Knight and Day parents guide

Knight and Day Parent Guide

"Knight and Day" gets the kernels of fluffy moviemaking just right, with enough heat to keep things interesting while not burning its audience with too much sex and graphic violence.

Overall B

A flight to Boston has life changing implications for June Havens (Cameron Diaz) after a fellow passenger (Tom Cruise) kills all on board, except herself. Although unsure of his motives, June soon realizes that if she wishes to stay alive she will have to stick with the stranger and obey his instructions -- whether she trusts him or not.

Release date June 23, 2010

Violence C
Sexual Content B+
Profanity C-
Substance Use B-

Why is Knight and Day rated PG-13? The MPAA rated Knight and Day PG-13 for sequences of action violence throughout, and brief strong language.

Run Time: 110 minutes

Official Movie Site

Parent Movie Review

In this breezy summer romp, Tom Cruise stars as Roy Miller, a mysterious man who leaves us wondering if he is a good guy or bad guy for most of the movie. In the opening scene, he boards a plane with June Havens (Cameron Diaz), even though he does his best to try and prevent her from getting a seat. From June’s perspective, she’s thrilled the handsome stranger even noticed her. But after a visit to the restroom to freshen up, she reenters the cabin only to find the handful of passengers sharing the flight are all dead and Roy is now in the pilot’s seat. Not good.

After a clumsy landing, Roy warns the beleaguered mechanic from Kansas that she will likely meet up with some government officials the next day. He admonishes her to tell them nothing and refuse to go anywhere with them. Then he gives her a quick dose of some sleeping drug.

June wakes up in her bed the next morning a little confused about the preceding day’s events. A short time later she meets the men she was cautioned about. Uncertain of Roy’s trustworthiness, the innocent bystander confides what little she knows to the agents (two of whom are played by Peter Sarsgaard and Viola Davis). Yet sadly, once you’ve had a brush with a spy—whether a rogue one or not—there’s a good chance you won’t ever get your life back—and certainly not in time to attend your sister’s wedding on Saturday.

For adults and teens searching for a film with appeal for both genders, this mix of action and romance is a relatively rare find. While the script is sparing with its use of mild and moderate profanities (and the unfortunate inclusion of a very unnecessary sexual expletive), violence is dished out generously. Physical confrontations pervade from start to finish with depictions of fistfights, blazing guns with endless ammunition, car chases, manhunts and explosions. Even some angry bulls stampede their way onto the screen. All this mayhem results in many implied deaths and injuries—not only from bullets but also from falls, impacts with cars and (in one case) getting hit by a speeding train. Along the way a selection of "secret agent" pharmaceuticals are dispensed or injected at appropriate scene changes, leaving characters with side effects ranging from unconsciousness to giddiness.

Although it sounds messy, this movie is careful to keep things neat and clean. The sanitized violence, lightened by humor, seldom even causes Cruise or Diaz to have ruffled hair or stained clothes—although there are a couple depictions of blood. Sexual content is also limited to a few brief comments and a scene where a woman in a bikini has a non-explicit conversation about who changed her wardrobe while she was sleeping.

If good popcorn is tough to find in theaters, then good popcorn movies are even harder. Thankfully Knight and Day gets the kernels of fluffy moviemaking just right, with enough heat to keep things interesting while not burning its audience with copious amounts of sex and graphic violence.

Directed by James Mangold. Starring Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Peter Sarsgaard. Running time: 110 minutes. Theatrical release June 23, 2010. Updated

Knight and Day
Rating & Content Info

Why is Knight and Day rated PG-13? Knight and Day is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for sequences of action violence throughout, and brief strong language.

Violence: Frequent confrontations involve fists, guns and other weapons resulting in many implied deaths, injuries and property damage. Sounds of bone crunching, knives protruding from bodies and corpses are portrayed. A man pulls a bloody knife out of a stab wound. A plane crash is depicted. Cars and aircraft explode. Many car chases occur and characters are presumed dead when airborne vehicles fly directly towards them. A man pushes an attacker into an oncoming train. Bulls chase men and vehicles.

Sexual Content: A woman wakes up from a drug induced sleep and discovers she’s in a bikini—the man she’s with admits to having taken her clothes off and dressing her while she was unconscious. A woman in an inebriated state tells a man she wants to have sex.

Language: The script contains a single sexual expletive, infrequent mild and moderate profanities, as well as terms of deity.

Drugs/Alcohol: A variety of mysterious substances are administered to characters. Most of these cause unconsciousness, while a truth serum leaves a character somewhat inebriated, giddy and talkative.

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Knight and Day Parents' Guide

How is the script of this movie influenced by marketing possibilities? What genders and ages do you think it would appeal to? In your opinion, is it a perfect “date” movie? Why are action/adventure tales and romances such popular film genres?

When one of the characters in the movie talks about the things they want to do "someday," another claims, “Someday is really just code for never.” Why is it often the case that plans for "someday" never happen? What dreams have you put on this list? How could you go about realizing them?

Home Video

The most recent home video release of Knight and Day movie is November 30, 2010. Here are some details…

Knight and Day releases to home video on November 30, 2010. The following versions are available:

Knight and Day—1-Disc DVD:

- Theatrical version of the movie

- Wilder Knights and Crazier Days

- Knight and “Someday”: Featuring the Black Eyed Peas and Tom Cruise

- Viral Video: Soccer

- Viral Video: Kick

- Theatrical Trailer

Knight and Day— 3-Disc Combo Pack Blu-ray with Digital Copy:

- Blu-ray copy of the theatrical version of the film.

- DVD copy of the theatrical version of the film.

- Digital Copy of the theatrical version of the film.

- Wilder Knights and Crazier Days

- Boston Days and Spanish Knights

- Knight and “Someday”: Featuring the Black Eyed Peas and Tom Cruise

- Viral Video: Soccer

- Viral Video: Kick

- Knight and Day: Story

- Knight and Day: Scope

- Theatrical Trailer

- Blu-ray-Live Extras: What’s New, Live LookUp

- Exclusive: Not Your Regular Spy

- Highlight: Excerpt from Wilder Knights and Crazier Days

Related home video titles:

Other women are forced to trust suspicious male companions in the movies North By Northwest and Charade. Tom Curse appears in the action-filled espionage franchise Mission Impossible, Mission Impossible 2 and Mission Impossible 3.