Cold Light of Day, The (1/29/2013)

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and language.

Starring Henry Cavill, Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver

Directed by Mabrouk El Mechri (JCVD)

Dear Mr. Bruce Willis, after seeing this, all I’m going to say is A Good Day to Die Hard better be really, really good!

Will Shaw (Henry Cavill) goes to Spain for a week long sailing vacation with his family but his whole world turns upside down when the family is kidnapped by intelligence agents hell-bent on recovering a mysterious briefcase and Will suddenly finds himself on the run.

I really don’t want to waste your time on this “should have been a direct-to-video” movie review, so I’ll make this brief.

After a slow and awkward start, The Cold Light of Day turns into a generic chase/shootout movie that will have you checking your watch every minute or two. Not only do you have to put up with completely undeveloped characters, mindless action, and a dull plot throughout the entire film, but now you also have to put up with some pretty bad editing as the extended chase scene goes on and on. And this is where I totally lost interest.

As far as the cast goes, Bruce Willis, Sigourney Weaver and even Henry Cavill all have talent to spare. So what went wrong? I have to lay the blame at Director, Mabrouk El Mechri’s feet. That being said, Sigourney Weaver hasn’t made a great movie in over 20 years (1986’s Aliens).

I don’t know if Redbox has ever given a refund, but I think I have a strong case this time…it’s a “Coaster.”

SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
I would say no because it is such a dud, but if you are asking if you should allow your teenager to watch it, I would say this. This is a pretty typical PG-13 movie with a lot of violence and some profanity (several S-words and 1 F-word).

CONVERSATION STARTER

1. Instead of abandoning his family, what does Will decide to do?


2. What does he experience as he tries to save them?


3. On a scale of 1-10 (1 extremely low and 10 being extremely high) how would you score Will’s endurance?


4. Read Romans 5:3-5
   
   We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
   
   What struggles are you facing now?


5. What can you do this to keep going and not give up?