OK for kids 14+
Amazingly dumb thriller has violence and sexual content.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that The Cold Light of Day -- a kidnap/rescue thriller set in Madrid -- has lots of shooting and car crashes, and characters are beaten up quite frequently (and there are deaths), but there's not much blood. Language is sparse, but contains two uses of "s--t." Though there's no real nudity or sex, there's a subplot about an extramarital affair and its consequences. There are also a couple of shots of the main character shirtless and some supporting characters kissing. Characters drink in a background way, though in more than one instance, it looks as though they're trying to get drunk.
- Families can talk about the movie's violence. How does it compare to what you've seen in other thrillers and action movies?
- At the end of the movie, the main character is praised for his actions, even though a lot of people were hurt and killed and a lot of property was destroyed. Should there have been consequences for these actions?
- Are any of the characters role models? Are they meant to be?
The good stuff
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Messages: Nobody learns much of anything here. After his adventure -- and causing untold amounts of violence, wreckage, and death -- the character is offered a job (so there are no negative consequences).
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Role models: The main character spends the entire film trying to rescue his family and doesn't seem to care how that comes about. He could actually be collaborating with terrorists, though the movie isn't clear on that point. He argues with people, wrecks cars and property, and, though he doesn't actually kill anyone himself, he's certainly around when people die. The rest of the characters aren't around enough to be role models.
What to watch for
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Violence: Many bullets are fired, but characters seem to die more often from car crashes than anything else. One main character dies, and people are kidnapped. Lots of fighting and beating people up, but not a great deal of blood. In one harrowing scene, a character tries to help a gunshot victim, first by digging around inside the wound to find the bullet, and then cauterizing the wound with a hot spoon -- though most of this gory stuff happens just off screen.
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Sex: No nudity or sex, but (spoiler alert) in a subplot it's revealed that the main character's father had an extramarital affair that resulted in another child; he kept this second family secret from his first family. Otherwise, the main character is seen shirtless in a couple of scenes, and another supporting character is seen in a bikini and kissing her boyfriend.
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Language: Infrequent language includes one "f--k" and a few "s--t"s, as well as "bitch," "goddamn," "hell," and "oh my God." One character apparently says "f---ing," but the word is drowned out under the noise of a gunshot.
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Consumerism: Quick shots of a Coca-Cola can, a BlackBerry mobile device, and a MasterCard.
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Drinking, drugs and smoking: A family drinks wine at dinner. One character gulps down a glass after hearing some bad news. A minor character, a nightclub owner/manager, drinks lots of hard liquor every time he's on screen.
Fan Reviews provided by
1
Cold Light of Day by classic style
One of the worst movies I've ever seen. We left in the middle of the movie. Acting was bad; plot was even worse. Don't waste your money.
4
Action packed by lisa_n_jackson
This movie was awesome! I'm a Bruce Willis fan and of course I had to go see it since he was in it although briefly. There were some unexpected twists and turns but isn't that what makes a movie good! I recommend going to go see this movie. Not familiar with the other characters. If you are looking for a good action movie, this is a must see!
3
Cold light of day (very cold......) by Mubuhi
I think Bruce Willis was in the movie to promote it. He was so short like Steven Seigel in the movie Excutive Decision. He was gone to soon in the movie to have even his pic on the movie poster. Weird up and down movie and ends like they ran out of money.
3
The Cold Light of Day by fred1
The names of Sigourney Weaver and Bruce Willis might draw you in but the movie is just not that good! The story line might have had potential but the dialogue came up short and didn't connect the story together. When you watch it, it seems like everybody just came to work that day to get a pay check vs really acting. However, it could also be said that the actors were really trying but the directing and editing sucked big time. Either way, take your pick, or my advice, and watch something else.
4
Where was Willis? by Movie_Buff_86
The movie was entertaining, and yes there was action but the trailor was kind of deceiving. I am a huge Bruce Willis fan and i thought he was going to have more of a role than just 15 minutes. From what the trailors showed, he would be acting throughout the flick, but that was not the case. That was my only negative about the movie, because it was entertaining and it did keep you on the edge of your seat. A young man Will Shaw (Henry Cavill) travels to Spain to spend a week with his family to sail throughout Europe. He goes to town looking for medicine, and when he comes back his whole family is gone. This will begin the manhunt for Will and the whereabouts of this mysterious briefcase that has the eye of many who want it. Verónica Echegui (Lucia), Bruce Willis (Martin), Sigourney Weaver (Carrack), Joseph Mawle (Gorman), Caroline Goodall (Laurie), Rafi Gavron (Josh) and Emma Hamilton (Dara) are also in the movie. Beware Willis fans, he has a few lines and that is it.
3
weak movie - but I didn't feel the need to walk out by IMAXimus
A few things were right with this movie...primarily the scenery and on-location filming.
The weakness is that they never developed a strong protagonist or antagonist. It's sort of unclear who the "bad guys" really are and they don't really make you cheer for the "good guys" because they never get you to really love them like a good capture/revenge movie.
I would actually not recommend this for the casual movie goer who wants to see a good movie.
4
Good time waster by jhs39
Solid B movie about hapless American man who finds out that his dad was actually a CIA agent and that his family has been kidnapped and people are trying to kill him. This is fast paced and has well-directed action scenes. Worth seeing if you aren't expecting something with a huge budget along the lines of a Die Hard or Michael Bay film.
1
Don't go, Don't rent by joemarine80
Sorry Bruce, you picked a stinker. I took two phone calls outside the theater it was so bad. Would have left, but I was on a date. Worst movie I have seen in years. I go to one or two movies a week and just want to be entertained. This one would be a waste of time and money for a rental. Did I mention I didn't like this movie?
3
Waste of Great Actors - Spoiler Alert by femme208
If you don't want the movie ruined for you, please don't read this review. I am going to talk about things that I am pretty sure will mess up your viewing pleasure. Otherwise, if you don't care, read on. There were some great actors in this movie, but they really were not given much to work with. Additionally, Bruce Willis was killed off pretty much as soon as the real action started and his son, Will (played by Henry Cavill), really wasn't much of a replacement. As Cavill's vehicle towards an action hero career, this wasn't the best introduction. Besides the plot being simply unbelievable and contrived, the fight scenes and car chases were just not exciting. Predictably, when the evil Sigourney Weaver was about to take Cavill out in the final scene, the good guys showed up just in time to take her out. Despite the fact that we had just seen the main guy shot in the back by Sigourney. It would have been a bit more interesting if they had at least killed off the brother's girlfriend.
3
Hard Sell Intrigue Meets Passive Aggressive Thriller. by Alon Patterson
This movie gets points for being a moving target. To me, the plot is a little too reminiscent of 1988's "Frantic" sans Harrison Ford. Sigourney Weaver and Bruce Willis are given very little to work with here but do manage to bring substance to an otherwise dull and lifeless effort. It's hard to feel empathy for the protagonist in this screenplay and the opportunity to visually capitalize on the locations, Spain and an awesome sailboat, are all but wasted. While this isn't a bad movie, it's far from an action filled blockbuster, despite the attempt to fill the screen with car chases and machine gun battles. If you're not opposed to a lackluster movie and want to see what $20 million buys in film making these days, this is your ticket. Otherwise, you might want to wait for the stream or DVD. You'll be glad you did.