Featured Audience Ratings

• John H

  
  With "Man of Steel" on the horizon, I've decided to prep myself for the movie by watching all of the past Supermans and a few Henry Cavill films as well. I have no prior knowledge to how well the man can act apart from the what I've seen in the trailers and his bit… More
  With "Man of Steel" on the horizon, I've decided to prep myself for the movie by watching all of the past Supermans and a few Henry Cavill films as well. I have no prior knowledge to how well the man can act apart from the what I've seen in the trailers and his bit role in 2007's "Stardust." So, this is going to be a mostly performance critique on Cavill rather than a fleshed out review of the film itself. It should come as no shock that "The Cold Light of Day's" star power is fueled solely by Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver, but fortunately it's Cavill who gets top billing and rightfully so. Henry carries this thing the entire way through, whereas Willis is hardly in it and Sigourney reappears between every couple of scenes. Since Cavill is running the show, his attitude and character are essential to how this story follows through. And just from the first 10 minutes alone, it's easy to tell how much Cavill is trying to hide his English accent. I mean, he is just so darn careful about it. He's so caught up in balancing his vocal and facial performance that he actually restricts himself from being able to properly elevate his voice or have his tone match his constantly concerned looking face. Even when he tries to act angry or distressed his accent starts to slip out a bit. It's painfully obvious to notice these things when he and Bruce Willis first reunite after their family has been kidnapped. He makes a sacrifice to keep his accent in check and though it's not terribly distracting once the film picks up speed, it is damaging to his over-all performance. As far as plot goes, it's a whole lot of nothing. Cavill's family gets kidnapped, he tries to find them, befriends a lady companion, and then there's the second and third act that follows. A good chunk of this film is either chasing or running away from the bad guy with no insightful or character-building dialog in between those scenes. The villains themselves are also poorly written with their motives never fully explained or realized. If there was ever a reason to use a movie as a sleeping aid then this might very well be the cure for insomnia. The only way this could be a recommendation is if you're as curious as I was to see Henry Cavill in other movies. Other than that, "The Cold Light of Day" is a definite pass. Something that will shortly be forgotten.

• Everett J

  
  Want a good look at actor playing the new "Superman"? Then check this out because he(Henry Cavill) is the star, and hopefully he is better at playing the Man of Steel. Here, he is the son of Bruce Willis, and his family gets kidnapped while on vacation in Spain. From… More
  Want a good look at actor playing the new "Superman"? Then check this out because he(Henry Cavill) is the star, and hopefully he is better at playing the Man of Steel. Here, he is the son of Bruce Willis, and his family gets kidnapped while on vacation in Spain. From there he finds out his dad isn't who he thought he was, and must recover a briefcase and save his family. Cavill has a great look, but he isn't that great of an actor, at least here. Willis isn't in the movie very much, which having more of him would probably have made this better. It's not a very good movie, has a couple good action scenes, and a few good little twists. But overall it just doesn't stay together enough or have much of an impact whatsoever. If you want a light 90 minute action movie, then check it out, because you can do worse. Otherwise, just find something else.

• Bruce B

  
  Excellent Movie where for once its not all about Bruce Willis, Plenty of action throughout the film, great car chase scene. Veronica Echegui is over the top on beauty and acting, as once Sigourney Weaver was but she is far from that now. If you like spy thrillers you will enjoy this… More
  Excellent Movie where for once its not all about Bruce Willis, Plenty of action throughout the film, great car chase scene. Veronica Echegui is over the top on beauty and acting, as once Sigourney Weaver was but she is far from that now. If you like spy thrillers you will enjoy this one as its set in Spain. 4 1/2 stars 3-8-13

• ♥˩ƳИИ &

  
  <b><i>The Cold Light of Day</b></i> was not what I was hoping it would be, which is a great action packed thriller. Instead it was action packed and just OK. The story was lacking. I just didn't care what was happening or if he saved his family. I know,… More
  <b><i>The Cold Light of Day</b></i> was not what I was hoping it would be, which is a great action packed thriller. Instead it was action packed and just OK. The story was lacking. I just didn't care what was happening or if he saved his family. I know, awful. But I was bored. I shouldn't have been considering all the action surrounding the story, but I was. The acting was just OK as well. I was a little disappointed with how much Bruce we get in the movie as well since he and Weaver were my main reason of seeing the film. In the end the film is a turd that could not be polished with the likes of Willis or Weaver. Disappointing.

