I saw “Knight and Day,” and am wondering what Tom Cruise was thinking when he signed on for this one. Maybe the prospect of working with Cameron Diaz again was too enticing, or he needed a break from serious dramas, but whatever the reason, I’m surprised he would do a film like this. I’m not saying it was bad; it just wasn’t Tom Cruise-worthy. Say what you will about him as a person, the guy has the Midas touch when it comes to picking projects. Face it, everything he’s done over the past 25 years has been a success, either financially, critically or both – the guy hasn’t had a single flop. Not a one. This one may challenge that streak. The thing about Tom Cruise is, he’s an amazingly charismatic person. In his movies, if he doesn’t try to be charming, he’s incredibly charming. If he tries, it comes off as disingenuous. That happened in this movie. He was good, but not what I would consider Tom Cruise-good. He’s at his best when being absolutely serious, even when his character is displaying some other emotion (“Magnolia;” “Lions for Lambs”). It seemed like he was trying too hard to pretend to be a loose cannon, even though his character was a highly-trained machine. It just didn’t work for me. The best way to describe Cameron Diaz (aside from “hot”), is “delightful.” Seriously. She was absolutely delightful to watch in this movie. She has such a sincerity about her in all that she does, and it was on full display in this movie. On the down side, I’m wondering what leverage Peter Sarsgaard has on Hollywood producers to keep getting put into major motion pictures, because he’s terribly unremarkable in just about everything he does, and his mediocrity is on display in this one. The writing was pedestrian, at best. The direction was middle-of-the-road, at best. The production, however, was fantastic. Exotic location shoots, creative shootout sequences and exciting car chases made for a lot of fun to watch. The biggest downside was the over-the-top action sequences. Now, anyone who reads my reviews knows that I’m not a big fan of what I call “the action orgy,” where hundreds of bullets fly, buildings and cars explode, and our heroes defy the very laws of physics to escape certain death, and there was a lot of that in this one. The sequences were good, just too unrealistic. If you’re looking for something lighthearted and funny, with genuine chemistry between the stars, then this one’s for you. I had hoped for more out of a Tom Cruise vehicle, but all in all it was OK, so I’ll recommend giving it a view. $3 06/26/10
Posted on: Sun, 25 May 2014 22:53:09 +0000
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