Movie Review: Knight and Day

Tom Cruise plays the extremely charming Roy Miller, an agent whose colleagues (led by Viola Davis and Peter Sarsgaard) believe has gone rogue. Roy has the device, codename Zephyr, that the federal agents and arms dealers are looking for, the thing that will change the world.  We’re never really sure *how* exactly, but just go along – it will.  Roy also knows where the quirky genius (Paul Dano) who developed the technology is hiding, and if you can’t find the Zephyr, the young scientist is the next best thing.

Cameron Diaz plays the car restoring June Havens, a carefree lady who’s just trying to get home but unwittingly gets caught up in Roy’s world.  Cruise and Diaz are at least believable together – the chemistry between them is palpable.

It’s an around-the-world chase with stops in Austria, Spain, and Jamaica. As expected, there is plenty of action: hand-to-hand battles, gunfire galore, explosions, bulls, planes, trains, and automobiles.  Whew!  Apparently, more time was taken with producing the great action scenes than with developing a strong storyline, and the movie has quite a few holes in it and many unrealistic bits.  For example, June “hasn’t been anywhere and doesn’t even have a passport,” but Roy is able to move her freely about from country to country at will.  Also, there are many shoot-out scenes with bullets flying everywhere, from the weapons of professionals who apparently know how to shoot, but our hero and heroine are never harmed, except for one “scratch”.  I know, I know – it’s Hollywood…

Besides the action, another saving grace is all the comedy in the movie, with many of the laughs delivered by Cruise in an over-the-top, yet controlled psychotic manner.  Really well done.  And did I mention charming?  In the middle of one gun battle, he still finds the time to compliment Diaz on her dress.

This movie will not win any best picture awards, but if you’re a fan of Cruise and/or Diaz, if you like action flicks, and if you’re OK with the holes in the story and can just enjoy it for pure entertainment’s sake, I think you will like this movie.  I did enjoy it and I give it three out of five Slurpees.

Soundtrack – I can’t remember most of it, but the nice, drum-heavy “Someday” by the Black Eyed Peas plays during the closing credits.

* Knight and Day * Director: James Mangold * Starring: Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz * Peter Sarsgaard * Time: 110 minutes * Rated PG-13 * Action/Comedy/Thriller * Trailer * Game *

10 Upcoming Movies

Here are 10 movies that will be released in the next couple months. I don’t necessarily plan on seeing all the movies on this list {cough Twilight Eclipse cough}, but I do plan on seeing most.

1. Wednesday, June 23 – Knight and Day; Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz; Action/Comedy/Thriller; PG-13
   ~ An everyday woman gets mixed up in the life of secret agent who is trying to avoid being captured.
2. Friday, June 25 – Grown Ups; Adam Sandler, Salma Hayak, Kevin James; Comedy; PG-13
   ~ Five high school friends reunite on July 4th after their old basketball coach dies.
3. Wednesday, June 30 – Twilight Saga: Eclipse; Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattison; Fantasy/Romance/Thriller; PG-13
   ~ Continuation of the saga in which Bella must choose between Edward and Jacob.
4. Thursday, July 1 – The Last Airbender; Noah Ringer, Nicola Peltz; Action/Family/Fantasy; Not yet rated
   ~ The young Avatar, who is the only master of all four elements, has been called upon to help restore harmony.
5. Friday, July 9 – The Kids are Alright; Annette Bening, Julianne Moore; Comedy; R
   ~ Two siblings of a lesbian couple want to bring their sperm-donor father into their lives.
6. Wednesday, July 14 – The Sorcerer’s Apprentice; Nicolas Cage, Jay Barachel; Fantasy/Comedy; PG
   ~ A master sorcerer recruits a seemingly average guy to train to help fight the evildoers.
7. Friday, July 16 – Inception; Leonardo DiCaprio, Kan Watanabe; Action/SciFi; PG-13
   ~ A thief has the ability to steal ideas by entering others’ dreams.
8. Friday, July 23 – Salt; Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber; Action/Thriller; PG-13
   ~ A CIA agent is accused of being a Russian spy who is going to attempt to kill the U.S. president.
9. Friday, July 30 – Twelve; Emma Roberts, Chace Crawford; Drama/Thriller; R
   ~ A drug dealing dropout’s cousin is killed and his best friend is arrested for the crime.
10. Friday, August 13 – Eat, Pray, Love; Julia Roberts, Javier Barden; Drama; PG-13
    ~ A recently divorced woman embarks on a round-the-world journey of self discovery.