• Al S

  
  A great surprise to watch. A tense, smart, confident and extremely exciting action-thriller. A heart-pounding and tremendously entertaining chase of a movie with echoes of Bourne. It packs plenty of fire-power as well as star power. Henry Cavill is a charismatic, strong and capable… More
  A great surprise to watch. A tense, smart, confident and extremely exciting action-thriller. A heart-pounding and tremendously entertaining chase of a movie with echoes of Bourne. It packs plenty of fire-power as well as star power. Henry Cavill is a charismatic, strong and capable actor that has potential as an action hero. Bruce Willis is strong and great to watch in his minimal role which helps jump start the piece. Sigourney Weaver is terrific. A sizzling and suspenseful adventure that kicks start your pulse and keeps you on the edge of your seat until its explosive finish. A fun and exhilarating action-packed thrill-ride. It dose not try to be over-ally sophisticated, the lead character is actually a regular guy who is trying to get his family back and has to overcome incredible odds with limited resources and inexperienced alliances.

• Dean !

  
  A fairly decent spy thriller in the style of the Bourne films. It's not up to that standard overall, but on a smaller budget it does a good job with plenty of action on the streets of Madrid. Great performance from Weaver in an unusual role for her.

• Phil H

  
  Pretty standard affair, pretty standard plot but not quite as bad as many have made it out to be in my humble opinion. I think one issue here is the fact the cast seem to be daydreaming through the film. Willis just does what he's done for years with that annoying smirk on his… More
  Pretty standard affair, pretty standard plot but not quite as bad as many have made it out to be in my humble opinion. I think one issue here is the fact the cast seem to be daydreaming through the film. Willis just does what he's done for years with that annoying smirk on his face, does he even know he's in a film?. Weaver isn't really the right person for her role as she's clearly too old and hardly menacing, doesn't look capable of shooting people or even running it seems. The main guy played by Cavill is a big wet let down too really, proves he's no Oscar winning actor by any means. His panicky actions and line spewing is more equivalent of a straight to DVD B-movie action flick, there it would be more acceptable. Everyone else plays standard generic bad guys or shadowy hitmen/special agent types...its all very bland. The plus points are the action which isn't too bad, the car chases are quite good, looks flashy at night with good lighting. Errr the film title has a nice ring to it, errr kinda funny how everybody is such a crap shot haha and the locations are pretty. Yup that's about it folks.

• Lorenzo v

  
  <i>"Instinct is his greatest weapon."</i> After his family is kidnapped during their sailing trip in Spain, a young Wall Street trader is confronted by the people responsible: intelligence agents looking to recover a mysterious briefcase. <center><font… More
  <i>"Instinct is his greatest weapon."</i> After his family is kidnapped during their sailing trip in Spain, a young Wall Street trader is confronted by the people responsible: intelligence agents looking to recover a mysterious briefcase. <center><font size=+2 face="Century Schoolbook"><b><u>REVIEW</u></b></font></center> Young man travels to Spain to spend the holiday with his family, but his relationship with his father is strained to say the least. While aboard a cruise ship with his family he travels into town, returns to find them gone, then gets plunged into an espionage plot after he learns that his father actually works for the CIA. Despite the fact that the young man is a business consultant, the film would have us believe that he can conveniently follow in his father's footsteps by eluding and outsmarting experienced government agents who are on his trail. What wants to be a tense spy thriller falls flat on its face with preposterous plotting, weak acting, and zero tension. It is over-reliant on chases, the villain of the piece is a bit too easy to identify (there could have been some uncertainty which would have been helpful in terms of plot dynamics), and there are vast numbers of unanswered questions and illogicalities. Cavill is extraordinarily dull (something that doesn't bode too well for next year's mega-blockbuster 'Man of Steel'), Willis and Weaver are wasted, and the director hangs them out to dry. What does the title even mean anyway?

