Scott marvels at the lack of public attention to one of the summer's best action outings...

I suspected it when I saw it in theaters, and seeing it again only confirmed it - Knight and Day should have been the biggest thing in the world for action fans. This Blu-ray, as one might imagine, highlights all of the film's strengths, though sadly little light is shed in the special features.

But first, the film - I've been turning it over and over in my head for months, but I still cannot reconcile why Knight and Day was completely ignored, and too often dismissed by those who took the leap. Sure, it's familiar and formulaic, but so is nearly every big-budget film (and not a few small ones). What sets it apart is a refreshing lightness of spirit after years of being beat down by the "grim" and "gritty" (and more than anything, the self-serious, where even the damn Transformers movie tries to break our heart as the government captures a robot) and clever subversion of action tropes. I've heard complaints about Diaz's blackout scenes, in which she wakes up in and out of a drugged state, catching glimpses of spectacular action scenes we've seen a thousand times before, but I loved them for that. It's a clever bit, often providing the funniest moments, and when the action does kick in...it's really, really good.

The film, like North by Northwest before it, was built around ideas for scenes - hand-to-hand combat that utilizes every part of an airplane or a motorcycle chase through the running of the bulls - and those who criticize this approach don't seem to understand the point of going to see big, silly action movies. It is precisely so that we can go to beautiful, evocative locales and see spectacular, gorgeously choreographed action scenes. There are a lot of movies that give you character and emotion (and even worse, those that try and fail), but few movies honestly try to do what Knight and Day does, and do it this well.

Director James Mangold does more than his part in his delivery. The action is clean, coherent, and very well paced. Action set-pieces should play like music or dance, and while other directors are wrestling to craft grand symphonies, Mangold here has mastered the concerto - modest in their scale, incessantly clever, throwing in just the right element at the right time. Cuts are there for a reason, not simply to be economical in his coverage - if he can accomplish something in one shot (and there's one in particular that is maybe the most inspired shot I've seen all year), he'll just go for it.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the stars of a star vehicle. Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz have wonderful chemistry, and when the film makes a nearly fatal decision to separate them late in the game, you realize how essential they are to making it work (it doesn't help that it's the only stretch of the film without an action scene). It's really rare that action films offer anything in the way of convincing chemistry between a man and a woman, and the challenge was certainly there by putting it front and center in this film, but Cruise and Diaz are so tuned into each other that it feels absolutely effortless.

Video

"Knight and Day earns the best compliment you can give a high-def transfer: It looks like the best film print shone through the best projector."

Modern films on Blu-ray run one of two ways - scrubbed too clean so as to appear more like video than film (check out the Where The Wild Things Are Blu-Ray for an example of this), or essentially perfect. Knight and Day is, essentially, perfect. Mangold and cinematographer Phedon Papamichael created a palette that is uniform while still varying through the film's many locations (sometimes a little hotter, sometimes a little cooler), and the transfer successfully recreates the ultra-wide, 2.40:1 film I remember seeing in the theater. There's an appropriate amount of film grain to ground it, the colors shine when needed (Cruise's red motorcycle, or the beauty of Salzburg at night), and creates a nice depth when the film allows for it. It perfectly highlights the glow Mangold's use of green screen creates (which is more akin to how directors in the 1950s, particularly Alfred Hitchcock, used rear-projection to create a sort of otherworldly vibe), and in general it earns the best compliment you can give a high-def transfer: It looks like the best film print shone through the best projector.

Audio

The audio in this film goes a long way towards creating the film's tone - cars and planes zip by, bullets go ping when they hit, and there's a great amount of whooshing to be heard. It's comic-booky in its own sort of way, and the audio track here is also, to my ears, flawless in representing it. The dialogue is always audible in spite of these many distractions, and the score (which is a little joy all its own) comes through crystal clear. Separation between the different channels is appropriate to the onscreen action and, consequently, a joy to listen to as cars pass through your viewing room and bullets hit the corners of your house.

Extras

Would that the special features were as enjoyable as the film. There's a LOT here they could have explored, particularly on the action side, that goes untouched. Some of the on-set footage seems to indicate way less CGI than you'd think while watching it, so I would've loved to see how Mangold and company incorporated modern tools in creating it. Mangold says himself in one of the features that technology has evolved to the point that we can't even marvel at what we see, so convinced are we that it's fake. Well, I'd like to know where they drew the line, and the thinking that went into that. But alas...

Wilder Knights and Crazier Days comes as close as they'll get to something of substance. This 12-minute piece focuses largely on the film's stunts, especially the extent to which the stars were involved. Studios LOVE to promote when an actor does their own stunts, as Cruise famously does, and this featurette does a nice job of showing just how much of a difference it can make to have Tom Cruise jump from rooftop to rooftop when we can see the danger below. Furthermore, they touch somewhat on the thought process behind building each action scene. I'd definitely recommend giving this a look.

Boston Days and Spanish Knights explores the film's many locations and the thinking behind, and subsequent acquisition of, each one. It's a nice, if light (running a touch over 8 minutes) look at the difficulties behind executing the globe-trotting adventure.

Knight and "Someday" is a 9-minute piece on the song the Black Eyed Peas composed for the end credits. It tells the story of how Tom Cruise got them involved in the film and shows some backstage footage of the night they premiered it. It's all very self-congratulatory.

Two Viral Videos are offered, and are kind of fun bits of promotion. Lasting a little over a minute each, there are worse ways to spend your time.

Knight and Day: Story is pure EPK - the actors and director explain the story of the film over clips. Nothing of any substance.

Knight and Day: Scope is more EPK, but it's almost literally a shortened version of Wilder Knights and Crazier Days. Avoid.

The Theatrical Trailer is here, too.

Obviously, I'm a big fan of the film, and the Blu-ray's worth to you will ultimately come down to your own feelings on that. The special features certainly aren't worthwhile on their own, with two of them offering marginally insightful information for a total of twenty minutes. But it's really all about the film itself, a breezy, engrossing globe-trotting adventure that harkens back to the days of North by Northwest and Charade (and not a little of the old-fashioned Bond formula) and, for my money, delivers on such comparisons.

Great, inspired action set pieces and tremendous chemistry between the stars make the film an easy rental recommendation, and the technical aspects of the Blu-ray bring out the best in it.

Knight and Day Blu-ray R1 is out now.

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