Car restorer June Havens (Cameron Diaz) is flying home to Boston for her sister's wedding, but after bumping into the mysterious and charming Roy Miller (Tom Cruise), she unexpectedly becomes embroiled in a fight for her life.
Miller is a spy on the run, and after he and June's seemingly innocuous encounter at Wichita airport, FBI agent Fitzgerald (Peter Sarsgaard) presumes the pair are in cahoots. After a mid-air attack on Miller, which concludes with the self-assured spy landing the plane, he escorts June home for her own safety. But as she tries to continue with her normal life, June soon discovers she is already in too deep.
The director of Girl, Interrupted, Walk the Line and 3:10 To Yuma switches to less-restrained fare with this irresistibly glossy actioner.
Combining the star power of Cruise and Diaz with a supporting cast of lauded acting talent, Knight and Day had the basis for an appealing summer blockbuster. When competing with the mind-bending smarts of Inception, however, it didn't quite receive the reception those involved would have hoped for.
With comedy, romance and some slightly jarring violence, reported difficulties during production may have contributed to Knight and Day's somewhat uneven tone. It has no illusions, however, of being anything other than all-out entertainment and frequent action sequences, as well as a sparky back-and-forth banter between Cruise and Diaz, will please those looking for an undemanding popcorn flick.
The considerable talents of Sarsgaard, Viola Davis and Paul Dano could have been exploited to greater effect, but there isn't too much focus on character development with fun coming firmly to the fore.