Daylight

Year 4, Day 270 - 9/26/12 - Movie #1,260

WORLD TOUR Day 24 - New York, NY

BEFORE:  Headed back from Brooklyn into Manhattan - but the bridges are busy this time of day, so we should take the tunnel.  Gee, I hope nothing goes wrong...

Linking from "Brighton Beach Memoirs", Judith Ivey was also in a film called "A Life Less Ordinary" with Dan Hedaya (last seen in "Searching for Bobby Fischer").  Thanks go out to the Oracle of Bacon for that one. 

THE PLOT: Disaster in a New York tunnel as explosions collapse both ends of it. One hero tries to help the people inside find their way to safety.

AFTER:  OK, so technically the tunnel is not named, but from the visual cues of the surrounding area, it's got to be the Holland Tunnel.  I'll adjust the mileage counter accordingly.  My dad always used to point out locations in films that he recognized, mostly things shot in the Boston area, and now I get to do the same thing with films shot in New York.  (and Boston, San Diego, San Francisco)

The first half of this film is utterly ridiculous, as we see a number of different people's narrative threads going essentially nowhere, except that these people from different social classes represent the people who are later going to be traveling through the tunnel at the worst possible time.  The accident that occurs is so bizarre that I can barely stand to repeat it.  Why did it have to be THAT exact combination of jewel thieves and toxic waste?  Does toxic waste even explode?  Did someone even think to check that factoid?

It turns out that the only man who remembers the proper training, having run a simulation on how to handle a tunnel explosion, was removed from duty months prior, and is now driving a cab.  But his cab just happens to be JUST outside the tunnel when disaster strikes - how's that for coincidence.  BUT, no one will listen to him, despite the fact that he's the only one with the knowledge to keep the situation from getting worse.  Maybe they just won't listen to him because he's played by Sylvester Stallone.

Let me repeat that - Sylvester Stallone plays the only man with the intelligence to contain the explosion.  Thousands of trained emergency professionals, and it comes down to him.  The problem, however, seems to be that all of his solutions involve blowing stuff up.  The tunnel's on fire?  Well, we'll just have to blow it up!  Your leg is stuck in a pipe?  Well, we'll just have to blow it up!

Then there's a lot of arguing, over what to do, what not to do, with people all talking at once.  Maybe that's the way people in a panic situation talk, but a movie needs to have clear dialogue.  Some of the dialogue that did cut through the chatter was blatantly ridiculous, though - "We have to make a short swim under water."  As opposed to what, swimming through the air?  Through pudding? 

The second half of the film got better, since it was more action-packed.  But this was still too reminiscent of "The Poseidon Adventure", minus the ocean liner, plus the Holland Tunnel.  The concept is the same - a small group of survivors has to keep moving and overcome obstacles, heading for a rescue that they're not sure is coming. 

The last shot in the film is of the World Trade Center, which was a solid editing choice then, but now it's an eerie precursor of events in the real world just 5 years later.  It's almost saying, "Sure, our tunnels may collapse, but our buildings will always stand!"  If only.

Also starring Amy Brenneman (last seen in "Heat"), Viggo Mortensen (last seen in "The Road"), Jay O. Sanders (last seen in "Green Lantern"), Karen Young (could've sworn it was Melanie Mayron, but it wasn't), Stan Shaw (last seen in "Cutthroat Island"), Vanessa Bell Callaway.

DISTANCE TRAVELED TODAY:  12 miles / 19 km  (Brighton Beach, Brooklyn to the Holland Tunnel in Manhattan)

DISTANCE TRAVELED SO FAR:   5,796 miles / 9,330 km

RATING:  5 out of 10 giant fans (this is an aggregate score tonight, since the first half of the film is like a 3, and the 2nd half about a 7)