Knight and Day (2010)

Today I decided to watch what some might consider to be Tom Cruise's return vehicle film. After his jumping around on the couch shenanigans, he sort of vanished from the big screen. After a disguised sort of cameo in Tropic Thunder, Knight and Day was his first starring role in years. It comes across like a Mission: Impossible movie, but focused more on comedy than serious spy stuff. Not to say that there isn't any of that in here too. So does Cruise still have it, or is this just a lame attempt at a comeback? My thoughts after the jump!


Tom Cruise plays secret agent Roy Miller who had seemingly gone rogue. While trying to escape, he runs into June Havens, played by Cameron Diaz. And I mean, he literally walks into her. The government tracking him thinks she might be a contact, so they arrange that she'll be on the same flight as he is to be captured on. This inexorably connects the two, and Roy can't leave her alone to be captured by the government or the terrorists that are also after him. Can he save the Day?

Roy just drops in for a chat with June

I had heard this movie was alright, but nothing special. Going in with this expectation, I was actually surprised at how much I liked it. I found it genuinely funny and charming, even during the action scenes! That's another thing that took me by surprise, was how well the comedy combined with the action! One moment Roy would be dead serious shooting at guys from the roof and hood of a car, then next he would be pleasantly chatting with June about how good her driving is and if she could please open the door. All in one scene it became a great car chase scene, a great shoot-out scene, and a funny comedic scene!

If you look close, you can see Roy on the hood of the black car

A lot of this I think can be attributed to the acting of Tom Cruise, who totally still has it, and the chemistry between him and Cameron Diaz. Even Diaz has some good comedic bits that have pretty good timing on her part, but most of the comedy comes from Cruise. I really liked Cruise and it was good to see him in top form again, even if this role kind of played on the idea that he went crazy. I was, however, totally able to separate my opinion of him in real life from his performance on screen. I really can't wait to see Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol now!

Knight and Day also had a good pacing. There were a lot of action scenes spread through the whole movie and they certainly kept me entertained. No matter how I try though, I can't separate the action from the comedy. There were several running themes of June getting knocked out and her view as she wakes up for just a few seconds before she passes out again. All of it added together to keep the movie fun and moving along.

Hmm, I can only find images of action scenes, but at least they're cool!

So in summary, I found it to be funny, action packed, both with guns and cars, I enjoyed the story, and I really liked the chemistry between Cruise and Diaz. If you're looking for a fun action movie to watch, definitely check this one out, I had a good time with it. I should say that I saw the "Extended Version", whatever that is. It was good to see Tom Cruise back in action, and I hope he starts putting out more movies again.