The Darkest Hour
The Darkest Hour was a frustrating experience. While this low-budget sci-fi movie was easy to dismiss, I always like movies that try something new. The Russian setting, Emile Hirsch as the lead, and the energy/electricity aliens were all different than other movies of this genre, so I was hoping for a breath of fresh air. Alas.
The basic plot is that aliens invade Moscow while some internet entrepreneurs are there for a business meeting. The creatures seem to be based on electricity, meaning they’re invisible except when they’re around things like lights and cell phones. So how can you fight something that you can’t see, and doesn’t seem tangible even when you can see it? It’s an interesting premise, but it’s poorly executed.
Some of the problems are general–some awkward dialogue, jokes that fall flat, and a few characters that seem to serve no real purpose except that they’re attractive. But the bigger problems are specific to the sci-fi nature of the story. The aliens are poorly explained, so you’re not exactly sure how to think of them. Then what IS explained seems to be directly contradicted by what you see happen just a few minutes later. The technobabble typical of these kind of movies seems especially tenuous here.
The Russian setting is unique, but they don’t do much with it. The characters almost all speak English. It was nice to see some different architecture than America, I suppose. I’m not sure why Emile Hirsch signed on to this, unless he wanted a free vacation to Moscow. He’s usually good, even in action movies–see the underrated Speed Racer as an example. He seems to be trying here, but it doesn’t come across as very compelling. I guess he can only do so much with a weak script.
The final battle is also kind of the last straw. The finale is presumably where a good chunk of the budget goes. The effects weren’t very good, but I can forgive that more easily than the weird and poorly thought out images presented on screen. Without giving too much away, there’s a big reveal that looks bad because of the effects, but even moreso because it just looks a bit goofy. The script then tops that by making the last, triumphant act of the protagonist, a nonsensical “What??” type of moment. For a mediocre movie at best, ending on a bad note is the death knell. I can’t really recommend this to anyone.
