The Phillips Clan Taipei Branch took in a movie yesterday.  We decided to take in Knight and Day . . . wow, that was a fun romp.  It's amazing that the box office on it is so poor as it really is a fun ride.  Honestly, I suspect the poor reviews and bad box office have a lot more to do with Tom Cruise's personal life than his than with the quality of the film.  Come on, there are actually reviews giving Ashton Kutcher's Killers version of this plotline higher marks?  I've seen some online discussions – particularly by young people – that rave over Kutcher's version and suggest that Cruise's is just a ripoff . . . hardly, Knight and Day was in development hell for quite some time and Killers seems to have been dished out rather quickly.

Of course, those same reviews – for the most part – are rightfully pointing out that Kutcher is the polar opposite of a good actor.  One review correctly puzzled over the fact that so very many actors who are so very much more highly skilled are relegated to direct to DVD titles and yet here Kutcher is with a star vehicle.  I guess being on television in a tasteless show helps one a lot.  One would think that Cruise had sinned big time to earn his dive into box office hell . . . jumping up and down on Ophra's couch can evidently really kill a career . . . Kaye wanted to see Knight and Day as she thought Cruise was really funny as "the fat guy" on the MTV Awards . . . nope, she's too young to know who he is from his hey day.  It was nice for her to see him doing action which he's so very good at and with a comedic twist which made it so much more fun than just another MI-whatever.

Interestingly Robert Downey Jr.'s so very much more bankable now and yet the average ticket purchaser does not hold his jail time or past drug habits against him.  Go figure.  Granted, Downey is an amazing actor and his work in Tropic Thunder really was something to behold (as was Cruise's body suit work).  Downey certainly deserves his rise to A-listdom . . . just as Cruise deserves his A-list status and his fall is undeserved . . . Kutcher, honestly, while probably a nice young man – in or out of his manskirts – is not yet of a calibre of an A-list actor or even B-list.  His screen persona is stifled, goofy, and there is a very strong impression of a person behind the character who is not really committed to his role and – more importantly – one who doesn't have the acting chops to deliver much more than a moment or two of comprehensibility, let alone carry a ninety minute film.

In any case, on the whole, Lorraine, Kaye, and I all enjoyed Knight and Day . . . it's a summer action film with a comedic touch and heart that is well worth the ticket price.  Good solid escapist fun.

All the best,
Brian

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Brian David Phillips, PhD, CH [brian@briandavidphillips.com] 
Hypnotist, Hypnotherapist, Intuitionist, Trance Wizard 
President, Society of Experiential Trance
Associate Professor, NCCU, Taipei, Taiwan