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Knight And Day

Knight And Day
Released on Tuesday, Jun 22 2010

Remember the days when Tom Cruise put bums on seats (instead of jumping up and down on them) and Cameron Diaz was the highest paid actress in Hollywood? In a bid to jog your memory they re-team almost a decade after Vanilla Sky, this time trading on their million dollar smiles for spy caper Knight And Day. Alas, the combined wattage of those pearly whites didn't dazzle in America where it opened at number three. Surprisingly though, the film isn't as annoying as you think. In fact, there's a certain comfort in familiarity, like putting on an old pair of Aviator sunglasses.

You are literally hijacked for a nostalgia trip with Tom donning those Top Gun shades to play undercover agent Roy Miller (aka Matthew Knight). Within minutes he's at the controls of a diving airplane and still flirting outrageously with passenger June (Diaz). She thinks she's met her dream guy until she realizes that everyone else on board is dead. She comes back down to earth with a bump (and a big explosion) relieved to escape this crazed killer. But Roy isn't quite done with June, dragging her back into the way of more bullets and blow-ups, at pains to convince her that he is trying to save her life.

There's a knowing humor to this '80s-style derring-do, but without any insufferable wink-winking and nudge-nudging from the actors. It's the canny direction of James Mangold (best known for walloping dramas like 3:10 To Yuma and Walk The Line) that allows the actors to shine. A recurring joke sees the neurotic June waking up in a series of glamorous locations from the tropics to the frozen Alps, always in new clothes, after losing her grip and being sedated by Roy. The wildly epic scale of the adventure is a gag in itself and the sexual tension mounts as it gets more outlandish.

Mangold has made the most of a formulaic script, but it works best when there is an air of mystery about Roy. Peter Sarsgaard plays to type as the sinister man-in-black who tells June that Roy is a federal agent 'gone rogue' after being enlisted to protect Simon Feck, a young scientist (a typically geeky Paul Dano), who has invented a perpetual energy source. Feck becomes the excuse for more chases and gunfights with South American arms dealers, but all that is a lot less interesting than the apparent possibility that Roy is just a bit doolally and likes shooting people.

The body count is high, but the killing is bloodless and breezy. It might be too much to ask of TC, accustomed to being the clean-cut hero, to play an outright psycho, especially because this film seems geared towards reminding us that, actually, he's not just a nut who climbs on the furniture and believes the aliens are controlling us... To his credit, Cruise makes this point without trying too hard; tempering the square-jawed machismo with a boyish charm. Likewise, Diaz has a natural, tomboyish appeal that suits this knockabout caper and together they make a strong team. Even so, with all the baggage Cruise brings, it might take a while to win back the crowds.

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