Knight and Day

How can people hate Tom Cruise? He makes really enjoyable, well-done action films. Every Friday night for a year could be taken up by a Tom Cruise movie and that'd be a perfectly enjoyable year. His films range from 6.75 to 8.5 on the ratings, never higher, never lower. Most of them are very good 7.5s to 8s. The guy is a genuine movie star and he certainly puts the effort in to make the films as good as he can. This one is interesting. It's a MI movie that he wanted to make comedic. And it works for the whole. I know it was panned at the time, and I know Cameron Diaz's character isn't doing much for the advancement of women. But it's a really enjoyable 1 lhr 45. 7.25/10

This fits with right in with those espionage romcoms that got popular around that time. Most of those films are completely forgettable and bland, but this is slightly better than average because of Cruise’s skill as an action star and Mangold’s direction. The camerawork is very run of the mill, but the score occasionally adds an interesting touch. The set pieces are decent (too much obvious CGI, but also way better than what’s needed for a movie like this), while on the other hand the romcom stuff is a lot more predictable and boring. Diaz and Cruise are fine, and while they have some alright chemistry, their interactions could’ve used punchier, meaner dialogue. The plot’s as much of an afterthought as you’d expect, though it does a good job at avoiding the biggest cliches. Look, it’s Mangold having fun, and occasionally I had fun with him. However, ultimately it’s too formulaic and cutting a lot of corners creatively. 4.5/10