Knight and Day (Blu-ray Review)
Knight and Day represents a return to form for Tom Cruise who had a choice of movies to pick from (The Tourist was one of them) before he decided to sign on to this movie. I believe it was a good decision since Knight and Day lets Tom Cruise be Tom Cruise. There’s a lot of action and humor in the movie and it really provides a showcase to remind people why Tom Cruise became a movie star in the first place.
Film 
The movie is basically an updated retelling of Charade but with a lot more action. A chance encounter in an airport between Roy Miller (Tom Cruise) and June Havens (Cameron Diaz) starts an adventure that sends them all over the world. What June doesn’t realize is that the cute guy that she’s thinking about hitting on is actually a spy on the run from his own agency and some assorted bad guys.
Roy has taken something that could revolutionize the world to protect it and it’s inventor from outside interests that want to capitalize on it. Of course, there’s also the possibility that Roy may have gone rogue so he could sell it himself. He is being chased by his old partner FBI Special Agent Fitzgerald (Peter Saarsgard) whom Roy claims wanted to kill the inventor and take the item for himself.
So when Roy and June end up taking the same plane to Boston that’s filled with assassins that are there to kill Roy, it’s just a matter of time before June is also caught up in the action. It doesn’t help that June keeps screwing things up so much that the bad guys keep finding them. I really wondered why Roy kept her along for the ride since she was much more trouble than she was worth, but I guess that version wouldn’t have been as date-friendly a movie as this one.
Cruise’s Roy is basically an American James Bond. He can do and survive anything and although he shares Bond’s indestructibility, he doesn’t have Bond’s world-weariness or cold demeanor. Bond has cut himself off emotionally to provide a distance to allow him to do his job while Roy is the complete opposite. Roy is friendly and outgoing and doesn’t bother hiding his emotions. They both have a weakness for women which can compromise their missions but Roy seems to be helping June because he cares about her and not just because he wants to sleep with her.
Knight and Day has some terrific action scenes and a lot of cool stunts that Tom Cruise did himself. The chase scenes were cool and exciting and I really liked how they were planned out. There’s a ton of plot-holes that are big enough to drive a truck through and the ending is very predictable, but between the stunts and the star wattage of Cruise and Cameron, I didn’t really mind. This is a fun adventure movie and I love these kind of movies. Most of the time, they are predictable, just like the Bond movies, but at the same time they can also be original in how they stage the action scenes or the stunts. The blend of humor and action is irresistible and I was glad to see Cruise return to they type of role that he is so good at.
Video
This gorgeous 1080p (2.40:1) transfer is simply amazing. The colors are vivid, the black levels are solid, and the detail shown is reference quality. This transfer allows all of the amazing locations from Jamaica and Austria to Boston and Spain to look as inviting as possible.
Audio
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix is also very, very good. With a strong ambient field that is spread out across all of the channels, this is a great mix. The dialogue is clear and crisp and the sound effects are equally impressive and add a lot of punch. This is one of those mixes that you might have to turn down during action sequences so you don’t get yelled at by the wife.
Special Features
The good news is that all of these are in high definition but the bad news is that there isn’t any substantive extras on the disc and there are no commentaries at all. For someone as publicity aware as Cruise, it seems odd to not have a better set of extras. I did enjoy seeing the obligatory “Tom Cruise did all of his own stunts “clips where he really did the stunts which was pretty impressive. It’s too bad that everyone will think it’s CGI or a stuntman and not him.
- Wilder Knights and Crazier Days – A look back at the making of the film with interviews with the cast and crew. At a little over twelve minutes, this doesn’t go into any depth but it is interesting and has some good info.
- Boston Days and Spanish Knights – A look at the various film locations from Jamaica and Austria to Boston and Spain.
- Knight and “Someday” – My least favorite extra on the disc focuses on Tom Cruise’s request for the The Black Eyed Peas to write a song for the movie and we see him and Katie Holmes visit the band backstage during their 2010 world tour where he joins them onstage and also at the secret after-party where they debut the new song.
- Viral Video: Soccer – A short clip of Cruise and Diaz kicking what looks like a CGI soccer ball back and forth.
Even if it is CGI, they had the moves down well. If it was real, then color me impressed. - Viral Video: Kick – This clip has Cruise showing Diaz how to kick someone in the chest with him standing in for the stuntman. It’s highly predictable but nevertheless very funny how it progresses.
- Knight and Day: Story – More interview clips concerning the movie and the story. I really hate it when they take one interview and chop it up into little bits just to make it look like you are getting more extras than you really are.
- Knight and Day: Scope – Don’t bother watching this if you’ve watched the other extras before it since this is all recycled clips that were shown in earlier extras.
- Theatrical Trailer
- BD-Live Exclusive – Not Your Regular Spy – Short promo for the movie.
Final Thoughts
This is a very light and enjoyable movie and 20th Century Fox did a great job on this Blu-ray although I wish the extras were done better. It’s a shame that this movie didn’t do as well as it should have, but it had tough competition when it came out and hopefully it will find it’s audience on Blu-ray and DVD.
Order your copy today!