• Tyler R

  
  Wow, Sigourney Weaver just loves her some generic spy movies. The Cold Light of Day is about some guy whose family gets kidnapped and now he has to get a briefcase while on the run. The movie is clearly unoriginal. The whole briefcase scenario is a big cliche when it comes to these… More
  Wow, Sigourney Weaver just loves her some generic spy movies. The Cold Light of Day is about some guy whose family gets kidnapped and now he has to get a briefcase while on the run. The movie is clearly unoriginal. The whole briefcase scenario is a big cliche when it comes to these spy movies and this movie uses about every cliche in the book. Henry Cavill stars in the movie and it really is a shame that he had to be in this movie because he's also going to be in Man of Steel and I'm sure he wants people to just forget about this movie. Sigourney Weaver is in it and you would think one shitty spy movie (Abduction) would be enough for her, but nope, she's clearly willing to be in another piece of shit movie like this. Another cast member is Bruce Willis and holy crap is he a waste. His character is just unneccesary and it's obvious the only reason he was in the movie was so the director could be all "I got Bruce Willis to be in my movie, that makes me special." All the performances in this movie suck, but it's not really the actors fault. It's near impossible to say the poorly written dialogue without looking or sounding like a dumbass. As the movie goes on, you get to notice how horribly directed the action scenes are. There's shaky cam all over the place and there are moments when it's too dark and you can't even tell what's happening on screen. When the action scenes aren't happening, you'll be bored because the dialogue and characters aren't remotely interesting and when the action scenes are happening, you'll get a headache from all the shaky cam. The director might as well have given the camera to a five year old with ADHD. Another thing wrong with the movie is how predictable it is. I never felt like the characters were in any danger and there wasn't any tension. Every situation that happened, the resolution could be seen coming from a mile away. If you've seen any of the Bourne movies or hell, even any of the Spy Kids movies, then you've seen this movie. It really baffles me how something like this was greenlit. I know that there are plenty of studios out there that are thirsty for some money, but you need to earn that money by making a movie that will please people. I'm pretty sure that this movie is going to be a failure at the box office, so Lionsgate shouldn't expect much. The Cold Light of Day is a contender for worst film of 2012, don't see it, do something more productive with your time. If Henry Cavill is any good in Man of Steel, I'll forget he was even in this movie.

• Manu G

  
  Instinct is his greatest weapon. Not that good of a movie! Every element of this film that comes together to make the whole is worthy of criticism. The storyline is amateurish. When you get to the end of the film, you recollect what you've just seen and think to yourself man… More
  Instinct is his greatest weapon. Not that good of a movie! Every element of this film that comes together to make the whole is worthy of criticism. The storyline is amateurish. When you get to the end of the film, you recollect what you've just seen and think to yourself man there were so many far fetched scenes and wholly unnecessary ones but then again, if plot didn't contain them, there would be no film! I'm sorry to be so vague, but this film was put together like a recipe. The writer must have asked himself what do I need to put into an action/thriller to make it worthy of that genre? Got all the elements together, and mashed them together hastily to produce this utter waste of time. You're left devoid of any satisfaction by the time you reach the end. Just don't watch it and save yourself some money. Will Shaw arrives in Spain from San Francisco for a holiday which he really doesn't want. He is picked up by his father, Martin, who works in various different countries for the government. Will goes fishing on the next day but is upset about a call he received the day before and this resulting an accident causes his brother's girlfriend being hit on head by the sail. Will then swims into town to get medicine. When he swims back, the ship is abandoned. Will runs to a local police station where the officer in charge finds out he is a wanted. He makes a phone call and then asks Will to take him to the ship. There they meets Zahir, who knows where is Will's family and invites him to show him the way but Will decides to escape in the police car. He crashes into a tree not far and almost gets killed until Martin shows up and escapes with him. Martin reveals he is a CIA agent and the people takes their family are after a briefcase he took. They go to Madrid to meet Martin's partner Jean and Will stays in the car while Martin is talking to Jean, who tells she doesn't have the briefcase anymore. As Martin returns to this car, a sniper kills him. Will barely escapesan attack but the killer is following him through the streets of Madrid. Afterwards, he hides his dad's gun in the trash. Going to the American Embassy, Will discovers that he is framed for killing a police officer. The Embassy tells Diego, Jean and Martin's contact, waits for him and offers help. Will doesn't trust her and fakes illness to escape. Looking through his father's phone, he sees Diego's name that comes up several times and calls it. He also gets a call from the kidnappers who says they want the briefcase in exchange for the family. He gives Will a deadline and meeting point. Will arrives Diego's office and speaks to the girl whom he spoke to on the phone, Lucia. Suddenly, Diego appears and fights with Will but got killed. Lucia and Will go to her uncle's apartment but find out he's dead. Will finds Jean and her hitman Gorman in the kitchen. Jean wants Will to follow her but is interrupted by Lucia coming in guns blazing. Will and Lucia escape through the rooftops and Will is shot. Lucia takes him to a nightclub instead of hospital where her friend offered medica treatment. Will also finds out the Tom is Martin's alias in Spain, and that Lucia is his half sister. Will recovers and goes to a meeting with the kidnapper. The man on the phone is Zahir who initially beats up Will for information. Once he realises Will is really ignorant, Zahir tells him the truth. The briefcase is stolen from a Mossad agent and Zahir is an Israeli agent determined to recover the case. Jean is the corrupt agent, but not Martin. Zahir uses Will to lure out Jean and the buyers of the briefcase. Will uses Lucia's credit card at the club and lures out Gorman who is subdued by the bouncers at the club and tortured for information. Will then let Gorman escapes so they can follow him. This works and Jean is found at an underground car park. The Israeli agents follow but alert Jean. Gorman is killed trying to escape in his car and Will and Lucia then pursue Jean. After a pursuit through Madrid, the roles are reversed and Jean chases them due to her frustration in their interference. The cars then collide and Will's car is worse off. Just as Jean is about to deliver the final blow, she is taken out by Zahir, who retrieves the briefcase. As Lucia recovers in hospital, she also meets her new half family, and Will is offered a job in CIA.

