THE COLD LIGHT OF DAY (Mabrouk El Mechri). 93 minutes. Opens Friday (September 5). See listings. Rating: NNN
The Cold Light Of Day is an entertaining, undemanding man-on-the-run thriller that starts its chase early and zips right along to the end with barely a pause for breath.
The plot’s a mere excuse for the action. An American businessman vacationing with his mother, father and brother on a small yacht comes back from an errand to find the yacht adrift and everyone vanished. In no time at all, he’s racing through the Madrid night, pursued by killers and cops and hunting secret documents that will let him free his kidnapped family. Along the way, he acquires a girl.
The action features one wholly unexpected, convention-shattering and jaw-droppingly brilliant stunt sequence. Otherwise, it’s straightforward run-and-gun, but well shot and passably thrilling.
Sigourney Weaver steals the show. With her red gash mouth and icy eyes, she’s the very image of the soul-dead CIA spymaster, and even more fun when she starts to mutter. Bruce Willis turns in a less cocky, less likeable version of his standard tough guy, and Henry Cavill and Verónica Echegui – hero and girl – handle their underdeveloped characters as well as can be expected.
The seldom-seen Madrid and Costa del Sol locations provide a pretty backdrop for the derring-do.
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