Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Darkest Hour (2011)

Two friends, who are also business partners, head to Moscow to give a presentation for a new social network used in conjunction with traveling. They think they're going to hit it rich. But when they arrive, they find an associate has stolen their idea and they are no longer part of the business meeting.

They retire to a nearby bar to drown their sorrows and meet a couple of girls from the US who are already using their software  test site for their Russian travels.

When the electricity goes out, everyone in the bar wanders outside and sees strange lights wafting down from the sky.  The crowd parts as one of the lights nears the ground.  Then horror grips the group as someone in the crowd pokes the light and is instantly vaporized.

Panic sets in and everyone runs for the cover of the bar.  The lights turn out to be aliens who turn anyone they touch to dust.  Our main characters manage to hide in the basement, where they stay for a number of days. After more than 24 hours without hearing noises outside, they venture out with plans to head toward the US Embassy.

As they carefully wander the city, they see no other humans and are wary of seeing the lights - which aren't visible in the day. So they decide they're going to travel at night and hide during the day.  The rest of the movie is their journey through the city, trying to find an escape from the aliens, and looking for others to join with to fight the aliens and survive.

Overall I liked it.  It's mindless but kept my interest. Plus compared to the numerous movies I watch made by some guy in his backyard with a video camera, it seems fantastic.  But there are some things that are just ridiculous.

The biggest issue being when a building collapses and the survivors jump into the canal to escape the dust and debris.  When they surface, one of the group is missing.  They are convinced she is alive so they start searching for her. She's nowhere near the canal so they keep walking.  Seriously? So did she magically transport a few blocks away?  Or did she come up for air and run off before checking to see if anyone else survived? Either way, she's an idiot.

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