This one's not getting a lot of buzz and it should be.  A well-crafted, high quality blockbuster with enough thrills and comedy for anyone.  Lots of experimentation by the director and a solid script combine for a comfortably familiar but still thrilling 100 minutes.

Unfortunately, the story completely falls apart and begins to drag horribly in the third act, which is startling considering how tight and well-made the rest of the film is.  Still, up there with the best of summer blockbusters in recent years.  Cruise and Diaz prove that they're still every bit movie stars, and the film is a real film, with morals and thematic content!  Woohoo!  Also, the action's good (with the exception of some CG animals...when will they learn?), and it's funny.

I really recommend seeing this film.  It's not perfect, but it's how blockbusters should be, which is exactly what blockbusters haven't been the last few years.

Quick question, Heretic, real fast. If you saw it, did you like Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005)?

Mr. and Mrs. Smith didn't make a big impression on me, but I think I enjoyed it for the most part -- didn't find it memorable and probably wouldn't watch it again.

Knight and Day is different though.  It's a lot more old fashioned in a lot of ways; one gets the sense of something similar to, say, Foul Play, with Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase (although Knight and Day is a little more tight than that one, and perhaps a little less funny).  If I recall correctly, what Mr. and Mrs. Smith was missing was a true sense of danger or menace, and I think Knight and Day got there a little better.

Ok, that probably makes sense. It looked a lot like that to me, and Mr. and Mrs. Smith was some of the most boring action I've ever seen. So, knowing, or hearing, that it's different is a good thing. Still probably won't see it, though.

Quoted from Mr. Blonde Still probably won't see it, though.

You're not alone - this thing's been a financial embarrassment for ol' Scientology Tom. Lowest opening box office for a Cruise action pic in 20 years, apparently. The man just doesn't have star-power anymore...

Having said that, I actually wanted to see this one. But it's not out 'til August 8th here in the UK, by which point I'll have had my big-budget action thirst sated by Inception and The A-Team and will be more interested in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World...so I won't end up seeing Knight and Day.

Can anyone actually explain the logic to me of staggering release dates - sometimes by 5 months in the case of Up last year - between countries that speak the same language?! It's not like they need more time to dub it or write up subtitles...all it leads to as far as I can see is increased piracy - as people decide not to wait the extra 'x' months - or, as in my case, people forgetting about a film they were initially interested in. I just don't get it!

Quoted from JonnyBoy Can anyone actually explain the logic to me of staggering release dates - sometimes by 5 months in the case of Up last year - between countries that speak the same language?! It's not like they need more time to dub it or write up subtitles...all it leads to as far as I can see is increased piracy - as people decide not to wait the extra 'x' months - or, as in my case, people forgetting about a film they were initially interested in. I just don't get it!

Publicity.  It's all about publicizing.

The trailer for this looks very entertaining, and no matter what people say about Cruise, he's the best action star in the business. I'll be watching this on August 4th for sure.

The release dates annoy me, too. The A-Team is only out here next week when the Americans have had it for well over a month now. Off the top of my head, I can remember 2 films that were released in Britain before the USA. Prince of Persia and Transformers 2. Says it all really, if it's crap, send it over here first.

I haven't seen Knight and Day yet (and it has opened over here) but I'm beginning to feel a little sorry for Tom Cruise (the actor). It seems that most are going into his movies just looking for an excuse to blow it to pieces - the same thing happened with Valkyrie. Like I said, I haven't seen Knight and Day - so it might suck, but I've learned to take all the Tom Cruise hate with a pinch of salt.

You have to wonder if Cruise is kicking himself now that Salt opened at 37 million, just behind Inception.  Salt was written specifically for Cruise, I understand, and he bailed at the last minute to do the more light hearted Knight and Day.  Tom just can't buy a break these days.  

Definitely better than the reviews suggest. Some great action scenes, shootouts and a few funny moments too. Both the leads were great, especially liked Cameron Diaz with the truth serum in Spain.

It's not all good, though. Why did they drug Diaz or knock her out constantly? It felt like a bit of a cop out, especially when they were stranded on that little island with the bombs raining down on them. Would loved to have seen how they would have got themselves out of that one.

