26 jul 2010

My Review: Knight and Day (5/10)

¨They'll tell you I'm mentally unstable and violent and dangerous and it will all sound very convincing. ¨

That is probably the best way to describe Tom Cruise`s character in this movie, which is also unstable in trying to be an action thriller, comedy, and romantic flick all at the same time. Knight and Day mostly succeeds as a comedy because of the performance from Cruise and Diaz, but as an action thriller it is pretty ridiculous, and the romance isn`t all that believable. The action relies too heavily on poor CGI effects; the story is poorly developed and has too many plot holes.  However, Cruise does give a comedic performance and his character is very likeable so if you go into this movie expecting a satire of Mission Impossible then you might just enjoy Knight and Day, but don`t expect a smart thriller with great action sequences because you will leave the theater disappointed. Mr. and Mrs. Smith began this trend of genre films that combine spy thrillers with comedy and romance, but it has gone downhill from that point. James Mangold has taken a huge step backwards with this movie after directing such great films as the 3:10 To Yuma remake and the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, and Patrick O`Neill`s debut as a screenwriter didn`t begin very promising either, but you can`t blame him only because the script was rewritten by at least 5 other people, including Mangold himself.

I don`t want to give too much of the plot away because the most intriguing part of the movie is wondering who Roy Miller (played by Tom Cruise) really is. You wonder if he is a good guy or a bad guy for the first minutes and that is probably one of the best things about Knight and Day. He really gives a good performance and is very funny on screen. He seems a little paranoid, but at the same time he looks relaxed and cool. At the beginning of the film Roy runs into June Havens (Cameron Diaz) in the airport before getting into the plane and uses her without her knowledge to get across customs. June is a mechanic who enjoys restoring classic sport cars and happens to be buying pieces for the vehicle she is assembling to give to her sister as a wedding present. Roy and June share the same flight and seem to click immediately, but everyone else in the plane seems to be trying to kill Roy (including the flight attendants and pilots). Fitzgerald (Peter Sarsgaard from An education) is a CIA agent that is also trying to kill Roy who apparently has something valuable that everyone wants. Even an arms dealer named Antonio (Jordi Molla) is after Roy. June gets involved in all the mess and together with Roy end up all over the States, Jamaica, Austria, and Spain running for their lives. Paul Dano also has a supporting role as a nerdy scientist named Simon Feck that Roy is also trying to protect.

The plot is a bit ridiculous and the action is unfulfilling, but there is enough comedy thanks to Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz who are two likeable actors who pull off decent performances although they are far from their best work. They`ve worked together in the past in Vanilla Sky, which is a clear reminder of how much better they can be, but in Knight and Day the issue wasn`t their performance, it was the material. Mangold has also proven he can do much better and maybe next time he will stick to more serious material. I´m not saying this movie was terrible or a complete waste of time, but it is far from being a good film. It will satisfy those in need of some good laughs, but this isn`t a movie you will want to watch over and over again because the more you think about the plot the more ridiculous you realize it becomes. This is an average film which could be enjoyed if taken lightly and viewed one time only. Cruise fans will definitely enjoy his performance. Not a good movie, but not terrible either.

http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/

No hay comentarios:

Publicar un comentario