After a decade of Spy-on-the-run flicks ranging from the entertaining ( The BOURNE Series) to the mundane (KILLERS). Let’s stop kidding ourselves, they didn’t do whatever the government suits claim they did. If they did though, it wasn’t for the reasons given. In KNIGHT AND DAY, Tom Cruise plays a super spy hunted by the government for taking a valuable piece of technology. A chance encounter with Cameron Diaz ends up linking the pair on their adventure. Read my thoughts on KNIGHT AND DAY below.

The best way to describe KNIGHT AND DAY is that it is like a carousel. The story begins with Roy catching a flight that June (Cameron Diaz) also happens to be booked on. Government officials put agents on the flight and before long Roy and June are globetrotting fending off weapons dealers and shady double agents. What is the big chase about? Roy has a battery, a battery that never runs out. His former partner set him up, so he took the battery and the inventor while attempting to clear his name. June is just along for the ride, but of course, they start to fall for each other.

The action is the most entertaining part of the film. Roy takes out a dozen people on the plane, including the pilots, while barely breaking a sweat and having a drink ready for June when she gets out of the restroom. Lots of car chases and shootouts fill the movie with a few sequences of hand to hand combat. Roy and June collect a lot of miles on their Airline account, going around America, Europe, South America and even Roy’s secret island. Other than a few cool action set pieces, there is little left in the film to really entertain the audience.

Tom Cruise does little to lift the movie from generic, which is unfortunate because he is genuinely a good actor. However, KNIGHT AND DAY feels more like a movie suited to launch someone’s career rather than be fitted for a big star. Cameron Diaz isn’t known for her action flicks, she actually seems fairly well suited for the role. Cruise dropped out of SALT to do KNIGHT AND DAY, so that may explain why it doesn’t seem like the right role for him. His playful banter with Diaz is funny but almost crosses the line into absurd. He is intensely talkative during some of the action scenes, then pulls back and is reserved when things slow down. Cameron Diaz doesn’t overplay her role, although she seems to pick up a good shooting habit in one particular chase scene which seemed odd.

The carousel goes around in a circle (predictable) but the ride is fun if you’ve never been on one. After a while, the ride loses it’s novelty. Nothing about KNIGHT AND DAY makes it stand out from the rest of the Spy-on-the-run flicks other than its decent action and somewhat playful banter. Too often, though, the movie relies on self-sustaining numerous repetition, like June constantly being drugged. KNIGHT AND DAY is another summer popcorn flick that not even star power will keep from being ultimately forgettable.

Fanboyz Grade: C