Critics have stampeded and are chasing down the hapless 'Knight and Day'.
A.O. Scott jumps on the bandwagon and posts an entertaining review that could just as easily be filed under 'vociferous complaint':
None of this would be objectionable if the director, James Mangold — who has acquitted himself admirably in such pictures as “Heavy,” “Cop Land,” “Walk the Line” and “3:10 to Yuma” — demonstrated any flair for silly, breakneck action choreography. Instead, the stars grimace (Mr. Cruise), screech (Ms. Diaz) and crack wise (both of them, gamely enunciating lines from a drab script by the first-timer Patrick O’Neill) in front of a green screen onto which computer-generated images have been slapped together with the meticulous care of a high school yearbook staff wielding Photoshop on deadline.
Ouch. (The above still does seems to support Scott's conclusion, though). Meanwhile, again at NYT, (director) James Mangold explains a scene from the movie.
Lou Lumenick calls it 'Mission: Implausible':
And it’s for no other plausible reason than he’s Tom Cruise, she’s Cameron Diaz and this is a big, dumb summer movie with no apparent ambition other than plugging a hole in a studio’s schedule because its faded star happened to be available for a few weeks.
and, keeps going with a blog entry entitled 'Flop Gun'. Apparently, one slash-and-burn piece didn't quite vent poor Lou's angst.
Jackie K. Cooper throws his hat in the ring:
This film is a letdown in a variety of areas the top one being in the performances of the two stars.
Ham-fisted at best Jackie, but we take your meaning. A bit clunky, but par for the course at HuffPo Entertainment. Your review gets two stars **
LAT has keeps things in perspective:
Fox is trying to make sure that "Knight and Day" doesn't come and go.
Brooks Barnes at Media Decoder says:
Services that track audience interest have shown moviegoer apathy about the picture.
As a result, Twentieth Century Fox, the studio behind “Knight and Day,” has revved up its formidable marketing engines to full tilt, spending heavily on television ads and peppering the marketplace with sneak previews to boost word of mouth. It may be the first time a major summer blockbuster starring Mr. Cruise has resorted to “sneaks” to generate interest, giving you some idea of the desperation at hand here.
As a result, Twentieth Century Fox, the studio behind “Knight and Day,” has revved up its formidable marketing engines to full tilt, spending heavily on television ads and peppering the marketplace with sneak previews to boost word of mouth. It may be the first time a major summer blockbuster starring Mr. Cruise has resorted to “sneaks” to generate interest, giving you some idea of the desperation at hand here.
As if that weren't bad enough Barnes adds this bit of news:
The problem: “Knight and Day” doesn’t roll out internationally for another month due to the World Cup.
Colin Covert at The Miami Heralds takes the opportunity to run an extensive analysis of Cruise's career. He opens with:
The antic teen famous for dancing in his underpants has morphed into a middle-aged enigma notorious for jumping on Oprah's couch. Along the way he took control of United Artists (disastrously) and inspired Christian Bale's performance as the unhinged title character in "American Psycho."
Covert continues by breaking down Cruise's career into four parts:
The contender (1981-86)
Tom Terrific (1988-93)
Jumping the couch (1994-2007)
The rebuilding years (2008-??)
It's pretty good reading.
Poor Tom.
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