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Besides its unfortunately bad title there is very little not to like about Knight and Day. I took a chance on this movie (despite the unkind treatment received from most high-profile critics) and walked out of the theater knowing I'd just seen a contender for biggest surprise of the year. I competely bought into this movie in the first few minutes, not because I wanted to like it, but because the film oozes with a spirit of unabashed fun to which only the most cynical and crotchety of movie-goers could be immune.
With Knight and Day we once again finally have an action film that celebrates film itself-- celebrates the magical, romantic, outlandish places it can take us-- without feeling overly dramatic, self-important, or, worse, inauthentic. No one is exploiting the latest trend here (comicbooks, 80s tv series/toy-lines, unnecessary remakes). No studio is promoting the next future star. This one is actually for the audience-- it is what joyful movie-making feels like. Having finally gotten over my dislike for Tom Cruise, I was able to truly enjoy these two gracefully aging stars (Cruise and Diaz) breathe new life into the espionage/romance action/comedy genre.
My only complaint is that a one-on-one sit down scene between smitten hostage/hostage-er would have benefited the character/plot development. These two really deserved a quiet glass of wine admist all the grade-A action sequences. I'm not exaggerating when I say that this movie is not so unlike a highly stylized and contemporary version of Hitchcock's North by Northwest or To Catch a Thief.
8/10
