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3D Blu-ray Review The Darkest Hour 3D Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

Neil Middlemiss

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Neil Middlemiss

End of the world stories continue to get a great deal of play. From the Zombie plague in AMC’s The Walking Dead to the alien invasion of TNT’s safe Falling Skies, television seems to have become fertile playground for the stories which largely filled the multiplexes over the last fifteen years (I Am Legend, Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, 2012, etc.). But theaters haven’t ceded all the apocalyptic ground just yet as The Darkest Hour, which opened on Christmas Day in the U.S. demonstrates. Sadly, The Darkest Hour turns out to be a generally disappointing notch in the pantheon of world-ending tales, failing to add much new or do particularly well that which has come many times before it.

 


The Darkest Hour 3D


Studio: Summit Pictures
Year: 2011
US Rating: Rated PG-13 for Sci-Fi Action and Some Language
Film Length: 89 Minutes
Video: MPEG-4 MVC 1080P High Definition 16X9

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audio: English DTS HD-Master Audio 5.1, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital

Subtitles: English, English SDH, Spanish


Release Date: April 10, 2012

Review Date: April 8, 2012


“They came here with a plan”


The Film

2.5 / 5


Ben (Max Minghella) and Sean (Emile Hirsch) arrive in Moscow to hopefully seal the deal on a software deal (an app which helps those so inclined find the hottest spots in major cities). Double crossed by their Russian counterpart Skyler, they find themselves drowning their sorrows in one of their software’s recommended hot-spots. They meet up with two girls from America, Natalie (Olivia Thirlby) and Anne (Rachael Taylor) who are out on the town for a night of fun and together down vodka and other assorted alcoholic beverages aplenty. The night takes a turn however when everything electric goes dark and strange glowing lights begin to descend across the city; beautiful dances of light that swirl and float but when they near the gathered crowd and one is approached by a tentative police officer, they attack, disintegrating into dust anyone standing in their way. The crowd scatters, the attack is unleashed and in just a few days, Moscow is laid waste of people, power and hope. The small band of survivors, Sean, Ben, Natalie, Anne and the cowardly software thief Skyler, make plans to head for the American embassy in hopes of finding others alive and somehow, a way home.


Such a familiar premise, recently explored in the disappointing Skyline, is offered in a somewhat interesting way of only through the Moscow as the ‘end of the world’ setting. The routine blend of characters – the heroic man who never follows the rules, the terrified young girl, the friend who finds courage, the coward and the logical thinker are cut and paste squarely into the Russian setting and given nothing more than their outlines to work with. Much of the action takes place a night, but a few key scenes take place in full daylight and offer a more interesting view of the alien invasion premise. The Moscow location gives an otherwise rote cinematography greater texture and depth (which also aids the 3D from time to time), but this is largely a forgettable tale. Fans of stories depicting earth’s imminent demise and the rag-tag few who fight for survival will find nothing at all new in The Darkest Hour. Last year’s flat Vanishing on 7th Street will come to mind on a few occasions as well – not a particularly inspiring echo however – though everything else will seem merely a mash up of every other planet invasion story.


Leading the pack of survivors is Emile Hirsch who appears to have abandoned his proven actor skills to collect a paycheck. He is particularly unconvincing as Sean – an underachiever of sorts who rises to the challenge of surviving the catastrophe. Max Mighella as his software partner Ben fares a little better in his role. Olivia Thirlby as the braver girl has also demonstrated far more talent in her other roles than she does here. The terrified and weak girl in this picture is played by Rachael Taylor who many will remember as the skilled Australian hacker in the first Transformers. She is wasted here.


Coming from producer Timur Bekmambetov, The Darkest Hour fails to live up to expectations. Director Chris Gorak (who has some great films under his belt as Art Director) seems more at ease in the scenes leading up to the ‘invasion’ than he does in the action that follow it. The screenplay by Jon Spaihts is perhaps the greatest culprit of this film’s failings. Abundances of clichés and convenient plot steps give ample reason to roll the eyes. Take the moment – and I’ll issue a spoiler alert here – where the survivors are tossed into the river. They are heading for a submarine that they can see perhaps a half-mile up the river. One of the survivors didn’t make it to the submarine (the others managed to swim to it), but ends up back in the city – launching a flare for the ‘hero’ to come find her. Why on earth would she head back into the city which was ‘swarming’ with the aliens? Quite frankly, it’s lazy. End spoilers.


