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Went to the cinema yesterday and I did NOT watch Inception. Blasphemy, I know. But I had a good, yet perhaps predictable reason: my girl didn’t want to see it. So instead, we watched Knight and Day. To be honest, I didn’t mind too much, because I'm a fan of James Mangold and Tom Cruise.
So what’s Knight and Day (the title’s silliness burns my eyes) about? Well, it’s a bit messy, but initially, it’s a story about a mysterious, charismatic (well, it’s Tom Cruise, he’s unable not to be charismatic) and slightly deranged supercop Roy Miller, who has the FBI breathing down his neck. On a plane that is (inexplicably) loaded with secret agents with a desire to kill Miller, he wreaks havoc and kills the pilots in the process. One person however, is completely out of place on the plane: the dashing June Havens (Cameron Diaz). From then on, she accompanies Miller from one shootout to the other, while the question remains: can Miller really be trusted? Is he really the cop who wants to protect the world from the cunning plan of his corrupt colleague or is he the traitor the FBI claims he is? Questions and absurdities will from there on be your part should you choose to watch this film.
The bad news is that at times, Knight and Day makes no sense whatsoever. The plot’s structure is very episodic. Sometimes, the characters are in a different location as the story advances from one scene to the next, without any explanation. The film’s tone and even genre also caper around: Knight and Day goes from action flick to romantic comedy to spy thriller to James Bond and back again.
On the other hand, James Mangold has once again proven that he is a top director. It seemed to me like he was aware of the trouble with the screenplay, so instead, he tried to put the focus on the film’s trumps: the chemistry between Cruise and Diaz, a dab of humour and some much-needed self-awareness. One example to clarify what I mean: At a certain moment, Miller and Havens are kidnapped by a band of mercenaries. It is never explained who these guys actually are, but the situation looks fairly bad. We then get a point-of-view shot from June: Roy is strung up by his legs, dangling from one side to the other. Whenever he appears on screen, he says stuff like: “It’s okay, I got this.” The camera then suddenly fades out and the next thing we see is Roy tying up a guard. Another fade and then Roy and June are in a helicopter. Yet another fade and boom: a tropical island. On the one hand, it doesn’t make any sense and it feels _very_ forced, but on the other hand I found it enjoyable to watch.
Cruise and Diaz are clearly enjoying themselves and this shines through in their performances. Cruise portrays Roy Miller as an insane, arrogant, ever-polite, charming and violent character. In short, a fun main character to watch. His co-star, Cameron Diaz, shows that she disposes of a very good comical timing. The many running jokes of the film wouldn’t work half as well with a less talented duo.
In summary, Knight and Day is a mess, but it’s a captivating mess. It adheres to the principle: what you see is what you get. Just watch the trailer and you know exactly what to expect: a stylish, well choreographed, beautifully directed, but flat romcom-action flick. Sit back, relax and put your brain on stand-by mode. You’ll probably want to anyway after having seen Inception.
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Knight and Day
Went to the cinema yesterday and I did NOT watch Inception. Blasphemy, I know. But I had a good, yet perhaps predictable reason: my girl didn’t want to see it. So instead, we watched Knight and Day. To be honest, I didn’t mind too much, because I'm a fan of James Mangold and Tom Cruise.
So what’s Knight and Day (the title’s silliness burns my eyes) about? Well, it’s a bit messy, but initially, it’s a story about a mysterious, charismatic (well, it’s Tom Cruise, he’s unable not to be charismatic) and slightly deranged supercop Roy Miller, who has the FBI breathing down his neck. On a plane that is (inexplicably) loaded with secret agents with a desire to kill Miller, he wreaks havoc and kills the pilots in the process. One person however, is completely out of place on the plane: the dashing June Havens (Cameron Diaz). From then on, she accompanies Miller from one shootout to the other, while the question remains: can Miller really be trusted? Is he really the cop who wants to protect the world from the cunning plan of his corrupt colleague or is he the traitor the FBI claims he is? Questions and absurdities will from there on be your part should you choose to watch this film.
The bad news is that at times, Knight and Day makes no sense whatsoever. The plot’s structure is very episodic. Sometimes, the characters are in a different location as the story advances from one scene to the next, without any explanation. The film’s tone and even genre also caper around: Knight and Day goes from action flick to romantic comedy to spy thriller to James Bond and back again.
On the other hand, James Mangold has once again proven that he is a top director. It seemed to me like he was aware of the trouble with the screenplay, so instead, he tried to put the focus on the film’s trumps: the chemistry between Cruise and Diaz, a dab of humour and some much-needed self-awareness. One example to clarify what I mean: At a certain moment, Miller and Havens are kidnapped by a band of mercenaries. It is never explained who these guys actually are, but the situation looks fairly bad. We then get a point-of-view shot from June: Roy is strung up by his legs, dangling from one side to the other. Whenever he appears on screen, he says stuff like: “It’s okay, I got this.” The camera then suddenly fades out and the next thing we see is Roy tying up a guard. Another fade and then Roy and June are in a helicopter. Yet another fade and boom: a tropical island. On the one hand, it doesn’t make any sense and it feels _very_ forced, but on the other hand I found it enjoyable to watch.
Cruise and Diaz are clearly enjoying themselves and this shines through in their performances. Cruise portrays Roy Miller as an insane, arrogant, ever-polite, charming and violent character. In short, a fun main character to watch. His co-star, Cameron Diaz, shows that she disposes of a very good comical timing. The many running jokes of the film wouldn’t work half as well with a less talented duo.
In summary, Knight and Day is a mess, but it’s a captivating mess. It adheres to the principle: what you see is what you get. Just watch the trailer and you know exactly what to expect: a stylish, well choreographed, beautifully directed, but flat romcom-action flick. Sit back, relax and put your brain on stand-by mode. You’ll probably want to anyway after having seen Inception.
+