Review: Knight and Day

Summer films are generally full of actions and at best light on substance. The latest Tom Cruise vehicle fits the formula; look too closely and the plot falls apart. But if you don't, you just might enjoy the action thriller Knight and Day. 

June Havens (Cameron Diaz) is on her way back home with precious cargo -- vintage car parts needed before her sister’s wedding -- and at the airport, she keeps bumping into Roy (Tom Cruise), an enigmatic charmer. Suddenly June is caught between Roy and his handlers with the federal government, which tells her he's a rogue agent, in a cat-and-mouse game that crosses the globe.

In mostly typical romantic thriller action, June makes some bad choices and Roy keeps saving her, all while keeping to his personal mission, which may or may not be what he says. Things are rarely what they seem within Knight and Day, and mostly it works. There are some clever moments, some of which are diminished by bouts of lazy scripting (or perhaps interference to keep it Hollywood). 

At times Knight and Day has some of the same charm as crowd pleasers Romancing the Stone and Mr. & Mrs. Smith, with anti-heroes and relationships turned inside out. Unfortunately, Knight and Day doesn't go quite far enough or caustic enough to be on par with those films. Its limited character development and consistency keeps it from truly wowing an audience.

Patrick O'Neill's uneven script is helped along by the stars. Cruise clearly is having fun with the role, and Diaz proves again she's got good comic timing, although it would've benefited from some sharper wit and smarter choices instead of easy gimmicks. Director James Mangold (3:10 to Yuma, Walk the Line) makes the most of Knight and Day, despite the script and the overly obtuse title by letting the action and the charisma drive the story.

The chemistry is there -- although Cruise and Diaz can both alchemize stone, neither takes themselves too seriously while playing the sometimes ridiculous straight. Their support cast (including Paul Dano and Peter Sarsgaard) doesn't exactly shine -- they aren't dragging down the story, they aren't hurting it, either.

Knight and Day is action candy that may not satiate your action cravings, but it’ll definitely take the edge off.