Knight and Day (2010)

Directed by: James Mangold | 110 minutes | action, comedy | Actors: Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Peter Sarsgaard, Maggie Grace, Paul Dano, Marc Blucas, Viola Davis, Jordi Mollà, Stream, Liam Ferguson, Nicole Signore, Hugo Garcia, Falk Hentschel, Kal Thompson, Brian Dykstra, Jerrell Lee, Mark Wallace, Matthew Lawler

James Mangold is a known genre hopper. With teen drama (“Girl, Interrupted”), biopic (“Walk the Line”) and western (“3:10 to Yuma”), the American director achieved great artistic success. In between the acts he made a romantic comedy and a thriller. With ‘Knight and Day’ Mangold tries something new: an action comedy with a touch of romance. The result is somewhere between ‘Mission: Impossible’, ‘Transporter’ and the complete James Bond catalogue. Without it getting really good.

The fact that ‘Knight and Day’ cannot match Mangold’s standard has everything to do with the source material. In ‘Girl, Interrupted’ he could draw on an autobiography, in ‘Walk the Line’ the life of country legend Johnny Cash was the inspiration. ‘3:10 to Yuma’ was a remake of an old western. The story of ‘Knight and Day’ comes from the careful pen of an inexperienced screenwriter and it shows. It results in a formula film that does not deviate even an inch from the beaten path and that does not allow any surprises in the story.

That’s not the only problem. Before the bodies start piling up, you need to know who the good guys are and who the bad guys are in an action comedy. In the first half hour of ‘Knight and Day’ that knowledge is lacking. Main character Roy Miller resembles an unstable member of the paramilitary branch of the Church of Scientology. A little scary, a little crazy, a little strange statements. Only when the darkness is dispelled after half an hour can you, as a viewer, enjoy all the downed crooks. Until then, it’s mostly discomfort.

Against all negatives is the craftsmanship of Mangold and his crew. The action sequences look great and are pretty over the top, the jokes are mostly funny (although too much in the blonde woman genre anymore), and there’s more than enough chemistry between Cruise and Diaz. The locations – Salzburg, Seville, Bounty Island, New York – each have their own charm, where the alternation between sunny and chilly, modern and classic works well. And then there is the speed with which the story is told and which ensures that boredom is excluded. ‘Knight and Day’ has not become an annoying film, although you will have forgotten it again when the credits are still running.