Knight and Day is an example of a Tom Cruise movie you may not have seen. With a plot similar to Killers which also premiered in June 2010, Cameron Diaz plays a woman who accidentally gets caught up with a secret agent, played by Tom Cruise, who is on the run from the CIA. While it’s been 12 years since Knight and Day hit theaters, one fan spoke out about her love of the movie, and its director, James Mangold, had a response to her praise.
Some may think of Knight and Day as a remarkably average movie that was made for fans who wanted to see Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz together on a whirlwind adventure. However, one person who felt Knight and Day was a great action-comedy romance was film critic Courtney Howard who tweeted everything she loved about this movie:
.@mang0ld ’s KNIGHT AND DAY rules so hard! Tom Cruise combines his leading man charisma w/ his love of adrenaline junkie stunts & Cameron Diaz gets a perfect screwball romcom for her impeccable timing. Walking through a hailstorm of bullets to kiss?! Hot! pic.twitter.com/pLCJtk7DfpMay 21, 2023
She brings up some great points as Tom Cruise has been known to dazzle audiences with his leading male status. Plus, we've come to know Cameron Diaz in part for the rom-coms she starred in during the 2000s-2010s with movies like The Holiday, What Happens in Vegas, and What to Expect When You’re Expecting on her resume. So, it’s almost like seeing two different worlds coming together. Howard made sure to post the scene when Tom Cruise’s character decides to walk through a hailstorm of bullets in order to kiss his leading lady. This is definitely, something an action lead like Cruise would be expected to do in this situation, and it was epic.
One thing that makes this film critic incredibly lucky is having her positive spin on the movie seen by Knight and Day director James Mangold himself. He made sure to respond positively to her glowing Twitter review by writing:
I love that scene too, Courtney. Thanks!
It’s such a great compliment to have your film appreciated over a decade later. This brought the opportunity for other Twitter users to recall their favorite scenes and quotes from the movie.
While there are many who love the film like Howard, when Knight and Day first premiered, it only pulled in $3.8 million on opening day. This is partially due to the heavy competition of Toy Story 3 which was a box office hit that summer. Not only was Knight and Day considered a box office disappointment, but the reviews weren’t very good with many critics noting the lack of chemistry between Cruise and Diaz as well as their issues with the screenplay. However, there's clearly still a crowd that loves this fun movie.
Knight and Day may not have been the most successful movie of 2010. However, it proves that a movie being a flop doesn’t mean everyone had harsh feelings about it. Courtney Howard sure was a fan of the action-comedy as well as many others, and James Mangold certainly appreciated the love. It just takes tweets like hers to remind us of that.
While we won't be seeing this team together, all three have exciting movies on the 2023 movie schedule. These upcoming projects include: Mangold putting out Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny on June 30, Cruise releasing Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One on July 12, and Diaz making her return to acting in Back in Action which will likely come out later this year.
