Oh, my dear, dear 1990s, how I've missed you. How long has it been? Eleven years now? I just wanted to drop you a quick line to thank you for a decade of cinema defined by a resurgence of formulaic disaster flicks. Dante's Peak, Outbreak, Independence Day, Twister, Hard Rain, Armageddon, Deep Impact, Volcano, box-office behemoth Titanic and a slew of direct-to-video building-busters and dam-bursters designed to pit ordinary men and women against extraordinary events; debris-hurling seat-fillers critics hated to love, audiences turned out in droves to see, and diligent fans continue to embrace all these years later. Where have the years gone? I know these genre gems aren't impervious to criticism, Daylight especially. I know many of them haven't exactly withstood the test of time, and I know many more are doomed to fade into obscurity. But they're just so much... fun. Who can resist? Not me, that's for sure.
Rocky vs. The New Jersey Tunnel
Purposefully sidestepping the "Die Hard in a tunnel" label an infusion of terrorists or homegrown criminal masterminds would surely invite, Daylight instead follows the unmistakable formula established twenty-five years earlier by Airport, The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno and other forefathers of the disaster film subgenre. Flawed, everyday, average-joe hero? Sylvester Stallone sheds his musty machismo to fill the boots of former New York City Emergency Medical Services Chief, Kit Latura; a taxi driver who risks life and limb to save a ragtag band of survivors trapped inside a tunnel after an explosion causes massive structural damage. A colorful assortment of frazzled supporting characters fighting to escape an early grave? There's plenty to go around. Viggo Mortensen as a famous mountain climber, Jay Sanders as a desperate dad, Karen Young as his increasingly unhinged wife, Stan Shaw as a policeman fighting to get home to his girlfriend (Vanessa Bell Calloway), Colin Fox and Claire Bloom as the film's requisite elderly couple, Renoly Santiago and Trina McGee as orange-jumpsuited convicts ... there's even a dog. A love interest for our main hero? Amy Brenneman steps in as Maddy Thompson, a struggling writer all but destined to fall for Latura in the midst of their shared crises. A series of events that incapacitate, maim and kill the survivors one by one? Surging floods, crushing debris, raging flames, collapsing ceilings and sliding vehicles prove to be constant threats. Daylight doesn't miss a beat.
But therein lies the problem. Nothing in Daylight comes as a surprise, nothing shocks the system, and nothing will truly unsettle anyone even remotely familiar with the kinds of silver screen disasters made popular in the '70s and again in the '90s. A gristly end is all but assured for some, while the survival of others is neatly pantomimed from the beginning. Arrogance and instability are punishable by death, individual motivation dictates whether a survivor will ever see daylight again, love flourishes all too conveniently, and a three-stage ending undermines the very tension director Rob Cohen (The Fast and the Furious) and screenwriter Leslie Bohem (Dante's Peak) are attempting to convey. Stallone is afforded the only character with any dimension; everyone else is handed an arbitrary assignment and tasked with flaunting their survivor's particular quirk or hangup, or bearing their dramatic teeth. Meanwhile, the tunnel floods and crumbles with all the menace of a Universal Studios theme park attraction: cars slide on unseen rails, cement and asphalt split with a hydraulic judder, and sparks and flames carefully follow predetermined paths. In fact, if it weren't for the jarring explosion that first rips through the tunnel -- a spectacular, refreshingly visceral ball of flame that sets a near-perfect stage for everything that is to come -- Daylight's watery, firelit underworld would flounder, a victim of stilted effects, so-so CG, and the then-cutting edge techniques of 1990s disaster filmmaking.
Don't lose heart though. Daylight exudes enough spark and sizzle to prevent Latura's disaster from becoming a disaster for Cohen, even when the director fails to fully deliver on his "make it real" mantra. Stallone and Brenneman hold the film together, making the most of what could be hokey genre gumbo. (Come to think of it, hokey genre gumbo is precisely what Cohen seems intent on feeding us.) Though far removed from their best '90s performances -- those in Cop Land and Heat, respectively -- Stallone and Brenneman develop a fluid chemistry, react convincingly when all seems lost, and focus on the frustration and looming hopelessness two would-be lovers would face in a collapsed tunnel. No small feat considering how chewy and contrived Bohem's dialogue tends to be, how far past the mark some of the supporting cast is hellbent on reaching, and how dated the film is at times. Not that its age is debilitating. There's something to be said for digging into the past and unearthing a strangely delightful product of the times. Even at its worst, Daylight offers a warm, frothy rush of nostalgia that shouldn't be casually dismissed or carelessly demeaned. I'll admit it isn't the best the subgenre's resurgence has to offer -- that honor is reserved for Twister, Independence Day or Titanic, pick your poison -- but it is an easily contained blast from the past worth a curious rent.
