Official Movie Website Theatrical Release 12/25/2011 Home Video Not Available MPAA Rating Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence and some language Running Time 89 Minutes Genre Action, Sci-Fi Director Chris Gorak Writer Les Bohem, Jon Spaihts Cast Emile Hirsch, Olivia Thirlby, Max Minghella, Rachael Taylor, Joel Kinnaman Studio Summit Entertainment |
THE DARKEST HOUR (2011)
SYNOPSIS
The Darkest Hour is the story of five young people who
find themselves stranded in Moscow, fighting to
survive in the wake of a devastating alien attack. The
3D thriller highlights the classic beauty of Moscow
alongside mind-blowing special effects. -- (C) Summit
The Darkest Hour is the story of five young people who
find themselves stranded in Moscow, fighting to
survive in the wake of a devastating alien attack. The
3D thriller highlights the classic beauty of Moscow
alongside mind-blowing special effects. -- (C) Summit
© 2003 St. Louis Movie Review Weekly. All rights reserved, except where indicated.
All movie titles, pictures, etc...are the property of their respective studios.
All movie titles, pictures, etc...are the property of their respective studios.
| ST. LOUIS MOVIE REVIEW WEEKLY |
The Darkest Hour hit theatres this holiday season with more of a quiet smack than the electrifying
effect seen throughout the film. With a staff of writers that only have a few films under their belts,
Leslie Bohem (Daylight, Dantes Peak) first timer M.T. Aherns, screenplay by newcomer Jon Spaihts
(writer of Prometheus due out later this year), and an accredited art director Chris Gorak as the
director, this film is sure to have some rough spots. The script is extremely lacking and way too
familiar (think Pulse meets Battle: Los Angeles) however; the aliens being electrical impulses
vaporizing everything in sight and using the less is more effect rather than have this be a monster
flick. The action is quick to start and definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat. The characters
are twenty something year old American internet entrepreneurs Sean (Emile Hirsch) and Ben (Max
Minghella) who have traveled to Moscow to try and make it big with their idea only to find their Russian
partner Skyler (Joel Kinnaman) has stolen their programming and cut them out of the deal. They go to
a bar to drink their sorrows and meet up with two other Americans Natalie (Olivia Thirlby) and Anne
(Rachel Tyler). The characters are not given much time to develop before the action starts and then
the writers jump through time with them trapped in a basement; unfortunately they don’t utilize this
time to build any relationships and the actors could be easily interchanged. As for the setting, Gorak
does not capitalize on his Russian landscape. He just briefly shows glimpses of the Red Square and
the river channel offering no inspiration for the viewer. Even though character development is weak
and the story is something we’ve seen a multiple ways The Darkest Hour is still entertaining and while
it doesn’t leave much of an impression it at least won’t bore you.
effect seen throughout the film. With a staff of writers that only have a few films under their belts,
Leslie Bohem (Daylight, Dantes Peak) first timer M.T. Aherns, screenplay by newcomer Jon Spaihts
(writer of Prometheus due out later this year), and an accredited art director Chris Gorak as the
director, this film is sure to have some rough spots. The script is extremely lacking and way too
familiar (think Pulse meets Battle: Los Angeles) however; the aliens being electrical impulses
vaporizing everything in sight and using the less is more effect rather than have this be a monster
flick. The action is quick to start and definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat. The characters
are twenty something year old American internet entrepreneurs Sean (Emile Hirsch) and Ben (Max
Minghella) who have traveled to Moscow to try and make it big with their idea only to find their Russian
partner Skyler (Joel Kinnaman) has stolen their programming and cut them out of the deal. They go to
a bar to drink their sorrows and meet up with two other Americans Natalie (Olivia Thirlby) and Anne
(Rachel Tyler). The characters are not given much time to develop before the action starts and then
the writers jump through time with them trapped in a basement; unfortunately they don’t utilize this
time to build any relationships and the actors could be easily interchanged. As for the setting, Gorak
does not capitalize on his Russian landscape. He just briefly shows glimpses of the Red Square and
the river channel offering no inspiration for the viewer. Even though character development is weak
and the story is something we’ve seen a multiple ways The Darkest Hour is still entertaining and while
it doesn’t leave much of an impression it at least won’t bore you.
By Brenda S. Ladd