Impossible missions dealer 'Tom Cruise', paired with the one of the underrated actress of all time 'Cameron Diaz', comes the starrer "Knight and Day". Roy Miller (Tom Cruise), an eccentric secret agent who is on a run from the CIA, encounters the airport entering innocent June Havens (Cameron Diaz), a classic car restorer. Their bags get switched and both gets attracted to each other in their first sight, even though they don't say it. June Havens want to restore her father's 1966 Pontiac GTO tri-power car and likes to present it to her sister on her wedding day. She is in a hurry to attend her sister's wedding preparations but gets bumped on to a later flight. CIA Agent John Fitzgerald (Peter Sarsgaard), who is watching all this live airport feed presents a ticket to Havens for the same flight, believing that she has teamed up Miller. She is shocked to see that flight is traveling with only a handful of passengers. She catches Miller again and gets wooed by him. She enters the restroom and comforts herself and by the time she opens the door and starts kissing him, all the passengers, along with the pilots are killed by him. He lands the plane in the fields, sedates her with a drug and tells her to forget his identity.
Waking up at home, Havens struggles through a day fitting a bridesmaid's dress for her sister's wedding, and is shocked to learn her sister would like to sell their father's car. She is then picked up by a group of agents,
led by Fitzgerald. Miller arrives and, through a long gunfight on the
highway, kills several agents and reclaims June. She flees at the
first opportunity and contacts Rodney, a firefighter
and former boyfriend. Believing Havens is merely stressed and is
playing out a fantasy, Rodney takes her out; she tells him everything
that has happened to her, though he still does not understand. Miller
then arrives and pretends to take Havens hostage while holding everyone
else at gunpoint, fleeing with her.
Miller explains that Havens is safer with him and she agrees to follow him as they go to pick up Simon Feck (Paul Dano), a genius inventor who has created a perpetual energy battery called the Zephyr. Traveling to Brooklyn, Miller and Havens discover that Feck has fled from the warehouse he was hiding in, leaving a clue for Miller about his location. They are then attacked by henchmen sent by Spanish arms dealer, Antonio Quintana. After again being drugged, Havens drifts in and out of consciousness between their capture and escape from Quintana's men. Miller brings her to an island that is off-the-grid, which he uses as a safe house. Accepting a call from her sister after leaving in frustration, Havens accidentally leads Quintana's men straight to the hideaway. They try to kill Miller and Havens with an unmanned aerial vehicle. Before they escape by helicopter, Havens is knocked-out by Miller, since she is afraid of flying.
Miller reunites with Feck and they, with Havens, get on a train heading for Austria. Havens is attacked by Bernard,
an assassin sent by Quintana to retrieve the Zephyr and Feck, and kill
Miller. But Miller and Havens fight him and he is killed. Arriving at Salzburg, the three check into a hotel. Miller later leaves to meet with Naomi (Gal Gadot),
Quintana's henchwoman, to make a deal. Havens follows him and listens
to Miller's conversation, misunderstanding that he does not care for
her. Havens is picked up by Fitzgerald and C.I.A. Director Isabel George (Viola Davis),
who tell her that Miller was using her at the airport to smuggle in the
Zephyr when they bumped into each other; they convince her that he
doesn't love her. They also tell her that Miller is the traitor and
plans to trade the battery with Quintana. Heartbroken, Havens allows the
C.I.A. to find Miller back at the hotel. Miller escapes with the
battery, but is seemingly shot on the rooftop and falls to his death in
the river. Feck is taken into custody afterwards to Schwedelbach,
Germany, though it is later revealed that Fitzgerald has been the real
traitor all along and he captures Feck.
Returning home, Havens attends her sister's wedding, gets her things done but still she's unable to forget Miller. Then she heads to an address she remembered from Miller's smart phone, where she finds his parents and learns that his real name is Matthew Knight. They believe their son, a former Army sergeant and Eagle Scout, is dead; but they are fabulously wealthy from winning lotteries and sweepstakes they don't remember entering. She come to know that Miller is an excellent swimmer and won many trophies. Leaving a message on her own answering machine that she has the Zephyr, she is captured by Quintana's men and taken to Sevilla, Spain. She is drugged with a prototype truth serum before being rescued by Miller, who was tracking Fitzgerald, who was delivering Feck to Quintana.
Chaos erupts throughout the streets and Quintana is killed by a bull stampede. At the docks, Miller saves Feck from a bullet wound
after handing over the Zephyr in a small pouch. Feck later reveals that
the battery is unstable and it explodes, killing Fitzgerald. Miller
collapses from the gunshot and is hospitalized in Washington D.C..
George apologizes to Miller about the antagonism between him and
Fitzgerald, but tells him to let go of Havens and return to the C.I.A.,
however, she uses euphemisms that imply he will be killed by the agency
the next day, saying he “will be safe” and “he will be transferred to a
secure location” (code language revealed to Havens earlier in the film
that means a person will be killed).
Miller realizes that the agency will not risk him possibly going rogue again and will likely kill him to prevent it. Shortly after George leaves the room, the nurse in the room, who heard the coded language, drugs Miller; the nurse is Havens. After Havens breaks Miller out of the hospital, he wakes up in the rebuilt GTO that belonged to her father. After Miller asks what day it is, Havens kisses him and says it is someday, a reference to the start of the film, where they both say that they have things they want to do someday. Havens begins to drive towards Cape Horn. Miller's parents unexpectedly receive tickets to Cape Horn in the mail and decide to go.
