Review

Review Date: 27-June-10
Spoiler Rating: Medium
Juju Judgment: Juicy

Knight and Day (2010)

Escapism at the movies comes in several forms. You've got your superheroes, your alien attacks, your buddy cops, and your video game/theme park fantasies. Each is meant to transport you to past, present, or future worlds which are more exciting than the one you live in. Sometimes you get a movie about escapism itself, in which the people on screen are out to avoid their own realities. Knight and Day is such a movie, and the common desire of character and viewer largely explains how it overcomes a weak ending and questionable plot.

Unlike Date Night, another recent escapism-within-the-picture picture, Knight and Day does not begin with characters who are noticeably suffering in their lives, so their flight is a pleasant surprise rather than a catharsis. In fact, CIA agent Roy Miller and classic car mechanic June Havens do not fully realize they have been in a rut. As played by Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, Roy and June have the fitting look of prom royalty slightly worn around the edges, people who missed the promise of their youth but are not yet hopelessly jaded. Their likability stems from an opening that gives them sufficient introduction as both individuals and potential lovers. This happens in the Wichita airport and a plane to Boston, when sparks fly and June learns that the guy on whom she has set her sights is a trained killer and, perhaps, a madman.

Having disposed of the crew and crash-landed the plane himself, Roy leaves June with the advice to beware other secret agents who may come calling. She tries to return to her routine but, sure enough, she is soon visited by shady guys in black cars. The dull respectability of June's normal life is suggested by her sister's wedding and her own suitor, whose name, Rodney, and puppy-like demeanor set off "boring!" alarms. So one can only cheer when June is sucked back into Roy's crazy world of car chases, flying bullets, and double-crosses, all focused on a stolen battery — yes, as in the Energizer Bunny, only longer lived. This is pretty lame as objects of intrigue go, but at least it takes them to cool places like Salzburg and Seville (where the couple, regrettably parted, reunites in one of the most gorgeous villas I have ever seen).

This movie should clearly have been called "Safe and Secure," and its current title is another thing the stars and their affability must overcome. They do. Neither June nor Roy changes much during their adventure — she remains doggedly sweet, he charmingly off-kilter — and yet they forge a connection which points them in a new direction. Considering the reach and viciousness displayed by their pursuers throughout the film, it seems likely that they would be hunted down within a few weeks after the happy ending. But, hey, that is the kind of negative thinking that June and Roy, to their credit, seem to dispel.

Copyright © 2010 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.