Very solid. 7/10

Quoted from JonnyBoy I actually wanted to see this one. But it's not out 'til August 8th here in the UK, by which point I'll have had my big-budget action thirst sated by Inception and The A-Team and will be more interested in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World...so I won't end up seeing Knight and Day.

Huh. So I did actually go and see this, over The A-Team no less. Maybe it was Cruise's and Diaz's appearance on Top Gear that did it for me, I don't know.

This was light-hearted whimsy. It was like the popcorn I was eating as I watched it - enjoyable, but not actually filling. An enjoyable way to pass two hours, but not really anything more. Then again, is that actually a bad thing? It was definitely a change of tone from Inception.

As Brian said though, it's not all good. I agree that constantly knocking Diaz out did grate after a while. It just seemed like a cheat to skip out certain sequences - for budgetary or imaginary reasons, I don't know.  For me, though, the main issue was one of indecision. It felt throughout as if the film couldn't quite decide what it wanted to be: an action film with moments of comedy, or an out-and-out action comedy? Hopefully anyone who's seen it will know what I mean. Some of the jokes and some of the action moments just lacked a tiny bit of conviction, as if it didn't want to fully commit to either direction. In the end it ended up somewhere between wanting to kick ass and tickle ribs. That's not to say it wasn't funny, or that some of the action set-pieces weren't entertaining. They were. It just felt like it was lacking a crucial extra bit of conviction. The certificate didn't help, either - again, it made it feel like it didn't want to throw all the weight behind its punches.

One final point: this film would be nothing without Cruise. The guy is an under-rated actor, and he's just so goddamn charismatic. Imagine Hugh Jackman, or someone like that in the role - it'd be half the film. I have a feeling Cruise will never win his Oscar, and there are lots of actors who are better at selling a character, but for big-budget, summer-movie enjoyability, despite the fact that he's having trouble landing a hit right now, in my opinion the guy's still got it.

So yeah, I enjoyed this. Will I get it on DVD? No. But it was fine.

Finally got around to checking this out the other night.  I was very pleasantly surprised.

For me, this worked on just about every level...it was definitely entertaining, it was funny, it was well acted and well put together, it was full of big action set pieces and big action stunts, and overall, just looked good.

Cruise and Diaz were both excellent, and even believable within the world the movie brought to life.

OK, now the facts...$117 Million budget, and a poor $76 Million NABO made this out to be a complete flop and Cruise's lowest grossing movie since Legend (Legend?  Damn, we're going way, way back here!).  But wait...there's a saving grace.  $185 Million foreign gross, for a WWBO of $262 Million.  That's not so bad now after all, is it?

Well, it's obvious that America isn't in love with Tom like they used to be, but I'll tell you, the guy can really act and plays the part of Big Budget Action Star like few can.  I've never been a big Cruise fan, but I have to say I really liked him here and he pulled off everything he was asked to do.

So, why didn't this fare better at the BO?  A couple things came to mind as I watched.  First of all, it had a mixed feel to it.  It was a PG 13 rated film, but was very, very violent in terms of body count and even in terms of its attitude toward violence.  It also contained 1 "shit" and 1 "fucking", which always surprises me how/why a PG 13 film both gets away with this and why it would even want these in there.  That mixed feel is also prevalent throughout the flick in terms of what it really is, as a few other posters mentioned.  Is it a comedy?  Is it an action film?  Is it both, or neither?

Hard to say, but I don't think the producers go it right in their marketing campaign, nor did they do themselves any favors with the generic poster art.  Too bad, too, as this was a very entertaining movie and one of only a few big budget entries of 2010 that I can actually say I really liked.

Best of luck to Mr. Cruise in his next outing.

**SPOILERS**

Hey Dreamscale, didn't you think, for an innocent guy, Tom Cruise sure killed a lot of innocent people while on the run?  I mean, not everyone was in on it, they were just following orders because they thought he'd gone rouge.  Especially on the plane.  That was a massacre.

Just saw this as well.  It's about what I expected, I suppose.  Great action scenes, great gunfights and Cruise and Diaz performed their roles with style.  But, I can see why this film tanked in the US.  It had a vanilla plot about a rogue agent and a device that could change the world.  Really, it had cliches from like ten different action movies in there.  The innocent person thrown into the chase, the nerdy inventor, the fellow agent who turns out to be the bad guy, etc.  The movie did a lot of things well, but did nothing great.  It was essentially one long chase scene.  Oh, and the title is weak.  Sounds more like a bad sitcom.  So, I'm guessing the failure of this film in the US market had more to do with it being a so-so movie than any ill will toward Tom Cruise.

