Knight and Day (2010)

Review: written Apr 2011

Polished but anodyne caper movie

Beauty needs imperfection to truly be perfected. Cindy Crawford needs her mole to truly be beautiful. Harrison Ford needs that little scar to make that face truly unique. And movies need their imperfections too.. it's the accidents that happen that create those perfect moments of cinema, the magical moments that you remember. And yes, that is exactly what is missing here... we have the perfect star pedigree of Cruise and Diaz, the exotic locations with perfect weather, the polished concept of a caper movie combining action and romance with comedy, the likes of which Cary Grant and Hitchcock excelled. So what's the problem? It's well enough executed, the action scenes are well choreographed and storyboarded... but it has no magical moments. It's an airbrushed movie, with the car chases not quite getting the pulse racing, because as excellent as the CGI is, and as innovative as some of the ideas are, you never quite believe it when it's this polished. As well rehearsed as the smiles and faces full of perfect teeth are, you never quite feel the chemistry is real, just well rehearsed.

For the record, plotwise Diaz is an everyday woman not quite satisfied with her place in the world but not knowing anything more... until she meets Cruise apparently accidentally, who draws her into a world of espionage, plane crashes, shootouts, car chases and general melee, interspersed with toothy grins and cocktail making skills in exotic and romantic locations around the world. Is he a rogue spy, is he using her, or is he a framed man, the only honest one she should really trust?

That's the idea - recreate a caper movie, for a new generation, with a woman as the `everyman'. The balance between humour and action never quite sticks though.. the tone never finds its way as the punch of action scenes is lost with the addition of hokey attempts at comedy and romance, and the romance lost due to.. well, just a lack of chemistry frankly. If the film deserves any credit, it's for the admirable use of some terrific and varied locations.

In the end though, what is Cindy Crawford without her mole? What do perfect features become without that imperfection to draw attention to the beauty? What happens when the scars and blemishes, the wrinkles are magicked away..? You're left with just a Barbie doll, a plastic version of the real thing... and what we have here is a Barbie doll of a movie, lacking character or moments to remember. Polish has turned to airbrush, and while you might survive the movie without being too bored, it will fade from your memory faster than it took to watch it.

Sorry, as pleasant as all the ingredients were, this just didn't work for me. Switch off the brain and relish the locations and undeniable charm of the stars, you'll do ok - but beware, don't let any analytical thought start to furrow your brow.