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Emile Hirsch, Olivia Thirlby, Max Minghella, Rachael Taylor, Joel Kinnaman ... see more see more... , Veronika Vernadskaya , Dato Bakhtadze , Gosha Kutsenko , Nikolai Efremov , Georgy Gromov , Arthur Smoljaninov , Anna Roudakova , Peter Fedorov , Ivan Gromov , Alexsandr Chernyh , Oleg Poddubny , Vasja Fursenko , Ilya Ivanov , Sam Vanin , Alya Nikulina , Igor Novoselov , Mariya Romanova , Slava Barkovsky , Valentina Soboleva , Louis Leebe , Irina Antanenko , Katerina Budyakova , Olga Zhuk , Tamara Zhukova , Mariya Lavrova

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 ... read more read more...of Moscow alongside mind-blowing special effects. -- (C) Summit

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25% liked it

27,195 ratings

Critics

12% liked it

58 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 29 min.

Directed by: Chris Gorak

Release Date: December 25, 2011

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DVD Release Date: April 10, 2012

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Stats: 2,624 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (2,624)

  • itsjustme2004
    April 29, 2013
    itsjustme2004
    Well...not the worst that I have ever seen, I guess. Just nothing new. Nothing very original. Kind of lame...
  • LWOODS04
    November 1, 2012
    LWOODS04
    "It's not bad for a sci-fi alien invasion movie. It wasn't great though and I got a little bored with it. It lacked excitement and wasn't believable. When watching sci-fi flicks I want the characters and director to make me believe this one day can happen. The story could have be... read moreen developed better. The acting was OK. I like Emile Hirsch. I haven't seen him in a film in a long time. I guess I thought I would see him in a better flick when I did.
    Not worth viewing more than once."
  • cosmo313
    September 10, 2012
    cosmo313
    I'll just go ahead and say that this wasn't nearly as bad as a lot of people have made it out to be.

    Granted, this movie is a rather routine, dull, and bland alien invasion thriller, but it did actually have a few good things going for it. It's just unfortunate that said elemen... read morets were cobbled together with some bad ones, and the end result ended up being underwhelming and satisfying.

    Yeah, it's another alien invasion film, but this time it's set in Moscow, so we've got American youths stranded in a strange land which is already a challenge, and the aliens that attack are kinda unique too, They are these invisible (most of the time) energy wave based beings that don't like electricity, and can detect people due to their energy currents. It's odd and doesn't make a great amount of sense, but it's still creative and shows they put forth some effort into their design, the effects, and the concept.

    The result is just half-assed and weak. It's most the fault of the script. The performances aren't great either, but I feel that it helps having Emile Hirsch and Olivia Thirlby, even if the movie does them less favors than they do it. Everything, save for how the aliens operate is generic, and that's why this movie doesn't work that well.

    It's feels hasty, undercooked, and a better set up/execution for the scenario would have elevated things a lot more. The participants try their best, and while there are some good scenes, and the movie is at least entertaining and watchable, it is ultimately forgettable and not all that distinguishable from about a million other films.
  • SirPant
    September 3, 2012
    SirPant
    The idea is sound, having the whole thing happen in a country other than America was also refreshing. So why the hell cast kids in adult roles? Honestly, the acting was diabolical and the characters unbelievable. Better actors would have saved the film (although the aliens looked... read more better when they were invisible). It soon descends into stupidity when the surviving kids are in charge of navigational duties on a nuclear submarine. Chris Gorak has good ideas, he just doesn't know how to execute them. Maybe he should stick to what he's good at (art direction).
  • Deano78
    August 22, 2012
    Deano78
    Another film to file under "The trailer made it look good". In truth the idea wasn't so bad, a different version to War of the worlds would be one way to describe it. It had big ideas but unfortunately the CGI and acting didn't match the ambition. Some of the CGI for the aliens l... read moreater on look more like an old Xbox game, and not on the 360! The story and script start to turn rather silly half way through. It made Skyline look rather good. Although it was nice to Rachael Taylor back in a main stream film.
  • skactopus
    July 12, 2012
    skactopus
    Chris Gorak does what he can with The Darkest Hour, but unfortunately it isn't enough.

    The story runs a tad over 80 minutes, and yet it somehow feels like there isn't enough to fill that time. The first 15 minutes is complete amateur hour, as it tries to build character

    ... read mores and chemistry unsuccessfully. With a snap of the fingers the film does a 180 and becomes a full blown sci-fi thriller, only without the thrills.

    The visuals are hit and miss. The disintegration effects are solid. Some of the other elements, not so much.

    Emile Hirsch, Max Minghella, Olivia Thirlby, and Rachael Taylor start the film off and they aren't that impressive. It's mostly due to their characters and the writing. Things do improve as the film goes on as crummy characters are replaced with ones that are slightly better in the second half.

