Embarrassingly, seeing it again now, I used to really like "Daylight" and even owned it on VHS. Watching it again for the first time in 20 years it was interesting to see which bits I remembered and what I'd forgotten - and also to see how unkind time had been to it.
A major crash in the New York / New Jersey Tunnel, involving illegally transported chemical waste, traps a number of survivors in the centre, unable to leave by either exit. Kit Latura (Sylvester Stallone) a disgraced former emergency rescue chief is on site, and comes up with a plan to get to the survivors and find a way out from there, but is opposed by representatives of the city, who want to get the tunnel open again as quickly as possible.
The two bits of the film that have stuck with me for all this time are Amy Brenneman's opening scene in her infested apartment - and the fate of Viggo Mortensen's all action Roy Nord. Away from those, "Daylight" is a disaster movie in the classic mould of "The Poseidon Adventure" - so much does it crib from that film, that the idea it was supposed to be a sequel/remake at one point doesn't come as much of a surprise. Our survivors are lost slowly to various catastrophes, as the rest of the group try to find a way to safety for as long as possible. Performances are passable, if a bit cliché - aging couple, family struggling with their emotional baggage, hero with a death wish, dog.
The visual effects is where the film starts to look old. Despite some nice early explosions and anything that's practical still looking ok, there's obvious model work in some sections of the film and there's a CGI composite shot at the end, to make it look like characters are in a certain bit of water, that is one of the ropiest that I can remember. There are also numerous shots of the World Trade Center, which adds a macabre overtone to the whole thing. And an awful song over the end credits.
Ultimately, it's not so spectacularly bad that it's worth watching for that reason, nor good enough to warrant the time investment.
A major crash in the New York / New Jersey Tunnel, involving illegally transported chemical waste, traps a number of survivors in the centre, unable to leave by either exit. Kit Latura (Sylvester Stallone) a disgraced former emergency rescue chief is on site, and comes up with a plan to get to the survivors and find a way out from there, but is opposed by representatives of the city, who want to get the tunnel open again as quickly as possible.
The two bits of the film that have stuck with me for all this time are Amy Brenneman's opening scene in her infested apartment - and the fate of Viggo Mortensen's all action Roy Nord. Away from those, "Daylight" is a disaster movie in the classic mould of "The Poseidon Adventure" - so much does it crib from that film, that the idea it was supposed to be a sequel/remake at one point doesn't come as much of a surprise. Our survivors are lost slowly to various catastrophes, as the rest of the group try to find a way to safety for as long as possible. Performances are passable, if a bit cliché - aging couple, family struggling with their emotional baggage, hero with a death wish, dog.
The visual effects is where the film starts to look old. Despite some nice early explosions and anything that's practical still looking ok, there's obvious model work in some sections of the film and there's a CGI composite shot at the end, to make it look like characters are in a certain bit of water, that is one of the ropiest that I can remember. There are also numerous shots of the World Trade Center, which adds a macabre overtone to the whole thing. And an awful song over the end credits.
Ultimately, it's not so spectacularly bad that it's worth watching for that reason, nor good enough to warrant the time investment.