The Darkest Hour (2011)
Certified: PG
Duraton: 89 minutes
Directed by: Chris Gorak
Starring: Emile Hirsch, Olivia Thirlby, Max Minghella, Rachael Taylor, Joel Kinnaman, Joshua Seth
KRS release

The Darkest Hour is a B movie populated with uninteresting stock characters, gimmicky aliens and poor dialogue.

This kind of film is usually saved by its special effects sequences but this poor man’s version of Independence Day depends on some really iffy computer-generated effects to keep the audience interested.

The Russian setting works in the movie’s favour as it’s not a setting that Hollywood movies usually visit and the locations here have a certain appeal.

Best buddies and business partners Sean and Ben (Emile Hirsch amd Max Minghella) have just arrived in Moscow with a business proposition. That is when they discover that their idea for a social travel website has been stolen by their contact, Swedish Skyler (Joel Kinnaman).

They end up in a bar where they meet two American girls, Anne and Natalie (Rachel Taylor and Olivia Thirlby), who have been following their website.

That is when the lights go out and mayhem ensues.

Strange electrical lights start to descend from the sky and on contact all humans are instantly vapourised.

The youths realise this is an alien invasion and that these invisible aliens seem to thrive on energy.

After several days hiding in the nightclub’s storage area, the group, including Skyler, whom they had met in the disco, start to make their way to the American embassy.

But they find that the American embassy has been destroyed and discover information that what they are experiencing is a worldwide invasion.

They then meet Russian engineer Sergei (Dato Bakhtazde) who has devised weapons that can injure the enemy.

The cast is quite young but it actually hurts to watch the talent of Emile Hirsch going to waste with such a poorly-written dialogue.

All the characters look like walking clichés: the brave wild hero, the well-meaning geek, the selfish one, the sweet girl from back home and the weepy blonde. The depiction of Russian soldiers and the lines they are given are enough to make you cringe.

The 3D effects work well and the shots of a deserted Moscow by night are especially well handled.

The build-up to the aliens is also cleverly made but when the aliens are finally revealed to us, they just look like oversized toys which is very disappointing.

The film’s ending seems to signal the start of a franchise but ends up giving the film a television series kind of feel.