DVD Reviews

Knight and Day – DVD Review

By Jeff Swindoll Dec 6, 2010, 15:32 GMT

Big screen superstars Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz come together in this fun, action-packed thrill-ride that will keep you on the edge of your seat. When a small-town girl named June (Diaz) meets a mysterious stranger, she thinks she\'s found the man of her dreams. But she soon discovers he\'s a fugitive super-spy, who thrusts her into a thrilling cat-and-mouse chase that spans the globe. As the bullets and sparks ...more

Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz charm in this smashup of James Bond and Charade.  It’s certainly a popcorn flick so don’t think too much about it.  I had a good time - even if you can’t help but think about Tom’s off-screen antics. 

June Havens (Cameron Diaz) is a classic car restorer going through security at the Wichita Airport.  She’s being detained because she’s carrying auto parts for her late father’s GTO which she is restoring for her sister’s (Maggie Grace) wedding present.  It looks like she isn’t going to make it on the plane, but Roy Miller (Tom Cruise), a charming stranger, whispers that things happen for a reason. 

Unbeknownst to her, FBI Agent Fitzgerald (Peter Saarsgard) notices this interaction via surveillance and thinks that she is working with Miller, so he arranges for her to get on the flight after all.  The flight has very few people on it so she starts chatting with Miller. 

She’s charmed and goes to the bathroom to freshen up.  However, when she’s away the rest of the passengers and crew attack Miller but he kills them all… including accidentally killing the pilots. 

When she comes back he has to tell her about the melee, but after landing the plane Miller drugs her and she wakes up in her apartment.  Miller had given her some tips about if any governmental officials approached her and starting using certain keywords and soon enough June is abducted from her bridesmaid dress fitting by the types that Roy warned against. 

After a whirlwind chase that Roy rescues her from, June runs to her ex-boyfriend Rodney (Marc Blucas) but Roy shows up there too.  She learns that the sinister agents are after something called “Zephyr” a McGuffin that was invented by Simon Fleck (Paul Dano) but they’re not the only ones since arms dealer Antonio (Jordi Molla) also wants the device and June and Roy are in the middle of it all. 

I kept thinking of Charade when watching Knight and Day.  Don’t get me wrong Tom is no Cary Grant and Cameron no Audrey Hepburn, but it had that “beautiful people” and intrigue that was featured in that other film.  It drops in a healthy dose of James Bond with Tom doing massive acts of spy action (jumping from moving car to moving car with nary a scratch) with his trademark grin. 

He’s still a charmer cinematically if you can separate his wacky off-screen behavior from it.  Diaz is her usual but has a fish out of water aspect with her clumsy accidental spying.  It never broaches on anything close to reality, most of the derring-do especially, but it is big, brash, popcorn fun with charmers Tom and Cameron. 

You’ll definitely need to put your brain into neutral, but I had a good time with it with this summer fare. 

Knight and Day is presented in widescreen (2.40:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions.  Speical features include the 12 minute “Wilder Knights and Crazier Days” making of, the 9 minute “Knight and Someday” about Tom asking the Black-Eyed Peas to write a song for the film, two viral videos (Soccer and Kick, 1 minute each), and the 2 minute theatrical trailer. 

Knight and Day is for summertime popcorn viewing.  It’s easy to get swept up in all the action with the charming beautiful people.  If you’ve got grudges against them though you might not want to go along for the ride. 

I had a fun ride that left a Tom Cruise sized smile on my mug.  Just don’t think about it too much. 

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