I believe this film is one of the most underrated action films, for both Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. Cruise, who is best known for his spine chilling action movies like Mission: Impossible Series, Top Gun, Jack Reacher etc. took this action comedy to a next level. What I like the most in this film is in-depth level of writing and character treatment. Roy Miller, who mistakenly uses June Havens for Zephyr smuggling, shakes the heaven and earth to save her from the CIA henchmen. He knew all time that Havens is following her and he sacrifices Feck for Havens to make her attend, her sister's wedding in time. Although he pretends to be dead to his parents, he never left them but constantly takes care of them. Not only caring about Feck and Havens, he makes the Rodney (fire fighter) a neighborhood hero. He's the real 'Knight'. June Havens, who is innocent, naive, portrayed as a damsel at distress at first transforms into a character driven woman as the film prolongs. She tracks the Miller's parents and bad guys, gains confidence on her decisions towards Miller, though the world believes him to be an eccentric agent who went rouge. At the end of the movie she even kidnaps Miller from the hospital and reunites him with his parents. There is a progression in her character where only a handful number of action films does that. This film has all the qualities to be a Mission: Impossible series kind of films, where critics go gaga, just with Cruise's stunts. I was quite thrilled to watch it in the theater and the chill factor in this movie stills remained same overtime. Directed by James Mangold and written by Patrick O'Neill, Cruise and Diaz starrer action comedy 'Knight and Day' is definitely a worth watch. Do watch it, if you haven't.
Miller explains that Havens is safer with him and she agrees to follow him as they go to pick up Simon Feck (Paul Dano), a genius inventor who has created a perpetual energy battery called the Zephyr. Traveling to Brooklyn, Miller and Havens discover that Feck has fled from the warehouse he was hiding in, leaving a clue for Miller about his location. They are then attacked by henchmen sent by Spanish arms dealer, Antonio Quintana. After again being drugged, Havens drifts in and out of consciousness between their capture and escape from Quintana's men. Miller brings her to an island that is off-the-grid, which he uses as a safe house. Accepting a call from her sister after leaving in frustration, Havens accidentally leads Quintana's men straight to the hideaway. They try to kill Miller and Havens with an unmanned aerial vehicle. Before they escape by helicopter, Havens is knocked-out by Miller, since she is afraid of flying.
Returning home, Havens attends her sister's wedding, gets her things done but still she's unable to forget Miller. Then she heads to an address she remembered from Miller's smart phone, where she finds his parents and learns that his real name is Matthew Knight. They believe their son, a former Army sergeant and Eagle Scout, is dead; but they are fabulously wealthy from winning lotteries and sweepstakes they don't remember entering. She come to know that Miller is an excellent swimmer and won many trophies. Leaving a message on her own answering machine that she has the Zephyr, she is captured by Quintana's men and taken to Sevilla, Spain. She is drugged with a prototype truth serum before being rescued by Miller, who was tracking Fitzgerald, who was delivering Feck to Quintana.
Chaos erupts throughout the streets and Quintana is killed by a bull stampede. At the docks, Miller saves Feck from a bullet wound
after handing over the Zephyr in a small pouch. Feck later reveals that
the battery is unstable and it explodes, killing Fitzgerald. Miller
collapses from the gunshot and is hospitalized in Washington D.C..
George apologizes to Miller about the antagonism between him and
Fitzgerald, but tells him to let go of Havens and return to the C.I.A.,
however, she uses euphemisms that imply he will be killed by the agency
the next day, saying he “will be safe” and “he will be transferred to a
secure location” (code language revealed to Havens earlier in the film
that means a person will be killed).
Miller realizes that the agency will not risk him possibly going rogue again and will likely kill him to prevent it. Shortly after George leaves the room, the nurse in the room, who heard the coded language, drugs Miller; the nurse is Havens. After Havens breaks Miller out of the hospital, he wakes up in the rebuilt GTO that belonged to her father. After Miller asks what day it is, Havens kisses him and says it is someday, a reference to the start of the film, where they both say that they have things they want to do someday. Havens begins to drive towards Cape Horn. Miller's parents unexpectedly receive tickets to Cape Horn in the mail and decide to go.
I believe this film is one of the most underrated action films, for both Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. Cruise, who is best known for his spine chilling action movies like Mission: Impossible Series, Top Gun, Jack Reacher etc. took this action comedy to a next level. What I like the most in this film is in-depth level of writing and character treatment. Roy Miller, who mistakenly uses June Havens for Zephyr smuggling, shakes the heaven and earth to save her from the CIA henchmen. He knew all time that Havens is following her and he sacrifices Feck for Havens to make her attend, her sister's wedding in time. Although he pretends to be dead to his parents, he never left them but constantly takes care of them. Not only caring about Feck and Havens, he makes the Rodney (fire fighter) a neighborhood hero. He's the real 'Knight'. June Havens, who is innocent, naive, portrayed as a damsel at distress at first transforms into a character driven woman as the film prolongs. She tracks the Miller's parents and bad guys, gains confidence on her decisions towards Miller, though the world believes him to be an eccentric agent who went rouge. At the end of the movie she even kidnaps Miller from the hospital and reunites him with his parents. There is a progression in her character where only a handful number of action films does that. This film has all the qualities to be a Mission: Impossible series kind of films, where critics go gaga, just with Cruise's stunts. I was quite thrilled to watch it in the theater and the chill factor in this movie stills remained same overtime. Directed by James Mangold and written by Patrick O'Neill, Cruise and Diaz starrer action comedy 'Knight and Day' is definitely a worth watch. Do watch it, if you haven't.
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