The Cold Light of Day (2012)

Top comments

1. 

   Eddyspeeder

   It's a decent action flick, good for an entertaining evening. You ought to know that, before I'll balance it with some criticism.
   
   A director – I don't recall whom – once said: "If people watch a movie and while watching think of how well it was directed, you obviously haven't done a good job as director." By that standard, Mabrouk El Mechri failed miserably. But I think he did a great job. He chose his angles carefully and often shot in a way that requires great camera handling skills and doesn't rely on the effects department to 'make everything purdy'.
   
   The story itself... the truckload of improbabilities I can live with. But at some point, things get so overdone that it actually becomes funny to watch, at the cost of excitement.

   Like where Will falls down and hits every painful surface he could possibly have hit. Or the land cruiser falling down the subway stairs.

   And at a certain moment, the bad guys...

   get so unidimensional and only set out to kill, that I felt I was watching Terminator 6 with Sigourney Weaver as the evil terminator.

   
   
   And what was up with all those overt commercial endorsements? I haven't seen it this blatant since The Island, and even THEY didn't go as far as to dedicate a whole scene to the protagonist getting something from a vending machine. 11 years 10 months ago
2. 

   DisneyStitch

   You have to wonder how the screenwriters, the director, the producer, etc. all somehow forgot to meet the basic requirements of an action movie (or any movie for that matter). There's nothing here that we haven't seen before in hundreds of other action movies (and done better at that.) The first rule of a kidnapping movie is to establish characters so that the audience feels something for the person trying to get his family back. We get virtually no back story and the direction of the movie flat-lines throughout. Bruce Willis is cold as a dead fish in his brief part and Sigourney Weaver acts like she couldn't care less about the film or her role.
   
   At the same time, the film tries to be part spy movie and attempts to accomplish it by throwing in dialog like "rogue agent" and "agency" without giving us any backbone to work with. As far as action movies go, this one's forgettable at best. 10 years ago
3. 

   Earring72

   Bad and dull action drama. Worthless story and boring action. What a waste. Even Weaver and Willis were mediocre and looking like waiting for the paycheck. 10 years 8 months ago

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