BLU-RAY REVIEW: Knight and Day

Cruise and Diaz's latest delivers action, adventure, comedy and romance...

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I have to first be honest about one thing: ever since Tom Cruise had his freak out on Oprah a couple of years ago, it's been hard for me to watch a film with him in it and not think "that's the guy that freaked out on Oprah." That said, Cruise has starred in some of my favorite films, including Minority Report, The Last Samurai, Collateral, the Mission: Impossible franchise, and yes, even Cocktail.

Now, thanks to 20th Century Fox, New Regency and Dune Entertainment, director James Mangold, stars Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, fans of action, comedy and romance will find Knight and Day well worth their time.

A spy-meets-girl, girl-loves-spy comedy thriller with plenty of adventure and some of the best one-liners, Knight and Day delivers on all fronts, providing plenty of shoot 'em up action, romance, and comedy for all types of film fans.

As I said before, it's hard for me to watch Tom Cruise on screen and enjoy the experience. That said, watching Knight and Day, I was truly able to escape from the actor's past real-life escapades, sit back, and enjoy the movie. I'd like to think Cruise's heroically absurd, character, Roy Miller isn't much of a stretch for Cruise - overly confident, outgoing, and zealous. Enter Diaz, who delivers a stellar performance as the hilariously confident and perky character June Havens (a perfect balance to Miller), and you've got yourself two excellent, entertaining and brilliantly acted main roles.

Likewise, the story is solid thanks to both a "whose good and who's bad?" storyline compounded with a "what's it mean and do?" type mystery plot that ensures viewers have plenty of times to question whether they're cheering for the good guys or the bad guys and what'll happen if either side wins.

This 3-disc set, which includes both a DVD, Blu-ray, and Digital Copy of the film, makes for a solid package. The Blu-ray includes a beautiful 1080p, 2.40:1 video transfer and English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio which captures all of the explosions, car crashes, gunfire and panting that makes up the sound effects found on Knight and Day.

The Blu-ray disc includes a number of bonus special features, though far fewer than many home video releases today. The limited special features include a short "making of" documentary with interviews with cast and filmmakers; "Boston Days and Spanish Knights," which focuses on the film's shooting locations (other locales included Jamaica and Boston); "Knight and Someday," showing Cruise with The Black Eyed Peas (who composed the film's end credit song).

Other special features include a number of "viral videos" showing the film's two stars - Cruise and Diaz - with almost super-human skills doing everything from kicking a soccer ball around to beating each other up. These clips are both funny and entertaining. Lastly, a few press kit videos and a theatrical trailer are also included.

Overall, Knight and Day is, surprising as it may be, a magnificent film with both a great plot, solid acting, a hilarious script, good effects and an all-around fun and entertaining story. While I may not be a fan of either Cruise or Diaz, I definetly recommend checking out Knight and Day if you're a fan of action-packed comedies.

Knight and Day is rated PG-13 for sequences of action violence throughout, and brief strong language and is available on Blu-ray and DVD wherever fine home video is sold.

- Jess C. Horsley