So after being kind of quiet for a couple of years (on-screen anyway) Tom Cruise returns to haunt/illuminate depending upon your preference, the screen in 2010's Knight and Day.
Now to be honest there isn't really an awful lot to cover with Knight and Day. Its both enjoyably, and painfully formulaic skirting the line between action, comedy and romance in order to appeal to both boys and girls Knight and Day would be completely forgettable if it were not for its leads; the previously mentioned Cruise and Cameron Diaz.
So as already mentioned, the whole thing is really, really formulaic: Cruise is our indestructable hero thats in control of the situation all the time (even when it looks like he isn't), Diaz the audience surrogate/romantic lead who's life is lacking - she doesn't know what but then Cruise turns up and she realises etc. etc.
The two leads keep the whole thing afloat really, the chemistry shared between the two keeps the whole thing going (Cruise's face as Diaz propositions him, Diaz scrutinising Cruises suave lines), you'd be hard pressed to believe that the pair do not enjoy working with each other. Thankfully the pair are capable of balancing the workload as it seems the film was intended to be a two star-vehicle as the other characters are minor roles with very little screen time.
There is little that can be said about Mangold's direction, no moments of jarring or intrusive camerawork come to mind, however neither do any of creativity leaving me unsure about the quality his next feature The Wolverine (July 2013).
There are a few other minor areas of contention, such as the use of CGI bulls and the standard appearance of the MacGuffin but the whole thing doesn't take itself seriously, expecting you to get lost in the action or the chemistry.
Just to sidetrack for a minute, having earlier mentioned about the film appealing to both boys and girls but given the age of its stars it seems incredibly unlikely that this film appeals to anyone under 25, at the most it would be a first date movie - due to its relative briskness and sense of fun. I find it more likely that this draws in people who are familiar with Diaz's and Cruise's body of work so 30+, I mean the majority of younger will not know who Tom Cruise is and in all likeliness will not have seen many/any of his films. Diaz shares a similar problem, granted the younger audience will be more aware of her but only for her attractivenss - which will soon prove a problem as Diaz is getting on, she really does need more roles like Jenny from Gangs of New York under her belt.
Although formulaic the whole things good fun and Cruise and Diaz share an enjoyable chemistry that lights the screen.
3.75
Now to be honest there isn't really an awful lot to cover with Knight and Day. Its both enjoyably, and painfully formulaic skirting the line between action, comedy and romance in order to appeal to both boys and girls Knight and Day would be completely forgettable if it were not for its leads; the previously mentioned Cruise and Cameron Diaz.
So as already mentioned, the whole thing is really, really formulaic: Cruise is our indestructable hero thats in control of the situation all the time (even when it looks like he isn't), Diaz the audience surrogate/romantic lead who's life is lacking - she doesn't know what but then Cruise turns up and she realises etc. etc.
The two leads keep the whole thing afloat really, the chemistry shared between the two keeps the whole thing going (Cruise's face as Diaz propositions him, Diaz scrutinising Cruises suave lines), you'd be hard pressed to believe that the pair do not enjoy working with each other. Thankfully the pair are capable of balancing the workload as it seems the film was intended to be a two star-vehicle as the other characters are minor roles with very little screen time.
There is little that can be said about Mangold's direction, no moments of jarring or intrusive camerawork come to mind, however neither do any of creativity leaving me unsure about the quality his next feature The Wolverine (July 2013).
There are a few other minor areas of contention, such as the use of CGI bulls and the standard appearance of the MacGuffin but the whole thing doesn't take itself seriously, expecting you to get lost in the action or the chemistry.
Just to sidetrack for a minute, having earlier mentioned about the film appealing to both boys and girls but given the age of its stars it seems incredibly unlikely that this film appeals to anyone under 25, at the most it would be a first date movie - due to its relative briskness and sense of fun. I find it more likely that this draws in people who are familiar with Diaz's and Cruise's body of work so 30+, I mean the majority of younger will not know who Tom Cruise is and in all likeliness will not have seen many/any of his films. Diaz shares a similar problem, granted the younger audience will be more aware of her but only for her attractivenss - which will soon prove a problem as Diaz is getting on, she really does need more roles like Jenny from Gangs of New York under her belt.
Although formulaic the whole things good fun and Cruise and Diaz share an enjoyable chemistry that lights the screen.
3.75
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