The Darkest Hour (Blu-ray 3D)

The Darkest Hour is the second feature film by former art director/production designer Chris Gorak and a production of Timur Bekmambetov who previously directed the satisfying action thriller Wanted in 2008. The film stars up-and-coming young actors Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild), Max Minghella (The Social Network) and Olivia Thrilby (Juno). The premise of the film follows two young adults (Hirsch,... Read more

In this movie, four young Americans (including Emile Hirsch, from Speed Racer, and Max Minghella, from Art School Confidential, among others) get stranded in Moscow when an alien invasion (represented initially, intriguingly, as a lethal form of electromagnetic waves) attack Moscow, leaving almost everyone dead. Our friends hide in a sort of basement, and when a few days later, they emerge from inside, they find wholesale destruction, and the news that the aliens have attack planet wide, but also intriguing hints that there maybe other survivors. And soon enough, they find that some Russians have banded together to resist the invaders.

Produced by Kazakh filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov (from the interesting Nightwatch franchise) this movie is nothing special but is surely an entertaining outing. Among the plus: the survivors escaping from the aliens in a desolate Moscow, including empty landmarks like The Kremlin and Moscow State University. Among the minus: some of the special... Read more

especially for what looks like a relatively low budget endeavor. casting was good, actors were likeable, dialog felt fresh, the pacing was crisp, and while it followed the usual structure (5 survivors becomes 4, then 3, then 2, etc) it offered a few surprises along the way. it made excellent use of the Moscow location, and the special effects were not as cheesy as you might expect. worth a rental.