Everyone is saying that this film is entertaining as hell. Cruise also dropped out of Salt to be in this. The trailers looked awful, though.
I may give it a spin.
I think you will like it. It’s a good action/comedy movie. The plot is nothing to write home about but it’s entertaining.
As much as I enjoyed this movie, I have a feeling, Gerard, that you wont like it that much.
Darn! You beat me Aaron! That’s exactly what I was going to say! This is not Gerard’s proverbial cup of tea, not at all!
I’m a big James Mangold fan, though. Could this be considered a “paycheck” film?
I don’t think so. I admire how James Mangold has moved between many different genres of films. It’s a big studio movie yes, but I would like to think he wanted to do this movie.
I agree with Aaron. This isn’t a paycheck movie for him at all. Actually, I think he relished the chance to make something a little different. He’s a good director and I really like the direction he took with the movie especially with the action and the chases.
The bull scene in the trailer bothers me.
Why? It was a real shot. That was really Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz escaping the bulls on a motorcycle.
It still looks ridiculous. I would agree that it fits with the tone of the rest of the film, but I know what Gerard is talking about.
I looked at this movie as an American James Bond movie so it fit right in for me. All of the Bond movies have some over the top moments but we accept them because it’s Bond. The bull chase didn’t faze me at all. I was glad to see something different happen during a car chase. Hey Gerard, this movie is better than five Carpenter movies combined! LOL j/k
@Sean – those is fightin’ words.
Why do some of those bulls look cgi-ish? Why does that whole scene look like a composite?
As far as the James Bond comparison, I’ll only give the Bond stuff from the past (before Brosnan) a pass as far as cheesy goes. Everything after Goldeneye was garbage. I did like Daniel Craig’s Bond(s), though.
Ha Ha Ha. I thought that would rile you up! 🙂
I’m not saying that there wasn’t some digital manipulation done after the fact, but they really did do the stunt. They have a bunch of clips showing Cruise doing the stunts and a whole section was on that bull chase. He talked about how Diaz decided to ride with him during the chase and how she almost cut off his oxygen from squeezing too tight. It was pretty funny actually.
I love the James Bond series although some of them could’ve been better. Connery was the best but all of them were good in the role in different ways. Give this movie a shot and you might like it.
If someone reviews a Bond Blu-Ray at some point, I can get into my opinions on that series. (Quantum is worse than Moonraker)
Okay, so I finally popped this in but had to turn it off after the first 30 minutes. I could not go on. It was garbage. This is a total paycheck film for James Mangold. I was so disappointed. Here’s hoping that his follow up film brings him back to making quality cinema.
Good thing I Netflixed it, because I would have been pissed if I had bought it.
Knight and Day joins Prince of Persia as my top two WORST films of 2010.
It’s too bad that you didn’t even watch the whole movie. It’s hard to justify an opinion for a movie that you didn’t even watch. If Knight and Day and Prince of Persia are really your two worst movies of 2010, then you need to watch more movies.
I despised Troll 2 but I watched the whole damn thing to give it a fair chance. For all you know, Knight and Day’s last 50 minutes were completely brilliant but you will never know. In any case, I’m sorry the first 30 minutes were a disappointment to you. I honestly don’t believe this was a paycheck movie for Mangold. If this was a paycheck movie for him then by your standards so was 3:10 to Yuma.
No, because 3:10 to Yuma actually rocked. Knight and Day tried too damn hard to be what it was. If you can’t do it in the first 5-10 minutes, then you’re bound to fail. Sean, you seem to like everything, with the exception of Troll 2, so I don’t know what you mean about me not seeing enough films. Maybe you should be a little bit more objective.
My time is too valuable to waste in on something that doesn’t keep me entertained. Don’t get me wrong, if it would have been me reviewing the film, I would have totally watched everything on the disc, but that’s what’s so cool about Netflix. If it sucks early on I don’t have to finish it.
Oh, and there are more “worst of” 2010 films up my sleeve, but I don’t have time to write up a list. These two just happen to come out on top.
I guess you have an amazing ability to predict how the 3/4 of a movie you’ve never seen turns out. I also don’t like every movie that I see as there are plenty of movies that I don’t like. I always use Troll 2 as my example because I don’t think I can ever hate a movie as much as that one.
I don’t have a problem with people complaining about a movie that they actually saw, but I don’t like people slamming a movie that they didn’t even bother to really watch.
I “really watched” the first half hour and couldn’t go on. Why should I care if it “gets better” towards towards the end? That means that the first part of the movie is shitty. Screw that. I’d rather watch something else.
And that’s fine but I think if you didn’t bother to see the majority of the movie then you shouldn’t be badmouthing it. It doesn’t bother me that you didn’t like the first 30 minutes but I don’t understand your desire to trash a movie that you’ve barely seen.
Barely? 30 minutes is a third of the film. Are you kidding me? Regardless of who’s in it, if the film sucks 30 minutes in, it’s gonna suck until the end. I understand, you reviewed it, so you have a little bit more of a vested interest in this, but just because I say that the film sucks doesn’t mean I’m bringing down your review. In retrospect, Knight and Day got off easy. There are far worst films that I’ve had to sit all the way through that I wish I HAD turned off 30 minutes in.
