A superfluous title, check. Occasional smugness, check. A blatant vanity project for both stars, check. This is all true of James Mangold’s action comedy, Knight & Day, yet this remains an enjoyable two hours. The success of Knight & Day lies in its awareness of the genre and the character it is lampooning and that character is Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt from the Mission: Impossible trilogy (1996 – 2006).
The action is extravagantly ambitious, the globe trotting even more absurd than Quantum of Solace (2008) and the plot – involving the ultimate battery – a feature that shouldn’t be focused upon too closely. It could be argued that Knight & Day is a smug action comedy, in the same way that Ocean’s Eleven was criticised for the enjoyment the actors seemed to be having (although, as long as the audience are enjoying it too, surely this is no bad thing). And actors such as Tom Cruise are easy targets for such criticism, yet here, the film is instantly more watchable and entertaining when he is on screen. The chemistry between Cruise and Cameron Diaz is easy and the banter flows. The action is well choreographed and while this is hardly pushing any boundaries for action or comedy, Knight & Day’s energy and charm is rare.
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