Knight and DayMovie Reviews

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So-so

Avg. Critic Score: 46 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore^® based on all critic reviews

Information for Parents:

OK for kids 14+

Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

75

Washington Post | Michael O'Sullivan
It's both straight-faced spy film and sly spy spoof. That's a difficult balancing act, but director James Mangold gets it exactly right. Read full review
75

San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle
In the end, Knight and Day isn't really about much of anything besides having a good time or perhaps the meaning of Tom Cruise-ness in the universe. Read full review
75

Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert
Diaz has one of the most winning grins in the movies. Basically, what I wanted was more of it. Some of that Cary Grant dialog. More flirtation. More of a feeling the characters, not the production, were the foreground. More of the stars. Read full review
75

USA Today | Claudia Puig
It's a quintessential movie hybrid: a romantic thriller with exciting high-speed chases, brisk comedy and exotic scenery. Read full review
60

Los Angeles Times | Kenneth Turan
It's hardly a perfect film, not even close, but it is the most entertaining made-for-adults studio movie of the summer, and one of the reasons it works at all is the great skill and commitment Cruise brings to the starring role. Read full review
58

Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum
In this oddly uninvolving caper, the size of skulls makes its own statement: The producers assume that audience interest in movie stars is bigger than audience interest in characters. Read full review
50

The Hollywood Reporter | Kirk Honeycutt
Laziness permeates the film from the inexplicable escapes to the neglected romance. Read full review
50

Rolling Stone | Peter Travers
It strikes me that their teasing and one-upmanship are more brother and sister at play than lovers in heat. Cruise and Diaz are in it for the action rush. Read full review
50

Variety | Justin Chang
A high-energy, low-impact caper-comedy that labors to bring a measure of wit, romance and glamour to an overworked spy-thriller template. Read full review
30

The New York Times | A.O. Scott
A loud, seemingly interminable, and altogether incoherent entry in the preposterous and proliferating "action-comedy" genre. Read full review

Metacritic link View more reviews for Knight and Day on Metacritic

Information for Parents

Common Sense Media says OK for kids 14+ Action romance has high body count, little consequence.

What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that although Knight and Day is a globetrotting action thriller, it has strong comic/romantic undertones and a cheerful, playful tone that makes the violence seem almost inconsequential. And despite the body count, there's very little blood or gore. Expect plenty of flirting between stars Cameron Diaz and Tom Cruise and a little kissing, with some brief talk about sex. There's also some drinking (including one scene in which Diaz's character gets drunk on tequila), and various "spy" drugs are introduced throughout the movie. Neither of the main characters are depicted as strongly positive role models for teens, but that's not what the movie is about, either -- ultimately, it's meant to be a fun adventure for adults and older kids.

Families can talk about the movie's violence. What impact does it have? How does it compare to violence in movies with a more serious tone?
Is June a strong female role model? At what point does she begin to take action on her own?
What role does trust play in the story? How does trust affect June and Roy's relationship?

The good stuff

Positive messages: The movie's key theme seems to be that if you want to try something exciting, go ahead and try it -- without too much concern for consequences (even when death and killing is involved). And as June starts hearing different stories from different characters, she must learn to follow her heart and trust the right person.
Positive role models: Though June eventually finds her footing and her strength, she's very passive for large portions of the story. Roy shoots and kills several bad guys over the course of the movie with no consequences or remorse -- but he's clearly meant to be a good guy who has the best intentions and a positive outlook.

What to watch for

Violence: The movie is filled with action violence (much of it played for humor) -- including guns, hand-to-hand combat, and lots of other fighting -- but has little gore or blood. The body count is fairly high, but the impact/consequence of that fact is contrasted by the film's overall light tone. The hero is shot, and viewers see his bloody (but minor) wound. There are also drug-tipped needle darts, several explosions, car chases, motorcycle chases, and bull chases.
Sex: The two main characters are clearly attracted to each other, and there's plenty of flirting and a few major kissing scenes. In an early scene, June preps herself in the bathroom, hoping for some kind of connection with Roy when she emerges. In another scene, the couple rolls around on the beach. In a late scene, June (while under the influence of a truth drug) says, "I'd like to have sex with you. I bet we'd have great sex." Roy changes June into a bikini while she's drugged, which angers her (even though he says he didn't look).
Language: Languag includes a few uses of "s--t," one "f--k," and terms like "hell" and "oh my God."
Consumerism: A Bud Light ad is visible on the side of a building for a few seconds.
Drinking, drugs and smoking: During a tense plane ride in the first section of the movie, June drinks a lot of tequila to calm her nerves; the scene is played for comic effect. Roy also takes a drink. The agents are also always slipping various drugs to each other; June gets a "knockout" drug twice and a truth serum once.

Common Sense Media An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.