There is a purpose to the invasion of lights (which are really protective armor guarding the real aliens on the inside), but their being here is explained away in a single line of dialogue and sidelined from any other focus. Understanding the reason our planet is the target of an invasion can provide a valuable dynamic to a story (the invading extra-terrestrials in last year’s Battle: Los Angeles was relatively intriguing), but forgoing that contributes to a mostly stagnant story with just a few thrills. Add in some interesting visuals, visual effects which run the gamut from impressive to weak and acting which fails to make the cut and all you are left with is a disappointing hour and a half.



The Video

4/5

3D Implementation

3/5


Both the 2D and 3D versions of the film are found on a single disc. Framed at 2.40:1, this video holds a good amount of detail. The night settings (with power shut off) make for some very dark scenes with only a slight grey/blue hue to them. This presents some issues for the 3D version but the 2D does quite a bit better. In fact, that’s a general theme for this presentation; its fine, looks generally good with some very bright colors (mainly from some of Moscow’s beautiful architecture and the orange/amber glow of the aliens) – but it’s all better in the 2D version. The mark of any good 3D film for me is if, when (and if) I watch the film again, will I choose to watch in 3D or not. Film’s like Hugo, Avatar, Captain America, and the like are all guaranteed to be re-watched in 3D. The Darkest Hour – along with movies like The Green Hornet, Thor, and some others are all candidates for re-watching in 2D only.


The daylight scenes offer the most dynamic 3D effects – particularly the shots of the survivors making their way to the American embassy. Other sequences, such as the initial night attack and the interior sequences inside the homemade Faraday cage, also work quite well, but for the majority of the film, the overly dark nature of the scenes and settings provide little by way of depth. 3D gimmick action (objects flying toward the screen) are also mostly non-existent. Overall, pretty disappointing.


The Sound

5/5


The DTS HD-MA 5.1 audio on The Darkest Hour is thunderous. Everything from dance music to the sounds of chaos and carnage as the light-aliens attack produce incredible rumbles, enveloping surround effects and crystal clear audio through the channels. Dialogue is issue free in the center channel (with screams and assorted other human sounds spread around when the scene calls for it). Gun shots punch nicely and Tyler Bates music throngs mercilessly throughout the action sequences.



The Extras

3 / 5


The Darkest Hour: Survivors (HD): Seeking to expand the invasion story, this fast cut short shows off a coordinated counter-attack with survivors from Afghanistan to Tokyo.


The Darkest Hour: Visualizing an Invasion (HD): A look at creating the visual effects for the film.


Deleted and Extended Scenes (HD): Six scenes available with optional commentary from Director Chris Gorak


Audio Commentary (HD): Director Chris Gorak talks about getting the film up and running, dealing with the fires around Moscow that caused a suspension in filming (due to smoke) and the challenges of shooting in 3D. Gorak provides an interesting commentary track and is worth the listen



Final Thoughts


The score by Tyler Bates is perhaps a most indicative of what this film provides; nothing original, loud and indistinct and wholly forgettable. There is some entertainment value to be found here. Fans of end-of-the-world survivor stories will enjoy the visuals of an empty Moscow, downed airliners and abandoned car-lined highways, but there isn’t much meat to the story that accompanies the visuals. The rote characters, absurd plotting and phoned-in performances give little enticement to come back again (or for those who heed reviewer warnings, to visit even for the first time). I cannot recommend The Darkest Hour. I am sure there are those out there that had their Christmas holiday’s saved by missing this during its theatrical run; honestly, you would do well to rent or wait for it to become a free watch on Netflix.



Overall (Not an average)

3/5


Neil Middlemiss

Kernersville, NC


 

dmiller68

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David Miller
I have been on the fence on this one. I'm leaning toward getting it based on all the mixed reviews.
 

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