3 stars: "Knight and Day" is one of the first great film of the summer....

In this day and age,  in this era of films  spy movies  are literally a dime a dozen. They are one of the action genres most common uses for  an action/ adventure  picture  and have spawned many franchises, T.V. series, video games. You name it the spy genre has left there mark somewhere to make sure that you never forget them   the spy game has had a very successful run in the films. Although never quite commanding the respect they deserve from moviegoers who are now a days more interested in seeing dull overdrawn teen romances than good spy thrillers with smart ideas and compelling stories but that is just the way things go theses days. James Mangold's  romantic  action/comedy  "Knight & Day" is the perfect example of a spy movie that has all the right ideas the right set ups  and a story good enough to make me want to actually sit through  the whole thing without checking my watch every ten minutes or so  asking myself when it will be over. "Knight and Day" is the first great film of the summer.

James Mangold's "Knight and Day" is one of those films that flew under my radar until almost two months before its initial release, which for a film with such a high-class director and stars I expected to hear more about this film. Instead I only heard that Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz were working together again after almost 9 years. There last collaboration being Cameron Crowe's bizarre hit "Vanilla Sky"(2001)   truthfully that is the main reason went to see this movie. If there were anyone else in the lead roles, I would not have bothered with and gone to see something else instead now I am glad I did not decided to skip this one after all. "Knight and Day" is a pure  formula film right down to its story  and plot  even most  of its dialogue  is formula  the most formulaic parts are concerning Cameron Diaz when she is being briefed about Roy Miller(Tom Cruise)  and how he is dangerous and crazy and a traitor, moviegoers have all heard  it before. The  only thing that saves this film from being nothing more than just a run of the mill rehash of other better spy movies   is the breezy pace, snappy dialogue  and a pair of winning performances from Cameron Diaz and Tom Cruise  help bring this film out of its familiar territory saving it from a dark and dreary failure.

James Mangold is know for making high quality films  most notably being "Walk the Line"(2005), "Cop Land"(1997)," Identity"(2003), "3:10  to Yuma"(2007). "Knight and Day" may not be one of Mangold best it certainly is better than his other  comedy type film "Kate and Leopold"(2001) which wasn't bad but than again it was not quite that good either it is somewhere in between  "Knight  and Day" is far above "Kate and Leopold" but it is less imaginative than that film. What I found most impressive about this film and I think moviegoers will as well is the skill and design of this film it uses the clichés of its simple formula and story to turn what would have been a routine action/adventure/ spy thriller. Into an exceedingly enjoyable film far more enjoyable than could be imagined too enjoyable for its own, good "Knight and Day" works.

Tom Cruise is one of my favorite actors as a child one of his films that stood out is "Mission: Impossible"(1996) it is the first Tom Cruise movie I ever saw. It is also the movie that changed the way I viewed action films (but I am not going to go into that) and cemented me as a long-term fan of Cruise. In James Mangold’s “Knight and Day" Cruise takes an extremely different approach to his acting, he actually tries to give comedy a shot and he pulls it off swimmingly. Cruise is serious but here is he is laughing at himself more than being serious I like that, I like the way he is laughing at himself the whole time and even though you do not hear him,   you know he is laughing. And that is what makes this film so good and what makes Cruise such an asset to it  the film is laughing at itself and so are the leads they are in on the joke and know that this is not serious this is all just good fun. Cruise, Diaz know this they know what they are doing is not serious its a joke and what makes the performances and this film so good is that they are letting us in on the joke. Cameron Diaz is the one who steals the show, her performance is one of the most skilled, and most likable in the film next to Cruise, what makes Diaz performance so good is that she usually has a smile on her face   she is always giving the audience her million-dollar smile throughout most of the film. This is a constant reminder that she is loving this and having a good time. I like that, I respect that, and that is the reasons why this film is so good and why "Knight and Day" is necessary see. The rest of the cast including: Peter Sarsgaard, Marc Blucas, Oliver Martinez, Paul Dano and  Viola Davis  give great supporting performances in a film that may not be wholly original but delivers fine middle of the summer entertainment.  

What I wanted form this film  I did not get completely  I wanted to get Cruise and Diaz laughing it up and cracking jokes like it is going out of  style but instead I got rudimentary action, cliché plot twist. After hearing all this you start asking yourself this question: is this film wroth seeing? Most definitely, I wish there would have been more to it than just action and a pair of good-looking leads falling for each other, running around trying to find a very valuable object it just all seemed too... Familiar and that is okay I like familiar and while "Knight and Day” may not work for everyone this film delivers on what it promises, great summer action.