DAYLIGHT
A film review by Michael John Legeros
Copyright 1996 Michael John Legeros
(Universal)
Directed by Rob Cohen
Written by Leslie Bohem
Cast Sylvester Stallone, Amy Brenneman, Viggo Mortensen, Jay
O. Sanders, Karen Young, Danielle Harris, Stan Shaw,
Claire Bloom, Colin Fox, Dan Heday
MPAA Rating "PG-13"
Running Time 116 minutes
Reviewed at General Cinemas at Pleasant Valley, Raleigh, NC (6DEC96)
==
This mildly diverting update of THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE stars Sly Stallone as the sole rescuer of a group of motorists trapped in New York City's Holland Tunnel after a chemical explosion seals off both ends. Along with the survivors-- about a dozen, all carefully balanced by both race and socio-economic status-- our hero, who's the city's former EMS Chief, must contend with in-fighting, flood- ing, hypothermia, structural collapse, and, last but not least, a flotilla of New York's most-famous four-legged friends. Why did it have to be rats? Both the dialogue and the plot are laughable-- witness Amy Brenneman wrestling with a sparking power wire as if it were a live anaconda.
The tunnel's resemblance to a future Universal Studios theme park ride is also unfortunate. Two early sequences do dazzle, though: the big fireball, which is a seat-gripper, and Stallone playing a Super Mario Brother as he attempts to jump through four giant fans. (Each is timed separately and can be stopped only once and only for a few seconds.) While the entire cast deserves a special Oscar for maintaining the year's straightest faces, mention must be made of Stallone, who never lets us forget how hard he works for his money, be it climbing rocks, hanging from girders, or exploring underwater anterooms. What a guy.
Grade: C-
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Mike Legeros - Raleigh, NC, USA, Earth legeros@pagesz.net (h) - legeros@unx.sas.com (w) I'm also on the Web! http://www.pagesz.net/~legeros/
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