The Darkest Hour Review
Director: Chris Gorak
Cast: Emile Hirsch, Olivia Thirlby, Max Minghella, Rachael Taylor, Joel Kinnaman, Veronika Ozerova
Summary:
Sean and Ben (Emile Hirsch and Max Minghella) are two hotshot software designers that arrive in Moscow to finalise a business deal only to find that their dodgy middle man has ripped them off. Reeling from the days events the duo decide to unwind in a highfliers nightclub, where they hook up with Natalie and Anne (Olivia Thirlby and Rachael Taylor) two tourists on their way to Napal. But before they get chance to drink away the worries of their sour business deal there’s a power cut and strange lights begin descending from the heavens. Panic ensues when they realise that the awesome looking light show is in fact an alien force that disintegrates humans on contact. After spending a few days holed up in the nightclubs basement, they emerge to find the city deserted and an invisible alien force pursuing them.
Review:
I had huge expectations for this movie, seen as it’s directed by Chris Gorak, even though this is only his second feature in a directorial role, his debut Right At Your Door was a great first effort and left me thinking he was definitely one to watch. So I was quite enthusiastic about the movie when I first heard about the project. And the excitement was amplified when I heard that Emile Hirsch had taken on the lead role and Timur Bekmambetov (Night Watch) had come on board as producer. However my anticipation for the movie’s release was dampened by the early release of the teaser trailer, as it was then that I had my first niggling doubts about the movies potential.
As much as I want to give this movie a positive review I have to say those early doubts were proved right. However the movie did have huge potential and some interesting ideas, the biggest of which was setting the film in Moscow, which makes for a fantastic backdrop for a sci-fi movie and is a refreshing change from the usual. Also having invisible aliens was a nice touch and an unusual approach to dealing with budget constraints, although this does ultimately leave the viewer feeling short changed.
The opening to the movie wasn’t great but kept my interest, however the initial scenes of the alien invasion was handled quite well and had me reminiscing about the crowds fleeing and being zapped into clouds of dust in War of the Worlds. However from that point on things quickly deteriorated and as our heroes emerged from their hideout my interest in the film began to wane.
As from that point on although the momentum of the movie increased, the originality, dialogue and actions of the characters (and aliens) quickly nose-dived. Also the film became very repetitive and I started to have horrifying flash backs of Battle L.A as it was once again less like watching a movie and more like watching someone play a FPS game and we all know how boring that is.
There’s only so many times you can watch the take cover, shoot, advance, checkpoint formula before you feel like your brain is about to self-destruct.
As for the ending, well let’s just say that was a welcome relief. My first word upon leaving the cinema was “duh” I couldn’t manage a cohesive sentence such was this movies effect on my cognitive functions.
Would I recommend this movie, well if you’ve just read all that I’d say yes, with your now reduced expectations you might actually enjoy it. Just remember this is very much a popcorn movie and despite its many flaws you won’t leave the cinema feeling frustrated, but you could leave feeling like your brain has melted slightly.
Despite my harshness, overall this is a good popcorn flick, plenty of action a good looking cast and great scenery. But the movies basic formula is excessively geared towards teens and so viewers in their 20’s and older will find this irritating and ultimately a mind numbingly formulaic let down.
The Darkest Hour Trailer:
This movie sucked so bad I’ve seen better ones on the scifi channel
I enjoyed it, but I did read some rather scathing reviews before hand,so I think the reviewer here may have a point.