Knight and Day is a fun action flick that knows what it is and is not. The plot isn’t the least bit complicated and the primary villain, despite being played by a capable actor, is hardly a worthy adversary to the heroes. Meanwhile, as Cruise approaches into his 50s, the man probably hasn’t looked better playing the action hero we all know and love from the 90s and seems to be having a great time.
Knight and Day (2010)
Genre(s): Action, Comedy
Fox | PG13 – 109 min. – $39.99 | November 30, 2010
MOVIE INFO:
Directed by: James Mangold
Writer(s): Patrick O’Neill (written by)
Cast: Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Peter Sarsgaard, Viola Davis, Paul Dano
Theatrical Release Date: June 23, 2010
DISC INFO:
Features: Featurettes, Theatrical Trailer
Number of Discs: 3
Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 2.40
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Region(s): A
THE MOVIE – 3.75/5
I wondered before watching Knight and Day whether or not superstar Tom Cruise still has what it takes to be an action hero or if he’s starting to wane a little not unlike aging Vikings quarterback, Brett Favre. Well, while he’s no longer in his Mission Impossible form of the late 1990s, I must say the 50-year-old actor still has the action chops to get the job done.
In his latest, Cruise stars as Roy Miller, an agent on the run from the FBI as he has taken a special battery with limitless power created by a kid genius whom he’s also protecting since his old partner, Fitzgerald (PETER SARSGAARD) apparently wants to get a hold of the battery and sell it to the highest bidder.
For reasons revealed later, Miller is at the airport scanning passengers and focuses in on June (CAMERON DIAZ), a beautiful woman headed home for her sister’s wedding. On the plane things get hairy when it’s revealed the limited number of passengers is actually there to take Roy in but he makes quick work out of them and now June is slammed in the middle of the chase.
After a amazing crash landing (the pilot and co-pilot were killed in the fight), Roy and June manage to escape, he knocks her out with a chemical compound and gets her home safe and sound, leaving notes around the apartment and also preparing breakfast for her. She thought her troubles were behind her but while having a drink with an ex, Roy comes back into her life as she’s being tailed by the FBI. This leads into another spectacular chase where upon Roy jumps from car to car taking out numerous Feds.
The rest of the movie finds Roy and June trying to keep one step ahead of the FBI, protecting the new power source and its creator while also dodging the bullets of a competing gang who also wants their hands on the battery.
Knight and Day isn’t a special movie as now a day later I don’t remember any specific scene that stands out amongst other over-the-top action movies of the same ilk. What does stand out is that nearing the age of 50 (he’s currently 48), the man still has what it takes to be an action hero. His performance here – outside of some great stunt work he insisted in mostly performing himself – is basically him playing himself, the wild and zany Cruise we’ve known and I guess grown to love since his couch jumping days.
In regards to the rest of the cast, other than There’s Something About Mary and maybe the first Charlie’s Angels movie, I’ve never been a big fan of Cameron Diaz nor have I thought she some hot blonde bombshell. That being said, she seems to be having a good time with the role, as limited as it is, and has good chemistry with Cruise.
As for the main villain, I kind of feel sorry for Peter Sarsgaard as he is a good actor but really has nothing to do except towards the end when our hero chases down the evil villain and we all know how that will turn out… Of course that’s nothing new for an action film as the villain, unless it’s for a Bond film, will play third fiddle to the hero and the love interest but the character is nothing more than a greedy corrupt government agent which we’ve seen too many times before (Mission: Impossible comes to mind).
Knight and Day was directed by James Mangold who has been behind a few good flicks in his relatively limited career headlined probably most notably by Walk the Line but also garnered success with Cop Land (he also directed Identity, a film I enjoyed even with a convoluted ending). Given this is his first true action movie, I thought Mangold kept up the pace well enough.
All in all, I would hardly call Knight and Day a great action flick but at the same time it’s still an enjoyable and mostly harmless way to spend about two hours. Although Tom Cruise is heading into his 50s, he’s still in great shape and isn’t going the way of so many other action actors (i.e. Steve Seagal) and holding back on stunts and fight sequences. He’s probably having the best time of his life and in turn that comes across to the audience as well, allowing us to ignore some of the more inane moments – and poor CGI – and just have a good time, which this film provides in spades.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 1.25/5
BLU-RAY EXCLUSIVES – 2/5
The three-disc Blu-ray comes with a glossy slip cover and standard BD case.
Wilder Knights and Crazier Days (12:30; HD) – This is a featurette focusing on the stunt work for the movie and how Cruise (and Diaz with some driving) wanted to do most of the stunts himself while members of the cast and crew reflect on this.
Boston Days and Spanish Knights (8:10; HD) – In yet another “Knight and Day” pun, the featurette is about the filming locations with more on-set interviews with members of the cast and crew. ** Blu-ray Exclusive **
Knight and “Someday” (9:09; HD) is a behind-the-scenes glimpse of Cruise and wife Katie Holmes going backstage to meet the Black Eyed Peas as they will premiere the official song for Knight and Day at a concert after party.
Viral Videos for Soccer (1:10; HD) and Kick (1:23; HD) – These are funny videos that appeared online as promotion for the film.
Now we get into the obvious portion of the features:
Knight and Day: Story (3:50; HD) – This is your basic EPK featurette made to advertise the movie and features comments with various members of the cast and crew discussing the plot for the movie. ** Blu-ray Exclusive **
Knight and Day: Scope (3:05; HD) – This is more EPK footage that was only there to sell the movie than offer any insights into the actual filmmaking process. This in particular takes the view around the world. ** Blu-ray Exclusive **
LIVE EXTRAS (Profile 2.0):
Live Lookup™ – With this you can access up-to-date actor filmographies and info about Knight and Day all while watching the movie powered by IMDb. As I’ve said a few times before, I really have no use for this feature as I can just as easily get the info while I’m on the Net. ** Blu-ray Exclusive **
Not Your Regular Spy (2:42; HD) – This is an exclusive featurette available via BD-Live only but isn’t worth the time it takes for it all to load. It’s also a pain in the ass to get out of. ** Blu-ray Exclusive **
Last up on the disc is the theatrical trailer (2:26; HD).
On disc 2 is the DVD Copy and on disc 3 is the Digital Copy (** Blu-ray Exclusive **).
VIDEO – 4.25/5
Knight and Day looks good in high-definition and with its original 2.35 aspect ratio. Admittedly, at times some of the colors do look a little blown out yet still I didn’t find it too over the top. The detail levels are also quite good as the Blu-ray contains some good natural film grain and noise throughout. I noticed no obvious flaws and thought the black levels looked good as well. It’s not the prettiest new theatrical Blu-ray I’ve encountered but still it looks nice.
AUDIO – 4.25/5
Meanwhile, the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track is on the tad disappointing side especially since there’s plenty of action to show off one’s audio capabilities so I found it a little underwhelming a few times especially since the LFE doesn’t get a whole lot of use. That being said, even those underwhelming moments still sounded good in lossless audio while dialogue levels are crisp and clear throughout the movie.
OVERALL – 3.5/5
Overall, Knight and Day is a fun action flick that knows what it is and is not. The plot isn’t the least bit complicated and the primary villain, despite being played by a capable actor, is hardly a worthy adversary to the heroes. Meanwhile, as Cruise approaches into his 50s, the man probably hasn’t looked better playing the action hero we all know and love from the 90s and seems to be having a great time. The Blu-ray itself has good video and audio transfers but lacks substance in the features department and it’s also very disappointing that while European releases received an extended cut, we here in the States are missing out on a cut that, from what I read, is a little better.
Brian Oliver, The Movieman
Published: 12/19/2010