BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Stephanie There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Kinley This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Desertman84 Daybreak is an HBO Production based on Alan Bowne's acclaimed off- Broadway play Beirut.It stars Cuba Gooding,Jr and Moira Kelly.When a substantial portion of the nation's populace falls victim to a deadly plague, the tyrannical government quarantines them in camps, offering no alternative except death in this cautionary tale from director Stephen Tolkin.The film has been "opened-out" into an apocalyptic, romantic action- thriller. New York City is a fascist nightmare steeped in poverty and ridden with plague. Bands of armed officers under the rubric Operation Helping Hand roam the streets rounding up Positives, who are tattooed and quarantined in filthy hellholes. Blue, a poor but pretty young woman, stumbles onto a secret resistance group that rescue Positives to give them compassionate care. Blue falls in love with their courageous leader, Torch.It focuses on the relationship between these star-crossed lovers and the film's best moments do the same. It ever mentions AIDS by name, but it is clear that AIDS is the plague in question and the theme is the hysteria that the illness can generate. The horrible future these dramas foresaw did not come to pass. Since they were written, great medical strides have been made that have changed the face of AIDS. But fear and misinformation about the disease persist. AIDS remains a major health crisis worldwide and Daybreak could have been powerful film that deserves to be seen.Unfortunately,the film turned into a boring melodrama in the end.

bob-790-196018 This 1993 movie is one of a long line of dystopian (also called "awful warning") stories. In this case one of the key ideas that make dystopias interesting--a fascist government using paranoia to keep the masses in line--is swamped by the romance between Cuba Gooding and Moira Kelly. Of course there is a place for love in such a story--remember Winston Smith and Julia in Nineteen Eight-Four--but in Daybreak the love story eventually overwhelms everything else, and ideas go out the window.The treatment of the disease that is supposedly rampant in this near-future world is ambiguous. No, the disease doesn't seem like AIDS, but it's unclear just what it is, how much of the population is afflicted by it, and whether or not it is really deadly. At times, you get the sense that the government invented the disease to spread fear among the people, but, then again, clearly some of the people in the movie are sick. It's all sort of confusing.Cuba Gooding's character is one-dimensional. At first he's very angry and refuses to have anything to do with Moira Kelly. Then, aw shucks, he is forced to admit he really loves her. Moira Kelly's character is semi-believable. To me, however, the really interesting character is that played by Martha Plimpton, who makes the character come alive and has a very interesting face in the bargain.Somewhere in this movie is a good idea that never manages to break free.

Billy_Crash If you want to see some fine actors in a really bad movie, this is it."Daybreak" is a poorly written and drawn out science fiction abouta fascist US government using the fear and paranoia of a virus tocontrol the population.But instead of a riveting drama focused on the misuse ofinformation and abuse of public office, "Daybreak" weighs itselfdown with a romance that buries any possibility of strong socialcommentary.Regardless, a young Cuba Gooding Jr., Moira Kelly and MarthaPlimpton show their merit.

SamRag Being a big fan of Sci-fi films I expected a much better film. The storyline sounded like heroes would be saving the world in a futuristic "not-so-good" city. However, starting well with good time spend on the lead women, and making it interesting enough for you to sit and watch, it died out as it went along. It's very strange, it's like the first hour of the film is preparing you for some action, like they are building the story line up for some big scene at the end. But the film dies out and leaves you completely hanging, not knowing anything more as to what happens to the main characters, or even what they were fighting for most of the time. I recommend that people stay well away from this one, as Cuba Gooding Jr. has sooooo much more to offer.