I don’t expect everyone to always agree with my reviews so that has nothing to do with it. The only interest I have is that I don’t think you should badmouth a movie you haven’t watched all the way through. Obviously, you disagree with me and have no problem making blanket assumptions based on 30 minutes of view time. I have no problem with you not liking the movie but I don’t think it’s right to judge an entire movie based on the first 30 minutes.
30 minutes is a LONG TIME, Sean. If it couldn’t get its act straight in that third of the time, then I cannot take the risk of seeing it until the end. Life is too short for shitty movies. Yes, even for 30 minute chunks of movies.
You’re missing my point. If you want to judge movies based on 30 minutes alone then that’s your loss. That’s a personal decision and you’re entitled to it, but I don’t think you should come on the site and badmouth a movie when you haven’t even seen most of it. It’s not fair to the movie and in my opinion it makes all of us look bad.
Ah, so why didn’t you say that to begin with? And how does it make us look bad? You reviewed it, not me. It doesn’t matter if I give it the benefit of the doubt.
So do make us look bad when I say “I’ll rent it” instead of saying “I’ll buy it?”
I’ve been saying that all along! It bothered me to see you call the movie “garbage” and “a paycheck film” when you didn’t even watch most of it. You seem to call a lot of movies garbage and I’m beginning to wonder if you’ve even watched all of those too.
When I say that you making pronouncements like that makes all of us look bad, I’m talking about what kind of image you are presenting. No, you didn’t review this movie but you are one of our staff reviewers and some people may not make the distinction. Not only that, but if I was one of our readers or a studio and saw that a reviewer for a site trashes a movie without even watching all of it, I would begin to suspect the integity of the site.
You say that if you are officially reviewing the movie then you watch all of it…but when you make statements like this then you open yourself up to the possibilty of people and studios wondering if you really do. If they think you might do that then they may think the same about the rest of us which would affect our credibility and the site’s.
I believe that you do watch all of the movies you write about but making reckless statements like this don’t serve any purpose and can cause a lot of problems for all of us. If you want to call a movie garbage then watch the whole movie and justify your reasons or don’t say anything at all if you can’t even bother to give the movie a fair chance.
And no, I don’t think saying “I’ll rent it” instead of saying “I’ll buy it” is bad. Saying that you aren’t interested in a movie isn’t an attack on the movie as it just didn’t catch your interest. Readers and studios can understand that. That’s a whole lot different than slamming a movie you haven’t watched. You went out of your way to trash this movie which crossed the line.
I’m still not sure how you came to all of those assumptions. There’s no reason to be paranoid.
I initially said that based off the trailers it looked bad. Then I wondered why this talented director picked this film as his follow up.
Then I followed it up with my displeasure for the first part of the film. I’m not allowed to comment on that? It’s “watch the entire film or you have no say in the matter?” I never went out of my way. If I did it was because you kept insisting on how cool this was and kept it going.
I don’t have to watch the entire film in order to chime in. I haven’t made any comment that wouldn’t be warranted that goes past the beginning of the film. If I were to start making a big deal about it having a horrible then that would be out of line since I had not seen the ending.
I don’t see where the studios would come into the picture. I’m not afraid if a studio comes on here and reads what I have to say. I’ve already been clear as to what I’ve seen and haven’t seen. I’m the casual viewer on this one. If it bothers you that much then delete every post of mine that has badmouthed this Citizen Kane of a picture.
It seems to me that you’re more upset that I disagreed with your opinion. I did go back and re-read my comments and every singe one of them have been responses to everyone of your comments. Justified.
If you don’t see something wrong with trashing a movie that you’ve barely watched then nothing I say will change your mind. If you want to risk your credibility due to your callous attitude about finishing movies before commenting with readers and studios you go right ahead.
So I’m not going to censure you at all. If you want to make unwarranted attacks on films you haven’t finished and Brian doesn’t have a problem with it, then you can keep on doing it. In any case, I really wish you would quit saying that I’m not happy that you disagreed with me. I honestly couldn’t care less whether or not you agree with me. Other reviewers have disagreed with me in the past and it didn’t bother me then either as long as they watched the movie. My problem with you is that you trashed a movie without actually watching the majority of it.
No one claimed that this movie was of Citizen Kane quality so I don’t appreciate your snide inference. If you really believe that your comments were justified for a movie you didn’t even finish then we don’t have anything more to talk about.
Whoa! I can’t even attempt to watch Citizen Kane 🙁
I’m not going to disagree with either of you.
Knight and Day was ridiculous, but I had a fun time with it. I stuck through to the very end and was disappointed by some of the plot holes and the way they got out of things, but it was so so.
Why can’t you watch Citizen Kane, Brian? It really is a great film. Freakin’ Orson Welles was a prodigy. He wrote and directed the film when he was only 27 years old. Of course, he looked way older. Citizen Kane is required viewing if you’re a cinephile.
At least we can agree on Citizen Kane. You should watch it Brian!