Once upon a time, Tom Cruise was the biggest movie star on the planet. Sure, he's dwarfish, he can be a spaz, he's a weirdo scientologist, and he most often resembles a bi-polar manic, but he also can be immensely charming and likable, with an undeniable screen presence. A lot of people have been calling this one Cruise's "comeback", a charge I deny, since I enjoyed "Valkyrie", but if it truly is, one will see that despite the insane scientology nonsense and the leaping about on Oprah and debating Matt Lauer over the fruitlessness of pharmacological treatment, the same charming, funny, talented Tom Cruise is still there. Action comedies, like the three little bears, come in three flavors - too much, too little, just right. If you swing and miss and it turns into just an action movie that takes itself too seriously, you've got a bomb. If you swing and miss and it turns into a silly ass comedy that doesn't do action all that well, you've got a bomb. There's a delicate balance you've got to achieve, where the action scenes have the requisite gravitas but the whole thing is still light and fun rather than stuffy and brooding. Is this movie life-changing? Absolutely not. It's not a work of art that will leave you wringing your hands and pondering life's mysteries over beverages of all sorts. However, what it does provide is good old fashioned entertainment, of an actually enjoyable sort. Where many action-ey flicks bash you over the head with spectacle, explosions and ridiculous effects (make no mistake, this flick has all of them), this one primarily relies on the strength and chemistry of its leads. Tom Cruise is funny, charming, and all too believable as a rogue CIA agent who may or may not be completely out of his gourd. (it actually may be the perfect role for him, minus the whole epic badass thing) Cam Diaz is perfect at doing her thing, good looking, surprisingly ordinary regular chick who's just a little zany - she's basically been doing just that since "There's Something About Mary". Director James Mangold (Walk the Line, 3:10 to Yuma) is one of the more consistent directors in the game today, Peter Sarsgaard and Paul "Eli Sunday" Dano are the other principals, and honestly, I just had a good time with this one. Our hero, Mr. Cruise, one "Roy Miller" is on the run from the agency, and clearly has something that they want. Along the way, an innocent bystander, June (Diaz) gets swept up in his path of destruction. The madcap plot jumps from exotic locale to exotic locale across basically every type of transport (plane, car, boat, train) as Miller seeks to evade those seeking him, both the Agency and a power-hungry European weapons manufacturer and lead his wards to safety. I honestly was surprised at how much I laughed in this one - Cruise does possibly crazy but very capable very, very well. If the film had relied more on the leads, humor and the obvious chemistry between Cruise and Diaz than completely over the top action scenes, we may well be talking about greatness here. As it is what we have is a fun, charming little movie that is destined to be played ad nauseum on FX in 4 years time. That is in no way a bad thing. Take it for what it is, it's a fun, silly little time, and I'd rather watch Tom Cruise carry a fun, ridiculous action movie than just about anyone else. (Not counting Robert Downey Jr.)
So don't go in expecting too much, see some cool gun battles, some witty dialogue, and a couple of solid little performances, and you'll have 2 hours of solid entertainment. That's certainly more than a lot of movies can say. 6.8/10.
Ignore the use of Muse in the trailer, Cruise can't help it, he's a scientologist.
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