Speaking of narrowly averted disasters, Daylight's 1080p/VC-1 encoded video transfer nearly succumbs to several lingering DVD-era issues. While matters improve significantly whenever the film plunges underground, Universal's presentation suffers from obvious, all-too-distracting edge enhancement, at-times severe ringing, intermittent print nicks, pervasive crush, seemingly random telecine wobble and other minor eyesores. But Daylight isn't the high definition fiasco that is Tremors, thank the Blu gods. DNR doesn't really come into play, a faint veneer of grain lends the film cinematic clout, smearing and other encoding problems aren't readily apparent, the whole of the image bests its DVD counterpart, and overall color, contrast and clarity are generally commendable. Some general softness creeps into special effects shots, sure. But most catalog junkies should be well accustomed to that by now. Some brief artifacting, presumably source-based, invades the image as well (the worst of which pops up at the tail-end of the climactic "Blowout" sequence), but it never gets out of hand. That said, closeups fare quite well, with notably improved fine textures and convincing skintones to boot, and tunnel scenes are rife with inky shadows, gorgeous flames and enough detail to render the majority of ceiling collapses and rising waters worth mentioning; almost enough to make Daylight's day-lit scenes more bearable. Almost. As it stands, Universal's transfer amounts to a hit-or-miss presentation with a few more hits than misses.
Daylight's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track doesn't hold water either. Dialogue is clean and clear (barring a few underground mishaps), but other aspects of the mix don't fare so well. LFE output is beefy, bullish even, yet smothers many an explosion, ominous rumble and collapse, often to the detriment of precision effects and more subtle ambience. The rear speakers are active, but directionality is strangely superficial, pans occasionally stumble, and the resulting soundfield isn't full or natural. And the entire experience lacks the finesse and flavor of a more refined lossless track. That's not to suggest the mix is a complete disappointment; just that it doesn't live up to its potential or escape descriptors like "average," "run of the mill" and "serviceable." '90s disaster flicks deserve aural acumen on par with any destruction being unleashed, and Daylight's sonics are too submissive and sluggish to stand shoulder to shoulder with its visuals.
Unlike other Universal catalog releases of late, Daylight actually offers a number of special features. Fans of the film will be familiar with everything included, but I doubt anyone will complain about the lack of new content.
Audio Commentary: Director Rob Cohen marches through Daylight with heavy footfalls, detailing the genesis, development and completion of the film with the steady cadence of a rehearsed commentator. Even so, there's enough raw information, anecdotes and revelations to keep the film's fanbase listening through the end credits.
The Making of Daylight (SD, 34 minutes): An eleven-part behind-the-scenes documentary that decisively delves into the film and its production. Segments include "An Introduction by Sylvester Stallone and Rob Cohen," "Real-Life Drama," "Sylvester Stallone as Kit Latura," "Casting," "Creating the Tunnel," "The Explosion," "The Fan Sequence," "Trapped Under the Truck," "The Blowout Sequence," "The Music Score" and "Conclusion."
Featurette (SD, 6 minutes): Far from thrilling, the disc's aptly titled archive featurette, "Featurette," is an overtly promotional talking heads EPK with minimum insight into the production. Stick with Cohen's commentary and "The Making of Daylight" instead.
Music Video (SD, 5 minutes): Laugh your way through "Whenever There is Love," an unintentionally hilarious '90s love ballad featuring Donna Summers and Bruce Roberts.
The Daylight Archives (SD, 77 minutes): Easily the longest still-shot montage on record, this meandering supplement slowly cycles through hundreds of pieces of concept art, storyboards and other production materials. No menus, no music, no accessibility. Just 77-minutes of images. See how long you can make it before tapping "Top Menu."
Theatrical Trailers (SD, 5 minutes): A pair of trailers round out the package.
Daylight is a product of its time, and a typical one at that. It's entirely watchable -- I'd even go so far as to say curiously entertaining -- but it telegraphs its already melodramatic haymakers and clings too closely to '90s convention. Still, it's a step above "guilty pleasure," so no need to apologize if you're enthusiastic about its Blu-ray debut. Unfortunately, its a debut marked by the same shortcomings that made the film's 2007 HD DVD release fall short. Its video transfer has been minted from a dated master, its DTS-HD Master Audio track doesn't stack up to other catalog lossless mixes, and its supplemental package, though flawed, is the highlight of the disc. Even so, the Blu-ray edition represents a substantial upgrade from its standard DVD counterpart, enough to give the film's biggest fans an excuse to ignore its rather high pricepoint and pick up one of their favorite '90s disaster flicks.
Universal Studios Home Entertainment has announced Daylight for Blu-ray release on April 26. This 1996 action movie starring Sylvester Stallone and directed by Rob Cohen had been released in 2007 on the defunct HD DVD format. The BD will be presented in a single-sided ...
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