  

Stokes, yeah, I definitely felt Cruise killed a shitload of people and seemed to have absolutely no problem doing it. Again, it's kind of that mixed, hard to pin down feel throughout the movie.  Even though it was ultra violent, it was all done with a smile...literally.

Ryan, I agree with your thoughts completely, but I don't agree it was a hohum, so-so movie overall.  Sure it was cliche, and sure it borrowed, or even stole from numerous other movies, but it was all well done, well plotted, and engaging from the very beginning to the very end.  That's all I ever ask and all I really need.  IMO, you don't need to reinvent the wheel, just keep it spinning.

I enjoyed this as well. Was really surprised. Yes, it had cliches. One it didn't is mentioned in the above posts. Yeah, Tom killed a shitload of people. That's what made it a bit fresh for me. He wasn't the innocent good spy slylie dodging bullets and taking people out with judo chops. He just wasted them and kept smiling.

Because the movie was so over the top, the motorcycle chase was great, but ridiculous, I don't think many cared that he killed all those people. Because the movie sets its tone immediately. Its not to be taken seriously.

Yes, I hate Tom Cruise. I just had a hard time hating his character in this.

James

I really enjoyed this movie too, I am surprised it flopped in the US, do people really dislike Tom Cruise this much now, I know he's a bit of a nut, but I don't think the quality of a film is based on an actors religious beliefs, well most of the time.  And the strange thing is most people who see this film seem to like it and a movie like little fockers which has doubled K&D don't really care for it, yet it still is bringing in the bucks, oh well, I hope this movie finds new life on dvd cuz I think most people will enjoy it.  And I see some comments on the violence, and yes it has a really high body count the violence isn't brutal at all and pretty bloodless.  I would call this movie perfect popcorn entertainment.

Thought I'd commented on this, but obviously not.

Anyway, the frankly pathetic loathing of Tom Cruise helped give birth to my 'Cruiseaholics' project. Highly amusing to see someone 'hate' Tom Cruise. I am having fun developing the character who channels this behaviour.

As Jeff said, Tom has some real acting chops and his huge star power (which I would say has evolved as opposed to disappeared) has prejudiced analysis of his performances. His body of work and the calibre of his directing collaborators are sufficient evidence of what the man can do. Mangold's comments regarding Tom after working with him show how he's revered by actual talent and not some up his own arse, never going to make it director/critic/world changer.

This film never really struck me but then again, 'Valkyrie' required a second viewing for me to appreciate it. Perhaps 'Knight and Day' will need that second go. My problem with it (aside from an uncharacteristic inebriation while film-watching) owed to the feeling it was very disjointed. It straddled different genres and struggled to gain that cohesive direction of TC's and Mangold's previous work.

RE: its relative BO "failure" (by any other standards than a TC vehicle, it wouldn't be a failure but a mid-range performer) can certainly be attributed in part to the ludicrous campaign against Tom's belief system - it says more about the viewer that they cannot separate an actor from his performances. Perhaps some negative reaction to the film can also be tagged there, too, but I think the unprecedented level of bile and vitriol thrown his way has coloured views and conditioned some people to reject his product. Their loss.

Quoted from Andrew RE: its relative BO "failure" (by any other standards than a TC vehicle, it wouldn't be a failure but a mid-range performer) can certainly be attributed in part to the ludicrous campaign against Tom's belief system - it says more about the viewer that they cannot separate an actor from his performances.

I don't care about his belief system. Nor does most of Hollywood IMO. It was him jumping on Oprah's couch declaring his love for Katie Holmes. Him telling Matt Lauer he doesn't understand Psychiatry. He's a fucking actor. And a douche bag.

Like i said, loved his acting in this role. Was able to forget about that other stuff while watching. I just don't give a shit for anything he has to say off camera. Unless he gets squirted in the face by a microphone squirt gun, that was funny. Tom not too good with his own lines. Called him a jerk like fifteen times. A bit redudndant.

James