Knight and Day

Tom Cruise is probably best described as the Marmite of Hollywood: loved and hated in equal measure. Twenty-eight years in the business and thirty-seven films down the line, this actor has worked with legendary directors, raked in billions of dollars through classics (yes classics) such as Top Gun, and amassed a loyal fan base in the process. Unlike Dorothy Boyd however, there are also those who Cruise never did ‘have at hello.’ For movie goers never sold by the frankly blinding smile of America’s all-action hero, a string of predictable performances over recent years, have been all too much to bear. After a lukewarm reception to the recent announcement that a fourth Mission Impossible film is in the pipeline, not even Ethan Hunt seems able to escape Cruise’s increasingly hackneyed reputation.

Those firmly in the hate camp (who have seen Cruise save the world quite enough, thank you very much) may want to avoid new blockbuster Knight and Day: a so-called action comedy which sees Cruise crash violently back on to our screens as FBI agent Roy Miller. After dabbling in more diverse roles with the likes of Collateral and Valkyrie, this latest incarnation is a return to type for Cruise.  Those who don’t mind their films light-hearted on the other hand, should trust in director James Mangold, whose humorous take on the spy genre provides a gentle means of whiling away a rainy summer afternoon.

The plot is simple, but not frustratingly so. An unashamedly tenuous back-story (think US development of new power source, codename ÊżzephyrÊŸ,  desired by global criminal mafia) boils down to the fact that Miller has been set up by a fellow agent and believed to have gone rogue, claiming the invention for himself. With an angry FBI and host of international assassins vying for his blood, Miller must protect the zephyr and prove his innocence. In summary: a good guy, some bad guys. So far, so predictable.

Except that Cruise is genuinely enigmatic as Miller. “They’ll tell you I’m mentally unstable, violent and dangerous and it will all sound very convincing”, he tells Cameron Diaz, who stars alongside him as June Havens: a charmingly down to earth civilian who is unwittingly caught up in Miller’s world of international espionage. “I’m already convinced”, is her nervous reply – the start of a beautiful, if slightly dysfunctional, relationship, built on death defying stunts and witty one-liners.

Indeed, it is June who injects much humour and life into Knight and Day, adding a welcome twist to a conventional plot.  This is not your average Bond girl. Funny and bright, but perhaps most importantly ordinary, June is both terrified and amused by Miller’s antics, guiding the audience through a breakneck plot. These aren’t groundbreaking performances from Diaz or Cruise, yet the pair work well together, united for the first time since Vanilla Sky.

Much of the redeeming comedy and humanity of Knight and Day must be attributed to Mangold, whose recent directorial success has derived from more subtle offerings such as Girl Interrupted and Walk the Line.  While it may feel uncomfortably like selling-out to some fans, it is clear that Mangold wanted to create something unique in this blockbuster, which he vehemently assures is not a send up.  He claims of the film: “We set out to create a world that feels completely real to the audience yet is also deeply comic.”

Unfortunately for Mangold, the result of this experiment is film which feels rather confused: neither spoof nor thriller, yet with a foot in both these styles, which have dominated on-screen espionage for years. Miller himself is a larger than life hero, parodying Bond whilst chased by burly assassins. He hides out on a tropical island, uses every mode of transport known to man and flits around the globe purely to justify a change of outfit; who doesn’t wear fur in Salzburg? In a somewhat jarring contrast, Miller’s FBI colleagues feel like a genuine threat. The true rogue agent, Peter Sarsgaard’s Fitzgerald, is both sinister and serious, manipulating those around him without a tank of sharks in sight. The film’s title, similarly, is explained via an unusually poignant scene, in which June encounters Mr. And Mrs. Knight: Miller’s ageing parents, who believe their son to be dead and know nothing of his jet-setting career or secret identity. Although a tearful reconciliation here would have been unbearably clichĂ©d, this more subtle strand of the story is abandoned as quickly as it’s introduced, leaving the audience understandably bemused.

While these touches do add intrigue to the film, the best course of action for both Mangold and the audience is simply to accept Knight and Day for what it is. No boundaries are pushed here; it won’t change your world view; it might not even make you think. But why should it? As sure as Tom Cruise will save the day, this film will do exactly what it says on the tin, providing fast-paced and  shameless entertainment with the actor we all secretly love to hate.

Last edited: 12th December 2010

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