Movie with Abe: Knight and Day

Knight and Day
Directed by James Mangold
Released June 23, 2010

What could be better than a light, entertaining summer action blockbuster? Aside from a smart breakout independent drama, pretty much nothing. This film doesn’t waste time on silly things like character development, plot, common sense, or continuity since none of that is truly important to what it’s trying to be. It knows exactly what it is, and it excels at being just that. For one critic horribly dismayed by the awfulness of “The Last Airbender” one Sunday morning, a successive showing of “Knight and Day” was just the remedy needed that delivered action, laughs, smiles, and a genuinely great time for 109 minutes.

It’s wonderful to be able to say that everything in “Knight and Day” works great. The action scenes build on each other, and they’re fast-paced, non-stop, and a whole lot of fun. It’s sort of like a mix of “Mission Impossible” and “Speed” that makes a bit more sense than the former and isn’t quite as substantive of the latter. Even more refreshing is the fact that the film’s two stars are doing exactly what they should be doing with their careers right now.

After some choice critical and box-office successes in the 80s, 90s, and 00s, Tom Cruise hasn’t quite done well for himself in the past with some wild behavior and film roles in duds like “Lions for Lambs” and “Valkyrie” over the past couple of years. An amalgam of the roles he played in “Mission Impossible” and “Collateral,” Roy Miller is a perfect return to form for Cruise. He has exactly the right mannerisms, charisma, and comic timing to pull off this action hero-villain part and to do it with a permanent smile.

Cameron Diaz, who tried serious acting a number of years ago and ended up with a few Golden Globe nominations to show for it (“Being John Malkovich,” “Vanilla Sky,” “Gangs of New York”), feels right at home as the blissfully unaware June Havens, who first meets Roy at an airport and finds her life thrown for a loop as a result of their interactions. Diaz is sweet, funny, and most importantly, willing to let herself be swept up in this adventure while asking remarkably few questions about the situation. It’s a model mindset for the audience, and letting go of all worldly concerns and getting immersed in the thrill of “Knight and Day” is just the recipe for an equally fun and forgettable summer movie.

B+