Buy it... if your appreciation of John Powell's espionage mode compels you to seek this lesser cousin of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, a basically adequate but surprisingly uninspiring continuation of the same basic idea.

Avoid it... if the interesting fusion of discordant musical genres and international instrumentation in a handful of snazzy performances cannot carry action material that remains non-descript until the impressive finale cue.

Powell

Knight and Day: (John Powell) Being stuck in production hell isn't all too uncommon for summer action flicks nowadays, but it's relatively rare when the studio and financiers that finally transcend such issues are faced with the ultimate "oh, shit" moment as they realize just before its release that the film is going to bomb at the box office. Such a nightmare was in store for Knight and Day, a project that had begun as a serious thriller and morphed through several generations of scripts, genres, cast, and crew before landing with a thud in June of 2010. Its final plotline involves a mysterious spy and the everyday woman who gets tangled in his international affairs by accident, essentially dragged along for the ride until she decides to voluntarily join forces with him. One of the major detractions of Knight and Day that wasn't evident until the film was screened is its duo of leads. Cameron Diaz and Tom Cruise were received very poorly by audiences, mostly because of the fact that they are both past their prime in the action genre but also because of an interesting societal backlash against the latter. Critical response to Knight and Day was tepid at best, and American audiences met the nervous, low expectations of the studio by failing to really embrace the film. Ironically, though, massive international returns shot the film's gross beyond $260 million, classifying it as a fiscal success. If predictability and a lack of fresh design left audiences uncaring about Knight and Day, then John Powell's rather streamlined score probably didn't do much to help the situation. A veteran of the espionage and comedy genres, Powell was well equipped to handle this assignment and he did approach it with a few unique ideas in mind, but ultimately his music for the occasion was completely overshadowed by other, far higher quality efforts during 2010. His basic ingredients for Knight and Day are predictable, a standard orchestral ensemble joined by electric and acoustic guitars, a handful of exotic specialty instruments, and, most importantly, a substantial collection of percussion.

More than most of his scores of this kind, Knight and Day sounds heavily programmed in its constructs, this despite being more organic in its rendering. This rather mundane sense of process is perhaps why the score doesn't really reach out and grab listeners by conveying a truly unique sense of style. Rather weak thematic development also doesn't help its cause. On the other hand, though, Powell does strive to afford the topic some unique instrumental colors that will, along with one really engaging action cue at the end, salvage the listening experience on album for some of his collectors. The defining elements of the score for Knight and Day are those that place the score in a vague ethnic realm that defies logic but has a certain feel of "tongue in cheek" amusement. Acoustic guitars of a variety of shades, standup bass, accordion, and what sounds like manipulated piano and cimbalom performances combine with rhythms that range from Latin to slight waltzes. The merging of the Latin flair (complete with castanets) with the accordion in particular defines this score as an oddball. The tones of the former will remind some listeners of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, though interludes of snazzy attitude for the heightened espionage angle is reminiscent of David Holmes' Oceans Eleven and some of the synthetic effects for the technological aspect (as in "He's a Spy") is a bit familiar to the David Arnold mould for the James Bond franchise. The straight acoustic guitar performances, like those that close out the score, convey a cool contemporary tone as necessary, as do the variety of drum loops that propel several scenes. A few select moments of intrigue feature tingling and clanging metallic percussion (probably samples but perhaps real) that are reminiscent of John Ottman's genre work. Strings range from ominous dread (ends of "Rough Landing" and "Five Star") to momentous romantic expressions (end of "Reunion"). Brass isn't as prominent as one would hope in this kind of film until the rambunctious "Bull Run" cue that lets rip with very strong chase material resembling the best portions of Shrek and Chicken Run.

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Thematically, Powell suffices with his two identities for Knight and Day but does not excel in any way that will stick in your memory after the score concludes. The first, lesser utilized theme is one that represents the intrigue and espionage in the story (as well as Cruise's character specifically). Introduced on accordion late in "At the Airport," this theme doesn't really develop until the second half of the score. Its fullest performance can be heard in "Five Star," and subtle references on guitar in "He's a Spy" are followed by the seemingly synthetic cimbalom performances of its main phrase in "Rooftops" and "The Villa." Powell's other major theme in Knight and Day is the romantic one for the two leads, first utilized at full speed at the end of "Trouble on I-93." Hints of its progressions in "Running from Roy" and "In Austria" eventually yield to performances of faux-genuine heart late in the score. A sad rendition for the fake death scene at the end of "Rooftops" precedes accordion statements to open and close "The Villa." A huge outburst of the idea at the conclusion of "Reunion" and a roaring action version late in "Bull Run" eventually dissolve into the expected resolution of the idea on acoustic guitar in "Going to Cape Horn? Take a Jacket." Outside of these ideas, some minor motifs do prevail as well, including a good guitar rhythm in "Running From Roy" and "To the Island of Love." The score-only album (the The Black Eyed Peas song in the movie is not included) is effortless though a bit vague, the second half of "Bull Run" an obvious highlight that may not be worth the rest of the contents. Sound quality is fine, though a discrepancy in reverb between the live and sampled or percussive elements is sometimes distracting, as in "Five Star." While none of the themes or instrumentation will really grab you (despite their odd ethnic and genre mixtures), the album is devoid of any truly unlistenable portions as well. The product was a normal commercial release but mysteriously started disappearing from the market within a year, suggesting low numbers of distribution. Powell doesn't seem to have poured a tremendous amount of effort into Knight and Day when comparing it to his concurrent projects, but it's a basically adequate, inoffensive score that may inspire his collectors in some parts. ***   Amazon.com Price Hunt: CD or Download

Bias Check:

For John Powell reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.05 (in 38 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.05 (in 42,939 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.