Writers: Scott Wiper and John Petro
Director: Mabrouk El Mechri
Starring: Henry Cavill, Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver
Review Written By: Michael Dalton
Director: Mabrouk El Mechri
Starring: Henry Cavill, Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver
Review Written By: Michael Dalton
Writing a review for The Cold Light of Day is hard, as it requires me to remember what happened in the film…I watched it last night. The Cold Light of Day focuses on Will (Soon to be Superman, Henry Cavill) whose family mysteriously disappears during a holiday in Spain. Will discovers that his father, played by Bruce Willis, was not in fact a cultural attaché but a spy…a character played by Bruce Willis turns out not to be a cultural attaché? NO! Will is then thrown into a deadly quest to save his family’s life centered on a mysterious briefcase, which cannot fall into the hands of Sigourney Weaver (Who after appearing in this and Abduction is clearly wanting to carve a niche for herself as the supporting actress in average to awful thriller films)
As you may have guessed from the above paragraph, this film is incredibly familiar and predictable. There are certain scenes in this movie that as soon as they begun, I could guess exactly how they were going to end and be unfortunately correct. This is a film with no surprises and nothing new to offer. However a film can be unoriginal and predictable, yet still succeed; Cold Light of Day is not one of those films.
Part of the problem rests in the film’s screenplay. None of the dialogue in this film is believable, interesting or memorable. None of the characters are developed beyond initial archetypes and the story is severely lacking in depth and intrigue. The direction does nothing to liven proceedings with the film lacking any sense of excitement and urgency. For a film that rests primarily on chase and action scenes, I am struggling to remember any of them. So we have an average to awful script accompanied by average to awful direction, what about the acting?
All eyes will be on Henry Cavill, as he will be appearing next year as Superman in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel. Based on this evidence, I’m not sure exactly what it is they see in him. Initially I thought he was playing his role perfectly well, however these were in the early stages were there was nothing particularly demanding about the part. However as the, “emotional stakes” became apparent and rose his performance got worse and worse. I don’t like to criticize acting as I know that I couldn’t give a good performance however, while I can’t give one I know one when I see one…I didn’t see one here. There is a moment when Cavill has to give his mother an emotional piece of information and the way in which that scene is performed is quite frankly laughable. He had no charisma and any personality seemed to be lost amongst the film’s assault of nothingness. Perhaps it’s this emotional vapidity they wish to exploit when he plays the alien, Superman. As that is really going to solve the problem of him being a character we can’t relate to. I have hope that he will be a good Superman and perhaps his bad performance in this film is a product of the bad story he was a part of, the bad dialogue he was delivering and I assume and hope, the bad direction he was receiving.
The film’s best cast members, Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver, are given nothing of note to do. They might as well have replaced those two stars with the cheques that assumedly persuaded them to be in it. This review is very harsh as it makes it appear as if this film has no redeemable qualities and for many it may not. I don’t hate this film, for the first half an hour or so it had me legitimately engaged. However as it moved into the second and third act, with a ninety minute running time, it felt longer than and had me more restless than I was during some films that are just under three hours. However the fact is, at the pace that this film moves, the running length that it is and the fact that every ten minutes or so there is another gunshot and chase scene, I was never REALLY bored. It kept me from turning off.
The Cold Light of Day is not so bad that it is unwatchable, however that doesn’t mean that you should watch it. To avoid spoilers (Not that they matter for a film like this) the moment when it becomes apparent that a certain big name actor won’t have a prominent role in the rest of the narrative, turn off, or fast forward to some of the latter half action scenes…don’t worry, you won’t have missed any important story or character development. There are some interesting ideas they could have played with and done more with, however any potential within this movie is quickly thrown away. Also, I am still at a loss as to why it’s called, The Cold Light of Day. Perhaps it represents self-awareness on the filmmakers part that in the cold light of day, the title is perhaps all you will remember.
As you may have guessed from the above paragraph, this film is incredibly familiar and predictable. There are certain scenes in this movie that as soon as they begun, I could guess exactly how they were going to end and be unfortunately correct. This is a film with no surprises and nothing new to offer. However a film can be unoriginal and predictable, yet still succeed; Cold Light of Day is not one of those films.
Part of the problem rests in the film’s screenplay. None of the dialogue in this film is believable, interesting or memorable. None of the characters are developed beyond initial archetypes and the story is severely lacking in depth and intrigue. The direction does nothing to liven proceedings with the film lacking any sense of excitement and urgency. For a film that rests primarily on chase and action scenes, I am struggling to remember any of them. So we have an average to awful script accompanied by average to awful direction, what about the acting?
All eyes will be on Henry Cavill, as he will be appearing next year as Superman in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel. Based on this evidence, I’m not sure exactly what it is they see in him. Initially I thought he was playing his role perfectly well, however these were in the early stages were there was nothing particularly demanding about the part. However as the, “emotional stakes” became apparent and rose his performance got worse and worse. I don’t like to criticize acting as I know that I couldn’t give a good performance however, while I can’t give one I know one when I see one…I didn’t see one here. There is a moment when Cavill has to give his mother an emotional piece of information and the way in which that scene is performed is quite frankly laughable. He had no charisma and any personality seemed to be lost amongst the film’s assault of nothingness. Perhaps it’s this emotional vapidity they wish to exploit when he plays the alien, Superman. As that is really going to solve the problem of him being a character we can’t relate to. I have hope that he will be a good Superman and perhaps his bad performance in this film is a product of the bad story he was a part of, the bad dialogue he was delivering and I assume and hope, the bad direction he was receiving.
The film’s best cast members, Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver, are given nothing of note to do. They might as well have replaced those two stars with the cheques that assumedly persuaded them to be in it. This review is very harsh as it makes it appear as if this film has no redeemable qualities and for many it may not. I don’t hate this film, for the first half an hour or so it had me legitimately engaged. However as it moved into the second and third act, with a ninety minute running time, it felt longer than and had me more restless than I was during some films that are just under three hours. However the fact is, at the pace that this film moves, the running length that it is and the fact that every ten minutes or so there is another gunshot and chase scene, I was never REALLY bored. It kept me from turning off.
The Cold Light of Day is not so bad that it is unwatchable, however that doesn’t mean that you should watch it. To avoid spoilers (Not that they matter for a film like this) the moment when it becomes apparent that a certain big name actor won’t have a prominent role in the rest of the narrative, turn off, or fast forward to some of the latter half action scenes…don’t worry, you won’t have missed any important story or character development. There are some interesting ideas they could have played with and done more with, however any potential within this movie is quickly thrown away. Also, I am still at a loss as to why it’s called, The Cold Light of Day. Perhaps it represents self-awareness on the filmmakers part that in the cold light of day, the title is perhaps all you will remember.
Summary: Forgettable and disposable yet not unwatchable, offensive or morally bankrupt. Only watch this film if you are on a plane, VERY bored and it’s your only option. Of course if you’re a completest when it comes to film like me you will see it anyway, just don’t expect to remember it.
Rating: 4/10
By Movie Parliament Prime Minister,
Michael Dalton
Disagree with this review? Give us your thoughts in the comments below.
Rating: 4/10
By Movie Parliament Prime Minister,
Michael Dalton
Disagree with this review? Give us your thoughts in the comments below.
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