Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on October 2010

©2010 TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX

A clueless woman (Cameron Diaz) bumps into a charming man (Tom Cruise) in an airport. Twice. This Meet Cute is no accident. Turns out he’s a MacGuffin-toting spy on the run, and she’s soon swept up in the intrigue. Why? Because, silly, it wouldn’t be much of a star-driven romantic action flick if she wasn’t. They spend a lot of time dodging bullets and being chased on cars, motorbikes, planes, trains and parachutes, all the while maintaining an amusing banter. Apparently some studio suit decided that there wasn’t enough here for 12-year-olds, and ordered up endless and superfluous CG-enhanced action scenes. These frequently eclipse what could have been a much more witty and charming story, and it’s a testament to the two actors’ abilities that they can maintain their human-scale appeal against this din. Cruise is effectively lampooning his own Mission: Impossible persona, and it works if you can forget the wingnut he is offscreen. Director James Mangold (Walk the Line, 3:10 to Yuma) manages a kind of balance between whimsy and excitement. It’s absurd, nonsensical and silly, but fun if you don’t examine it too closely.