Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Fails on every level and whoever wrote the script kind of guessed or knew that well.The only way this film keeps you watching is some general kind of suspense about what anything means in it - what anything is for. Does it have any purpose? As it turns out - it all means nothing, or the unsaid, and it isn't possible to care in any event.A serious, serious, serious avoider. It doesn't even pretend to make any much sense by the end.This must be one of the worst films I have ever seen. The budget must have been huge also - Willis, Weaver, but it isn't even in the world of failed A-list films. I doubt it even makes it into failed D-list films, so the Hollywood A- list cast inclusions and budget for the Spanish locations just leaves you utterly bewildered.Why on earth? Who would do this?If this is on TV it will waste hours of your life if you watch. Whatever you do, don't exchange any money for this film, streaming or disc.

I remember seeing the DVD cover for The Cold Light of Day many times in the last couple of months I worked at Blockbuster, I knew it was probably going to be typical run of the mill stuff, but easy entertainment all the same. Basically Will Shaw (Man of Steel's Henry Cavill) is a financial adviser from San Francisco, he is reluctantly visiting his family during summer break for a holiday in Spain, including with his father Martin (Bruce Willis), an adviser for the government. Following a minor sailing accident, and the family squabbling, Will swims ashore to get medical supplies and take some time to cool down, when he returns the boat is missing, after informing the police, he is taken to Zahir (Roschdy Zem), he knows where his family is. Will senses something is wrong and tries to make an escape, then Martin shows up and beats up the police officers, he reveals he is a CIA agent and that the family were taken hostage because of a briefcase he stole. They travel to Madrid where Martin meets with his CIA team leader Jean Carrack (Sigourney Weaver), Will stays in the car and watches them talk, Martin does not believe her when she says she no longer has the briefcase, Martin returning to the car is then shot dead by sniper Gorman (Joseph Mawle). In panic Will takes Martin's phone and gun, he is chased through Madrid by police and Gorman, he manages to escape, and makes a call on the phone to the kidnappers, they demand the briefcase in exchange for his family, he is given a meeting point and a deadline of 21 hours. Will arrives at Diego's office and meets receptionist Lucia Caldera (Verónica Echegui), who he spoke to on the phone, they are targeted by agents and escape across the rooftops, but Will is shot, Lucia takes him to a nightclub rather than a hospital, to a friend with medical experience, Lucia also reveals she is in fact Will's half sister, being Martin's daughter by another woman. Lucia comes up with a plan to lure Carrack out, Gorman is caught by bouncers and tortured for information, he gives nothing away, but Will suggests making him believe he has escaped and to follow him, this works and they find Carrack, she leads them to an underground car park, the two sides end up in a big car chase going through Madrid, with the roles reversed and Carrack chasing them. When the cars finally crash Lucia is seriously injured, Carrack is about to shoot Will, but a sniper shoots her, Zahir retrieves the briefcase, Lucia recovers in hospital, and gets to meet her half relatives as Will is reunited with his family, Will is offered a job in the CIA, it is unclear what his decision is. Also starring Jim Piddock as Meckler, Hook's Caroline Goodall as Laurie and Óscar Jaenada as Maximo. Cavill is only reasonable as the confused guy caught in the middle, Weaver does well as the treacherous CIA handler, Willis only gets a little time to be stern, it is a predictable story of a ransom and double-crossing over something vital you never get to see in a briefcase, and it is filled with the expected shoot-outs, punch-ups and chase sequences, I will admit some of these got my attention, but overall it is a very average action thriller. Okay!

One of the pointless movie with actors like Bruce Willis and Weaver made to look like jokers.Don't waste 90 min of your time watching this movie. This is the first time i reviewed a movie on IMDb. After watching the movie on a DVD I felt like 4.9 rating and some of the early reviews were so biased and generous which made a ridiculous far below average movie to sound like an average movie. No character development and the lack of plot made the action scenes laughable and pointless. I would give a zero rating if allowed to discourage this kind of pointless garbage on your face kind of movies with A-list actors.

It wasn't very long into this film before I began to realize that I was going to give this film a low rating. I was thinking a 6...then down to a 5...then down to a 4, then down to a 3. I'm even debating whether a "3" isn't being generous.But, my generosity is only because I got to thinking...what would I do, put in a situation where my family has been kidnapped and/or killed, and I had no idea whatsoever about what was happening or why. How hyper would I be? And that's what the son character is here -- hyper and disorganized. Even so, the violence here is unprecedented and unnecessary. The general theme here seems to be to get the most bang for the buck, whether some of it makes sense or not. It's another of those films where you might wonder how no one ever saw that things were going wrong The primary actors here (other than thug heavies) are Henry Cavill (who does okay as the confused son and the script he has to work with), Sigourney Weaver who just seems like a cardboard cutout in this film, Bruce Willis who is interesting for as long as he is around, and Verónica Echegui as the woman who becomes involved in the situation.The characters in the movie are simply out of control, and clearly, so was the director. If he never makes another film, it will be too soon. Perhaps the French would be well-advised to stick with their worshiping of Jerry Lewis...at least that would be more productive.The lucky one here was Brice Willis -- his character died fairly soon into the film. I'm rather surprised that this film was a career-ender for much of the cast.