Based on the trailers for Knight and Day, I expected a fairly middle-of-the-road summer flick. If nothing else, I thought, having Tom Cruise back to doing what he does best in the action-hero role would warrant a viewing. Having just finished seeing it, though, I feel almost as though I should be reviewing two separate films.
The first half of this movie promises a solid, fun experience due primarily to the banter between Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz's characters. Initially, these two have terrific on-screen chemistry, with several scenes between the two of them being absolutely hilarious. It's the perfect marriage of action and comedy, and all seems to be going smoothly.
About mid-way through the film, however, it completely switches gears and becomes this lazy, meandering, worn out mess of an action film. The witty banter between Cruise and Diaz feels lost, and the movie almost seems to go out of its way to show as little action as possible. Specifically, there are several sequences in which the duo is in peril, and rather than showing us, the audience, how this conflict was resolved, we see one of the two characters get knocked out, followed by them awaking in a safe and secure location. It's these moments in particular that make the second half of this movie frustrating, and this is all on top of a story that ends up being not the least bit engaging.
Even the action that actually is present in Knight and Day, though, is hit-or-miss. The few action scenes found in the initial half are solid, with well-choreographed stunts, as well as the aforementioned dialogue between the two leads, which serve to enhance the fun factor of each sequence. However, as with every other aspect of the film, the action found in the second half isn't nearly as entertaining, and as often as John Powell's (the Bourne trilogy, Bolt) musical score attempts to liven the scene up, it all just feels like old hat.
Knight and Day is a film that, despite its initial promise of a simple, fun action flick, takes a tremendous nose dive about mid-way through the experience. Ultimately, it's just another addition to the list of mediocre action films in a summer that's, thus far, been virtually full of them.
The first half of this movie promises a solid, fun experience due primarily to the banter between Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz's characters. Initially, these two have terrific on-screen chemistry, with several scenes between the two of them being absolutely hilarious. It's the perfect marriage of action and comedy, and all seems to be going smoothly.
About mid-way through the film, however, it completely switches gears and becomes this lazy, meandering, worn out mess of an action film. The witty banter between Cruise and Diaz feels lost, and the movie almost seems to go out of its way to show as little action as possible. Specifically, there are several sequences in which the duo is in peril, and rather than showing us, the audience, how this conflict was resolved, we see one of the two characters get knocked out, followed by them awaking in a safe and secure location. It's these moments in particular that make the second half of this movie frustrating, and this is all on top of a story that ends up being not the least bit engaging.
Even the action that actually is present in Knight and Day, though, is hit-or-miss. The few action scenes found in the initial half are solid, with well-choreographed stunts, as well as the aforementioned dialogue between the two leads, which serve to enhance the fun factor of each sequence. However, as with every other aspect of the film, the action found in the second half isn't nearly as entertaining, and as often as John Powell's (the Bourne trilogy, Bolt) musical score attempts to liven the scene up, it all just feels like old hat.
Knight and Day is a film that, despite its initial promise of a simple, fun action flick, takes a tremendous nose dive about mid-way through the experience. Ultimately, it's just another addition to the list of mediocre action films in a summer that's, thus far, been virtually full of them.