    The Darkest Hour doesn't have much to back it up and probably should remain in the dark.
  • EightThirty
    June 8, 2012
    EightThirty
    07/06/2012 (Blu-Ray 3D)
  • bbcfloridabound
    May 30, 2012
    bbcfloridabound
    The very best Alien film I have ever seen. This one is by far more believable then any film I have seen to date. The action never stops, what you have are Americans traveling in Russia, and the world is attacked by unknown forces. I thought that one of the guys who had a Russian ... read moreaccent lost it completely when he got scared after the aliens arrived. This is one you will enjoy. 5 Stars
  • CloudStrife84
    May 9, 2012
    CloudStrife84
    Generic and shallow, though moderately entertaining overall and not quite as bad as they've made it out to be. Nevertheless, it's sad to see actor Emile Hirsch go from a top-class indie like Into the Wild, to something as mundane as this. At least his acting is somewhat de... read morecent though, compared to that of, let's say, Joel Kinnaman. I know I should be happy that one of my countrymen has made it into Hollywood, but it's a struggle when he supplies one of the film's most insecure and downright lousy performances. I shudder at the thought of him playing Robocop in the upcoming (and supremely unnecessary) re-make. I smell a Robo-flop! Apart from said malady, we're also forced to endure a good number of plot holes and illogical character actions. Deficiencies which made it like the intellectual brother of the equally soulless Skyline. Don't lose heart by these words, however, for it's not all cons and misfires. It does have a couple of virtues that makes it worthwhile in the long run. One is the fact that it's set in Moscow, which may not have the same excitement factor as that of New York and Los Angeles, but I thought it added a touch of freshness, to a genre in dire need of it. And however ridiculous the writing may be, I can't say it ever bored me. Sure, it's a bunch of stupid teens running about like headless chickens, but that doesn't mean it can't be entertaining. A poor man's take on War of the Worlds, but at least the alien invaders wasn't just another version of "The Greys" - they actually have some originality to their design. Just a shame it had to end on such an anticlimactic note; setting things up for sequel that will probably never come. Or if it does, it'll be straight to the DVD discount bin. Still, it could have been a lot worse.
  • YodaMasterJedi
    April 25, 2012
    YodaMasterJedi
    three stars!!

View All The Darkest Hour Reviews

Critic Reviews

Tom Huddleston
January 10, 2012
Tom Huddleston, Time Out

There's literally nothing here that works: the SFX are limp, the acting is dire and director Chris Gorak seems to be fighting a losing battle with the concept of narrative logic. Full Review

Keith Staskiewicz
December 28, 2011
Keith Staskiewicz, Entertainment Weekly

It's clear from early on that these characters are as indistinct and lazily rendered as the floating blobs chasing them. Full Review

Alonso Duralde
December 27, 2011
Alonso Duralde, The Wrap

If these dimwits represent the hope of humanity, bring on the alien overlords. Full Review

Joel Brown
December 27, 2011
Joel Brown, Boston Globe

"Darkest Hour'' doesn't have even as much character as those Discover commercials. Full Review

Mark Olsen
December 27, 2011
Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times

What's the point of going all the way to Moscow if the shots you come back with end up looking like cheap green-screen process work? Full Review

Jeannette Catsoulis
December 26, 2011
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times

Really, how slovenly is it to use invisible aliens? If you're going to tease us with nothing but pinwheels of light for three-quarters of the film, you'd better have one heck of a reveal up your sleeve. Full Review

John DeFore
December 26, 2011
John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter

An alien invasion flick that evidently expects dramatic shots of a depopulated Red Square to make up for a flatlining screenplay and the absence of even a single compelling character. Full Review

Roger Moore
December 31, 2012
Roger Moore, McClatchy-Tribune News Service

Did Olivia Thirlby and Emile Hirsch make this so they could visit Russia on somebody else's dime? Full Review

William Bibbiani
August 22, 2012
William Bibbiani, CraveOnline

Just dumb enough to feel like the product of intelligent grown ups who wanted to make something they'd have dug as widdle kids. Full Review

Kevin Carr
April 18, 2012
Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures

It's true mindless trash, but it's fun mindless trash... I'm not ashamed to say I wouldn't watch a sequel. Full Review

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    • Ben: I saw it on Shark Week.
    • Boris: Welcome to Russia sucka.
    • Sean: Team work makes the dream work.
    • Ben: Wait, let me put down the only effective weapon to attend to a lady in distress.
    • Sean: This is how it starts.
    • Ben: Those are great burgers Walter.
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  • "Now, light our darkest hour..." was a line from what film?  Answer »
  • Wich Movie had this Tag line "Your Darkest Hour Can Be Your Finest Moment" ?  Answer »
  • A tagline from what movie? ''The Earth's Darkest Day Will Be Man's Finest Hour''  Answer »
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