Film review - The Darkest Hour

Ever since the aliens arrived and blew up the White House and the Empire State Building in 1996’s Independence Day we have experienced an influx of alien invasion movies that have not quite hit the dizzy heights of the impressive Jeff Goldblum and Will Smith smash hit. Even to this day, ID’s visuals and storyline are just as impressive as the first days eyes met upon it. Despite vast forward steps in technology and the way films are made, recent films such as Skyline and Battle: Los Angeles have been far from emulating the sci-fi classic. The latest offering to tackle the difficult task is The Darkest Hour.


We touch down in Moscow with American software developers Sean (Emile Hirsch) and Ben (Max Minghella) looking to seal a deal that could see their social networking programme make them rich. Unfortunately things are about to take a turn for the worse as firstly they are deceived by the Russian businessmen they are working with and then an event that will affect the whole world takes over.


After meeting two female users of their product at a bar they are soon thrown into a state of emergency. Large balls of light suddenly begin to fall from the sky in what results in an alien invasion. Anyone who makes contact with the light is instantly turned to dust and the only way to survive is through vigilance and figuring out their weakness.

As they look to find a way out of Moscow and to safety, Sean and the rest of the group begin to work out how the aliens are tracking their prey, what they are invading for and how they can be manipulated. All of these are key in their ultimate survival.


To say The Darkest Hour is a disappointment is a huge understatement. With producer Timur Bekmambetov on board one could be convinced that this would result in a visually breathtaking and thrilling movie but little of either is present. The visuals are little more than good at points (some destruction of the environments looks well presented) but with a beautiful location such as Russia it needs much more care and attention. As for thrills there are few to be had here. Any danger seems hugely understated and our characters are unbearable and dispensable, with several cheesy lines adding to the woes. 


Add in an ultimately disappointing showing from the once promising Emile Hirsch and you have the worst alien invasion movie since Skyline. Bitterly disappointing and yet another film falling way off the mark that Independence Day has set. 


Film rating: 1 out of 5 F's