Aaaaahhhh! Water train!
Most of the time the enjoyment value in a Sly Stallone film can be astutely judged by the trailer. If he appears with his shirt off (Rambo / Rocky / The Expendables) your juvenile entertainment value is all but assured. If he somehow manages to keep his shirt on (Judge Dredd / Rhinestone / Stop! Or my Mom will shoot etc) things generally don’t go so well.
In Daylight Stallone keeps his shirt on. Despite this though he manages to find a companion piece to Cop Land in the little known field of ‘shirt-on successes’.
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Some naughty guys manage to cause a massive explosion in the New York – New Jersey tunnel, simultaneously blocking both ends and leaving the precious few survivors cold, wet and rapidly running out of options. Unfortunately the explosion was 15 or so years too early to prevent the escape of the Jersey Shore and Jerseylicious idiots, but you can’t have everything.
(Nothing to do with the plot but the actual explosion and subsequent fireworks is awesomely pulled off, I’m not sure if it was miniatures or 90s CGI, I only know I wished for a Blu-Ray instead of the DVD I rented.)
Enter Sly Stallone as Kit Latura, who until moments before was merely another New York Cab Driver who didn’t speak English. Using skills gleaned from a previous career – that we hear of throughout the film – Kit manages to save many victims in the tunnel exterior before promptly deciding he is the only man capable saving those still trapped inside.
And whaddya know he’s right.
After another tension filled scene Kit finds himself inside and meets the usual motley crew of huddled desperates, with the added spice being provided by the inclusion of a few hardened prisoners that were in transit before the explosion. Among the others are a middle class family, some retirees, a tunnel worker, a genuine high rolling thrill seeker, and of course even a damsel for Kit to save and bond with (Amy Brenneman).
From here it is all Hollywood; Kit must cajole and caress the survivors through a series of ever-increasing dangers and perils, with new causes of premature death only seconds behind at all times. There is a direct correlation between how cocky / dangerous you are and your likelihood of living, and of course some good people must be sacrificed in the name of viewer empathy. There’s even a dog and a kid for the more hardened viewers out there.
Will this sneaky manipulative emotional blackmail ever end?
These cumulative dozen or so people, all of who rely solely on Kit to save them from almost certain death by an ever-increasing range of threats, are alternately indignant, ungrateful, defeated, elated, helpful and supportive, depending on the needs of the film at the time.
The strange thing is that we’ve seen it all before – many times – Outbreak came out the year before and tried all the same tricks. But with this film there are 25 examples of ‘just when you think it can’t get any worse…’ and somehow they all work. Sure it ain’t a Picasso, but strike me if it isn’t a tension filled thrill ride (that’s at least what the promo poster might say – but it is!).
When I plugged in the DVD and settled back I was hoping for little more than a couple hours of time killing. While future viewings might deaden my support I quite enjoyed watching Daylight, which in itself guarantees there will at least be one more viewing at some point in the future. Having avoided Outbreak deliberately for a decade and a half I only wish I could say the same for that monkey-virus drivel.
Final Rating – 7.5 / 10. Hollywood formula all the way… to the bank. The enjoyment bank. (Last The Simpsons joke rip-off for at least 24 hours, I promise.)
