Daylight Movie Review

Daylight (1996)

Rent Daylight on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Leslie Bohem
Directed by: Rob Cohen
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Amy Brenneman, Viggo Mortensen, Dan Hedaya
Rated: PG-13
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Plot
Both ends of a New York City tunnel collapse, trapping hundreds of motorists beneath the Hudson River. Can one man lead the commuters to daylight?

Verdict
It's a big dumb action movie, and there's nothing wrong with that. This is nearly non-stop running from disaster as Stallone tries to lead survivors to safety. It's one thing after another, and it doesn't stop until the end. There are better disaster action movies, but this does enough to keep you entertained. Sometimes you want an action movie that requires little thinking, and Daylight delivers on that.
It depends.

Review
Various characters all head to the Holland tunnel. The first scene is some kind of scheme to take toxic waste to New Jersey. I'm not sure what it is, but it is dangerous. It's also easy to guess where it's going, but that's not the point. This is the movie you jump start quickly to get to the plot. This feels like a typical 90s movie with a quick action filled premise to get things started.

Various factors contribute to the toxic waste trucks exploding. It's the fireball of all fireballs. Would a nuclear bomb do this much damage? I don't know how anyone survived. Kit Latura (Sylvester Stallone) is a limo driver heading to the tunnel. We soon learn, driving isn't his specialty. He's the former fire department chief. That's an ongoing plot element to give the character some depth.

Sylvester Stallone plays Kit Latura

Latura volunteers to go into the tunnel to rescue the few survivors. This movie is silly, but it's a fun enough disaster movie. To get into the collapsed tunnel Latura heads through the ventilation shaft. I doubt this old tunnel has several giant fans in succession all with brand new digital timers to let us know exactly when the fans will start back up. Who would ever see these timers? Also they can only be shut down for a few seconds, meaning Latura must scramble through or get scrambled.

There's plenty of tension, and this is bleak as people keep dying. Latura risks his life to help the people escape, but he doesn't have a plan. One of the survivors remembers him and the scandal that got him fired. I imagined he took the fall or someone else or there was some other mitigating circumstance.

Sylvester Stallone, Amy Brenneman play Kit Latura, Maddie Thompson

This is a big dumb action movie, and there's nothing wrong with that. While the idea has been done better, it's entertaining. Circumstances keep getting more dire. When the tunnel starts flooding Latura proposes they blow up the tunnel again to stop the leak. Understandably the survivors doubt his plan. He plants an explosive which causes a tanker truck to loose it's wheels and become a perfect cylinder rolling down the tunnel.

Most movie cut the characters down to a core group of survivors and leave it at that. With this movie, people keep dying which continues to increase the tension. Due to the scandal that got him fired, he refuses to leave anyone behind which consistently puts him in danger.

This doesn't break any ground, but it gets you where you're going. It's refreshing to see Stallone play a slightly more mortal character as opposed to Rambo.