• Liam G

  
  There can only be two reasons as to why these high-profile stars took this movie: 1. To go to Spain for a while. 2. To get a high pay cheque. Just as well Snyder didn't see this movie before he cast Superman.

• Sophie B

  
  The trailer was more dramatic and fulfilling than the actual film. Complete waste of time, the plot is so simple and obvious (despite the holes) and I just really didn't care about any of the characters. It has some brilliant cinematography and a decent cast but even they… More
  The trailer was more dramatic and fulfilling than the actual film. Complete waste of time, the plot is so simple and obvious (despite the holes) and I just really didn't care about any of the characters. It has some brilliant cinematography and a decent cast but even they couldn't pull this through.

• Scott G

  
  A weak, limp version of The Bourne trilogy, accompanied by a well known cast tht just seem to make the situation worse, I couldn't help but feel the urge to leave, but I didn't, just had to think about the first 10 minutes I had just seen. The film is filled with some cringy… More
  A weak, limp version of The Bourne trilogy, accompanied by a well known cast tht just seem to make the situation worse, I couldn't help but feel the urge to leave, but I didn't, just had to think about the first 10 minutes I had just seen. The film is filled with some cringy action scenes and a script that could make me cry, I got through it, at last.

• The Movie W

  
  Usually this is where I try to sum up the plot in a neat sentence but seeing as how this movie doesn't have one I'm kind of stuck. Back in January, Soderbergh's "Haywire" set the bar at a new low for the spy thriller. Well this movie takes on the challenge… More
  Usually this is where I try to sum up the plot in a neat sentence but seeing as how this movie doesn't have one I'm kind of stuck. Back in January, Soderbergh's "Haywire" set the bar at a new low for the spy thriller. Well this movie takes on the challenge and limbos it's way right under that bar. Were it not for the fact that this coming Friday sees the release of a movie based on a Hasbro board game, I would guarantee this is the most badly written movie of the year. Screenwriters Scott Wiper and John Petro manage to pull off a unique feat; despite not being able to follow the plot you'll still be able to predict every scene of this turkey. I actually developed a headache trying to make sense of this. Eventually I gave up as I realised the writers were no more clued in than I was. If you sat an eight year old in front of "The Bourne Identity" and asked him to recreate the script from memory you might end up with something like this. An American finds himself in a European city, there's a car chase involving bouncing down steps, an evil female CIA chief, a piece of Euro totty who turns out to be Cavill's sister, thus ruining any sexual tension that may liven up the movie. As if an incomprehensible script wasn't enough, Belgian hack El Mechri assaults us with the usual shaky cam nonsense, frequently shooting night scenes that are too dark to comprehend. It features the most badly filmed car chase since Michael Bay's "The Rock". I'm always complaining about how no original screenplays get made anymore but if this is the quality that's out there maybe Hollywood should stick to the remakes and board game adaptations. This movie should never have been allowed to see the cold light of day.

