tom Cruise's nonchalant performance and the hilariously minor things that cause an SUV to flip over were really doing it for me.

But then that "plot" sunk in. :/

[Ezee E]

More or less. It still felt too restrained even then, but Tom Cruise's nonchalant performance and the hilariously minor things that cause an SUV to flip over were really doing it for me.

But then that "plot" sunk in. :/
There were even a few times where SUVs would spontaneously flip over. Loved that.

[Fezzik]

In my "two word" review of this on Twitter, I called it "Frustratingly Average" - I liked the idea of a spy / Mission: Impossible movie where everything just spontaneously happened, logic and physics be damned, then it got weighed down with a silly plot and it ticked me off.

When it was just Cruise and Diaz, I actually quite enjoyed it. Any time anyone else was on screen (with the exception of the parents, which I found funny "you don't even know what you type in on that computer!") I hated it.

[Dukefrukem]

In my "two word" review of this on Twitter, I called it "Frustratingly Average" - I liked the idea of a spy / Mission: Impossible movie where everything just spontaneously happened, logic and physics be damned, then it got weighed down with a silly plot and it ticked me off.

When it was just Cruise and Diaz, I actually quite enjoyed it. Any time anyone else was on screen (with the exception of the parents, which I found funny "you don't even know what you type in on that computer!") I hated it.

I agree with everything you posted here. Also, could someone please explain o me why when the SUV explodes and barrel rolls behind the car they are driving, it accelerates forward and jumps over the car on the highway. :crazy:

[eternity]

I agree with everything you posted here. Also, could someone please explain o me why when the SUV explodes and barrel rolls behind the car they are driving, it accelerates forward and jumps over the car on the highway. :crazy:

Because they fucking can.

It's when the movie stops acting by this logic that the movie stops being good.

[Ezee E]

Because they fucking can.

It's when the movie stops acting by this logic that the movie stops being good.
Agreed. I want to say that I kinda liked this, but outside of the ridiculousness of Cruise, there's not much to like.