← Back to results
The Cold Light of Day
2012 93 min Spain, United States of America PG-13 16+
★4.3
Action, Thriller, Mystery
Director: Mabrouk El Mechri
Trailers
Description
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.
Budget:
$20M
US Gross:
$3.76M
Worldwide:
$16.86M
Starring
Henry Cavill
Actor
Bruce Willis
Actor
Sigourney Weaver
Actor
Awards
2 nominations total
Key opinion
The Cold Light of Day is widely regarded as a generic and forgettable action-thriller that fails to elevate its familiar spy-genre tropes. While some viewers find it a passable, low-stakes watch for a casual evening, most critics and audience members dismiss it as thin, illogical, and heavily reliant on star power to mask a weak narrative.
| Screenplay | The plot is a collection of derivative spy-thriller clichés, ranging from kidnapped families to generic government conspiracies and incoherent MacGuffins. | |
| Acting | The marketing leans heavily on the inclusion of Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver, despite their roles being brief, minimal, or underwhelming. | |
| Production | The film effectively utilizes the scenery and cultural landmarks of Spain as a backdrop for its chases and action sequences. | |
| Editing | Opinions on the action are split; some appreciate the visceral, energetic nature of the stunts, while others find the editing disjointed and the combat logic inconsistent. | |
| Accessibility | Viewers are divided on whether the film serves as a decent, undemanding diversion for a bored evening or as an entirely empty, skippable experience. |