Today’s quick review: The Cold Light of Day. While on vacation in Spain with his family, Will Shaw (Henry Cavill) returns from an errand to find his family kidnapped by a group of terrorists. The kidnappers give Will 24 hours to retrieve a briefcase stotlen by his father Martin (Bruce Willis), who secretly works as a CIA agent based out of the US Embassy. Will’s only lead is Jean Carrack (Sigourney Weaver), a colleague of his father’s.
The Cold Light of Day is an action thriller with a decent cast and mediocre execution. In typical thriller fashion, The Cold Light of Day thrusts an untrained, unprepared young man into a dangerous race against time. The movie’s modest budget lets it afford a few genuine action scenes, but its plot and characters belong to a lower tier of action movie. The result is a flat, unexceptional film with just enough going on to be watchable.
The Cold Light of Day’s chief failing is its script. The basic elements of a thriller are all present, including a competent mystery and reasonable plot twists, but the film never really builds up momentum. Its dramatic potential is hampered by unininteresting characters. Henry Cavill makes for a fine but undistinguished protagonist, while Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver bring little of their talent to bear.
The Cold Light of Day gets enough right to occupy an idle action fan, but most viewers would be better off with one of the many big-budget thrillers. Viewed as a low-budget action film with enough cash leftover to have big-name actors and real stunts, The Cold Light of Day is a reasonable effort. But it falls well short of where a movie of its means should be.
4.9 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 5.5 to 6.0 for decent action hurt by an unpolished script and lackluster characters.