Daylight
Trouble strikes when runaway robbers in a getaway car hit truck full of explosives in the tunnel connecting Manhattan and New Jersey. Survivors are left in a weakened tunnel blocked at both exits. As Kit Latura approaches the tunnel, he sees the impact and knows he gotta take action. With time running out, he enters the tunnel through a system of maintenance walkways. Can he get the survivors out before the tunnel fills up?
Working with a considerable budget of $80.0M, the film achieved a respectable showing with $159.2M in global revenue (+99% profit margin).
Nominated for 1 Oscar. 1 win & 4 nominations
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Daylight (1996) exhibits precise story structure, characteristic of Rob Cohen's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 12-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 55 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.2, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Kit Latura, former NYC Emergency Medical Services chief, is now a disgraced cab driver, haunted by his past failure that cost lives. He drives through the city, isolated and purposeless.. The analysis reveals that this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 14 minutes when A massive explosion in the Holland Tunnel, caused by the toxic waste truck collision, traps dozens of survivors in a sealed section. Both ends of the tunnel collapse, creating an underwater tomb.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
At 57 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Significantly, this crucial beat A false defeat: The main escape route Kit planned collapses, killing several survivors and cutting off their best exit. The water level rises dramatically, and the group realizes they may be doomed despite Kit's efforts., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 85 minutes (74% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, An explosion seals off another exit and kills more survivors, including people Kit had promised to save. Kit faces his worst fear: history repeating itself as people die under his command. The situation appears completely hopeless., shows the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Synthesis at 92 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Kit leads the final survivors through the underwater passage, personally ensuring each person makes it through. He confronts the final obstacles, makes ultimate sacrifices, and gets the remaining survivors to safety, redeeming himself through heroic action., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Daylight's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 12 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs a 15-point narrative structure framework that maps key story moments. By mapping Daylight against these established plot points, we can identify how Rob Cohen utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Daylight within the action genre.
Rob Cohen's Structural Approach
Among the 11 Rob Cohen films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.2, reflecting strong command of classical structure. Daylight takes a more unconventional approach compared to the director's typical style. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Rob Cohen filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional action films include The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, The Bad Guys and Lake Placid. For more Rob Cohen analyses, see The Fast and the Furious, DragonHeart and The Hurricane Heist.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Kit Latura, former NYC Emergency Medical Services chief, is now a disgraced cab driver, haunted by his past failure that cost lives. He drives through the city, isolated and purposeless.
Theme
A character mentions that sometimes people get a second chance to make things right, foreshadowing Kit's redemptive journey from failure to hero.
Worldbuilding
Establishing the Holland Tunnel connecting New York and New Jersey, the various travelers entering it (including a group of toxic waste smugglers), and Kit's mundane existence as a cab driver, removed from his former life of emergency response.
Disruption
A massive explosion in the Holland Tunnel, caused by the toxic waste truck collision, traps dozens of survivors in a sealed section. Both ends of the tunnel collapse, creating an underwater tomb.
Resistance
Kit learns of the disaster and debates whether to get involved given his past failure. Emergency response teams assess the situation and declare it hopeless. Kit studies tunnel blueprints and realizes there might be a way in through the ventilation system.
Act II
ConfrontationMirror World
Kit meets Madelyne, a strong-willed playwright among the survivors, who challenges his authority and methods. She represents hope and the future he could have if he succeeds, embodying the theme of redemption through sacrifice.
Premise
Kit leads the survivors through the flooded, collapsing tunnel infrastructure, using his emergency expertise. The group faces obstacles including rising water, fire, toxic fumes, and unstable structure while Kit bonds with them and regains his sense of purpose.
Midpoint
A false defeat: The main escape route Kit planned collapses, killing several survivors and cutting off their best exit. The water level rises dramatically, and the group realizes they may be doomed despite Kit's efforts.
Opposition
The survivors turn on each other and Kit as conditions worsen. The tunnel continues to flood and collapse. Kit's leadership is questioned, panic spreads, and people make desperate choices that endanger everyone. Each step forward costs lives.
Collapse
An explosion seals off another exit and kills more survivors, including people Kit had promised to save. Kit faces his worst fear: history repeating itself as people die under his command. The situation appears completely hopeless.
Crisis
Kit contemplates giving up as survivors lose faith. He confronts his past failure and the weight of responsibility. Madelyne and other survivors look to him, forcing him to decide whether to surrender to despair or find new resolve.
Act III
ResolutionSynthesis
Kit leads the final survivors through the underwater passage, personally ensuring each person makes it through. He confronts the final obstacles, makes ultimate sacrifices, and gets the remaining survivors to safety, redeeming himself through heroic action.