Iffy for 14+
Alien invasion flick has lots of violence but little blood.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that although this alien invasion movie has little blood and gore, there's lots of death, including main characters. The aliens are invisible, and the humans die in a puff of ashes. There's some mild flirting and innuendo; language is strong, with frequent use of "s--t." Characters drink vodka in a nightclub in one scene. The movie is set in Moscow, and viewers see two very prominent Russian McDonald's ads. Fans of this genre have seen better and could probably do worse, but most teens will probably find it a forgettable experience.
- Families can talk about the movie's violence. Is it justified in this case? Did the story leave any other options?
- Is the movie scary? What's the scariest part of it? What would happen if the characters didn't have goals to strive for?
- How well do the five main characters show teamwork? Which members are the weakest links, and why? Does the movie ultimately have positive role models and messages?
The good stuff
-
Messages: Amid the movie's war violence, young people in their 20s work together to solve problems. Main characters put their lives at risk to help others. And there's a sense of camaraderie among people from different cultures.
-
Role models: The two male heroes show bravery and empathy throughout the story. They continually work to stay positive, find solutions, and help others. The characters aren't particularly deep, but they do make a nice team. Two female characters also show strength and courage.
What to watch for
-
Violence: Most of the human race is wiped out by an alien attack. Humans simply explode into ashes and disappear, with no blood or gore. Some main characters die. There are guns and shooting, a rocket launcher and flamethrower, explosions, and general chaos. Viewers see brief, scary alien faces. A dog is vaporized. Some brief arguing, and a violent zombie-shooting video game is quickly shown.
-
Sex: Main characters flirt in a nightclub scene, and there's some mild, brief innuendo. The female lead removes her shirt and is seen wearing a bra. There's a near kiss, which is interrupted.
-
Language: One "f--k" and frequent use of "s--t," plus some use of "hell," "ass," "oh my God" (as an exclamation) "piss," "goddamn," "prick," "a--hole," and "bitch" (the last is spoken in Russian and seen in English subtitles).
-
Consumerism: Russian McDonald's ads are shown twice, prominently, with the easily recognizable "M" in the foreground. There's also a Russian Starbucks, though the sign is less recognizable.
-
Drinking, drugs and smoking: Characters drink vodka in a nightclub. No one appears drunk.
Fan Reviews provided by
1
Good Premise, Bad Execution by Cardanko
I came into this movie thinking it'd be an awesome alien movie...I was very wrong and I love almost all alien movies. They had an awesome premise, decent actors and good effects. Yet the acting was very bad for the most part. Emile could've done a much better job compared to what he's done in other movies and you would've thought that blonde chick from Transformers and Shutter would've been great but if anything she was the worst character/actress. The movie tried to have an emotional appeal throughout that it failed at in my opinion as well. As for the dialogue...the film was littered with cliche lines that were delivered as if they were having a casual conversation. The way the group of survivors went about "surviving" was so over the top bad that I couldn't help but feel that they all deserve to die solely because of how stupid they reacted to an event like this to which I felt that they only did a handful of correct actions. Im being nice saying what I did, but dont waste yer cash!
1
Save yourself the money, PLEASE by Sethmalize
I don't normally take time out of my busy day to tell what I think of the movies I watch, but in this case I feel a duty to all movie goers out there: I beg you, please, don't waste your hard earned money. If it's that plentiful and you have nothing better to do with it, watch another movie twice, or...donate to a charity or something. This was HORRIBLE. Bad, predictable lines, terrible acting, lackluster special effects and less action than its previews showed. My wife and I were sitting there looking @ each other with disbelief - how could the producer and/or writer of this film go to sleep?!
Seriously, we also just watched other movies that were worth watching: Sherlock Holmes Game of Shadows, Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol...both well worth the $. This is a big fat NO!!!
5
Darkest Hour - Survivor! by OrazioMan
This has a decent story line, lots of drama and of course the humans start kicking some butt in the end, what else could you ask for, plus the Fork and Eat was great, food was delicious, excellent service...
4
SEE IT FOR YOURSELF by SirMarkus
Despite poor reviews, we love our sci-fi, and went to see 'Darkest Hour' for our own decision on the matter. This movie accomplished exactly what it intended to do - throw a new spin on the well-worn alien invasion premise,while keeping the audience in suspense as to what the monsters look like for as long as possible so that you are hopefully drawn to empathize and possibly even relate to the main characterrs. While I didn't necessarily relate to the somewhat shallow characters, I did find myself right along side of them as they explored their newly devestated world, and I had to say I respect the fact that the director played no favorites as to who got deep-fried along the way. All said, as with most sci-fi flicks, it helps to have a healthy if not over-active imagination in order to truly appreciate this genre, and a desire to live vicariously through the exteme circumstances laid before you in the wonderful world of "What If?" Go see for yourself, I think you'll be glad you did.
1
Cinematic History's Darkest Hour by taxilarry
The first 10 minutes held promise of some kind of enjoyable movie experience, but from then on it dragged on for a variety of reasons, or should I say lack of reasons.
First, the special effects were pretty much a one-trick pony. They kept repeating the same visual effects as if we were too stupid to catch them the first time. How many people/animals do we need to see zapped into oblivion in the exact same way before it's time to move onto something new? And where were the 3D effects we paid to see?
Second, the plot was extremely weak, and so unbelievable that it was laughable. It's almost like they were trying to write a Saturday Night Live spoof of horror sci-fi films but then said, hey, let's just call it a real movie and see if anyone actually takes it seriously. It has a tediously slow moving, boring and pointless story line with an almost zero believability factor.
The Christmas day release was a cruel joke.
3
The Darkest Hour by Calistomoviefan
The movie should have gone straight to the SyFy channel Oriignal Saturday night movie. It was only 90 mins. but felt well over 2 hours. After awhile, you didn't care if the heroe's were killed off, they were pretty stupid. I felt sorry for the dog, though. The ending was too cliche and had no shock value. The only exciting part of the movie was the first 30 minutes. Wait for Showtime!
1
NOT GOOD by NEVERSNOTENOUGH
Went with friends. From about 30 minutes in, the movie just died it seemed. Random characters entered and died almost immediately. Acting was half assed. Seems like just another movie made for the CGI. Don't go see it.
5
Two thumbs up! by large_popcorn
My son and I loved this one! It wasnt too violent or full of blood and guts. It wasnt too mushy, or silly. It's a 'must go' if you are paying matinee prices, and a 'go' for the full evening price. You decide for yourself, but it worked grrrrreat for us!
1
Wow that was a bad movie!!!! by jrtessy
Does Fandango offer refunds .. This movie was so very bad it had absolutly no redeming qualities whatsoever.. I would consider this a bad DVD rental but for 13 bucks I got hosed dont waste your money...
3
A movie that settles for being "so bad it's good" by Wolfkin
There are great aspects of The Darkest Hour. The aliens (before the reveal) are the most creative design I've seen since Attack the Block, the panic and fear was mostly realistic and consistent. The premise and pacing was very well done, visually the cinematography wasn't too rushed.
That said the characters, the plot, the dialogue at times, just kept the movie down. It's a great movie to watch with a group so you can all talk out loud and laugh at. The "insta-romances", the "odd man out redshirts", the "stupidity moves the plot along". There's just too much of the characters doing stupid things and not enough of the few good things to make up for it. The final act where they go for rescue is where the movie completely falls apart. *Minor Spoiler* The "open" ending isn't satisfying and complete like T2, or The Matrix but instead feels out of place and cut off.
Considering how much better it is when you're only half aware. This is A1 date movie material.