• Philip P

  
  After several delays it became more and more evident exactly what the The Cold Light of Day really was. There is nothing that could have made this film look any less inspired except for the possibility that rising star Henry Cavill chose it as an opportunity to put his stamp on a good… More
  After several delays it became more and more evident exactly what the The Cold Light of Day really was. There is nothing that could have made this film look any less inspired except for the possibility that rising star Henry Cavill chose it as an opportunity to put his stamp on a good little chase film. The new Superman will have to continue trying though as this forgettable little action film from unknown director Mabrouk El Mechri reaches the pinnacle of generic. There is no depth to the script and no real time to even get to know the motivations of the stock characters that wander across the screen. One has to be curious as to how these kinds of movies continue to get made and with such impressive casts. As you watch the film you cannot help but to wonder who read this and thought it stood a chance of rising above an already crowded season of drudge and bland action flicks. Dropped in the wasteland that can be late August and early September the film will still have trouble finding an audience. What stood out besides an easy paycheck and free vacation to credible actors like Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver who show up, do what they are accustomed to and leave without even caring what the circumstances of their characters are? Probably that paycheck and free vacation, but still despite the lovely tour of Madrid the film does provide in spots i can't help but to feel I'm going to take out all my frustrations on the studio system for dumping this type of generic crap on unsuspecting moviegoers who will pay their good money to see Willis and Cavill in a good old fashioned action film when Willis is dead less than twenty minutes in. read the whole review at www.reviewsfromabed.blogspot.com

• Andreia C

  
  Simple spy plot movie, with no twists, what you see is what you get. I always like to see Sigourney Weaver play the villain, but oh well, she was missing something this time. Bruce Willis barely has any lines. Henry Cavill the script sucked but I expected more from you, I hope you do… More
  Simple spy plot movie, with no twists, what you see is what you get. I always like to see Sigourney Weaver play the villain, but oh well, she was missing something this time. Bruce Willis barely has any lines. Henry Cavill the script sucked but I expected more from you, I hope you do a better Superman.

• Nicolas K

  
  I should have read the movie tagline more carefully: "be careful who you trust"... Well I should have trusted my insticts which warned me to avoid this big budget, big names action film incapable of even create a ripple.

• Jason C

  
  ARGH! Don't you hate it when you go into a movie thinking it's going to be horrible and it's just as bad as you expect? It's rarely the case, but this movie overachieved in being bad. This movie only cost $20 million to make and might not even recoup that… More
  ARGH! Don't you hate it when you go into a movie thinking it's going to be horrible and it's just as bad as you expect? It's rarely the case, but this movie overachieved in being bad. This movie only cost $20 million to make and might not even recoup that worldwide. Will Shaw (Henry Cavill) goes to Spain to spend time with his dysfunctional family on his dad's (Bruce Willis) boat. His family is kidnapped and he ends up running from the bad guys while searching for a briefcase that you'll never know the contents of in order to get his family back alive. And I couldn't pull out my phone to cruise the internet because two other people came to see the movie and I'm courteous. Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver didn't even want to invest the effort to help make The Cold Light of Day any better. They were just kind of there. That's pretty bad. Henry Cavill was stunningly horrible. He's going to be in The Man of Steel, the upcoming Superman movie, and I hope he's a lot better than this. There was no substance, no twist that surprised me, bad acting, bad directing, a HORRIBLE script, and probably an editor who spliced film with his tears while he put this together. I don't know what kind of camera they used, but it had to have been old. Any time the camera was moved or an actor moved too quickly, everything went blurry. There will never be a time you need to watch The Cold Light of Day. It's really bad and the only thing you can possibly get from watching this is a migraine.

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