Written by Patrick O'Neill Directed by James Mangold Running Time: 1:50 Rated PG-13 for sequences of action violence throughout, and brief strong language. B-

Knight and Day was a good film - for the first 45 minutes. Then it turned into a looong film.

June Havens is just a normal girl on a normal day trying to get to her sister's wedding. Roy Miller is about as far away from normal as you can get. Their lives not-so-coincidentally connect and soon Roy is taking June on the ride of her life. He may or may not be a federal agent who is trying to protect a young boy and his new battery invention. But regardless, he's insane and June has to decide whether to trust him or turn him over to the people chasing after them. But who is chasing after them is an entirely different question.

One of my biggest problems with Knight and Day is the title. I can't tell you how many people, when I told them I was seeing this, had no idea what I was talking about. When I said it was the new Tom Cruise/Cameron Diaz film though, that's when they recognized it. It's a horrible name for a movie that wasn't all that bad. For the first 45-50 minutes, you're taken on a thrill ride where you're not quite sure what to believe. I kind of liked that. I liked not knowing whether Tom Cruise was a legit, stand-up guy or whether he was an insane criminal. He actually played the line between them pretty well. And even after he explains who he is, there was enough insanity in his performance that you couldn't really be sure if he was telling the truth. It's not a standard Cruise action film persona, nor is it crazy jumping-on-Oprah's-couch Cruise, but it's right in the middle. He was actually a lot of fun for most of the film. Cameron Diaz, still as beautiful as she was the day we first saw her in The Mask, was able to keep up with the Cruise missile, even if she spent a lot of time just screaming. Her role was that of a (sort of) tough chick who was as completely lost as the audience was. In fact there were times when she was drugged and we saw the action through her droopy eyes. Those scenes were arguably the most funny because when her eyes were open, the most outrageous things were happening, but she slept through all of it. As the movie progressed, she became more sure of herself and it allowed her character to become more important in the final sequences. And let's face it, putting her and Cruise on a deserted beach together with minimal clothing was a stroke of genius. After all these years, these two still got it. They may feel a little too old at times to be running around the world together, but I still liked their chemistry. Besides, don't beautiful people always run in packs?

The story was a little strange. At first you have literally no idea why anything is happening. I'll admit, it was fun not knowing because it really made you think something big was going to happen. Cruise goes nuts on a bunch of bad (good?) guys on a plane while Diaz is in the bathroom not having any idea what's going on. And things just get weirder from there. Once we find out the reason why all this is happening - a new battery that could light up a whole town for the rest of time - it feels like a letdown. I mean, that's a pretty big deal, yes, but all in all, it is just a battery. One that may or may not actually work the way it's intended to. Then there's the idea that Cruise has to save the creator from being kidnapped and Diaz is along for the ride just so she doesn't get hurt. Kind of a lame reason to force her to stay around, but I suppose it worked.

As I said, for the first 45 minutes, the movie really had me. I hadn't expected much going in, so I was pleasantly surprised at how much fun I was having. But as it went along, and as we learned the story, the movie kind of felt dull. That initial spark was gone, and the movie just kept on going and going and going (which I suppose is apropos considering the plot). The fun disappeared and it never came back. I think once I realized **spoiler alert** that Cruise was actually a good guy, I kind of lost interest. I mean, I know it's Tom Cruise and making him a villain would be hard to do, but it would have made the movie that much more interesting. He could have been some kind of anti-hero that was a bad guy, but we still rooted for him. Instead he turns out to be a real stand-up guy and that just made him boring. Yes, the action sequences were intense (if a little overly CGI) and both actors held their own during these intense moments, but after the beginning fun and not knowing what was happening, my interest waned.

So overall, I liked Knight and Day, but after the first 45 minutes, it felt long. It could have been cut down a bit, and the intrigue could have lasted longer, but all in all, it wasn't all that bad.