The fact that “The Cold Light of Day” opened with no advance
critics’ screenings and minimal marketing should be enough warning that this
movie is pretty awful. But when you look at the cast, Bruce Willis, Sigourney
Weaver and Henry Cavill (the next Superman), you’d think that this would be a
fairly decent actioner. It’s not. It should have gone directly to DVD. And the
most ominous thing about this movie is the lead, Henry Cavill, is flat,
unconvincing and, at times, down right irritating. While he’s paired with
Willis, he’s okay, but once he’s forced by circumstances to go solo, he doesn’t
have enough screen presence to create any interest in what happens to him.
Cavill is Will Shaw, the oldest son of Martin (Willis) and
Laurie (Caroline Goodall), who is visiting Spain for an annual sailing vacation
with his family. Will’s relationship with his father is strained, but he
decides to stick around despite financial troubles back home in San Francisco.
Will swims ashore and when he returns, he finds the boat empty and his family
gone. A visit to the local police station reveals that some kind of conspiracy
is afoot. Martin appears out of nowhere to help Will escape from the corrupt
cops, then reveals that he’s really a CIA operative. He has 24 hours to deliver
a briefcase to terrorists or they will kill his family. His first stop is to
visit Carrack (Weaver), his longtime partner, who is, of course, crooked. The
script doesn’t make much sense other than it’s an excuse to keep Will running.
At one point he’s chased by the group that kidnapped his family, Carrack and
her henchmen and the cops. And, for the most part, a frantic, clueless Will
makes for an annoying protagonist. And don’t get me started on the title, which
usually has some connection to the contents of the movie. Wait for “The Light
of Day” to be on cable. Then you can switch when you lose interest. 9/8/12
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