What makes a team? Some would say a deep abiding sense of commitment to get a job done. Mutual respect? Sure, that’s there too. Complimentary skills and talents – that’s a given. But then again, sometimes circumstance and that alone is what brings a team together.
Just ask the characters in The Darkest Hour
Filmed in Russia, The Darkest Hour is the story of an alien invasion in Moscow that forces a group of unconnected visitors to group together in the hopes of survival. There’s the two American entrepreneurs (Emile Hirsch and Max Minghella), an American girl and her Australian gal pal (Olivia Thirlby and Rachael Taylor) and the not so nice Russian businessman (Joel Kinnaman), forced to help one another against make their way to some sort of safe haven as the world is falling apart.
While not a great film (Emile Hirsch is pretty hard to watch as the leading man), The Darkest Hour does offer up some unique sci-fi invaders, who emit electricity when near anything battery powered and who are hear to mine the Earth of its conductive metals (or so speculates another team of survivors we encounter during the film). The Russian scenery is also gorgeous and offers a window into a landscape not often used in genre films.
It’s also interesting watching this group of characters trying (and often failing) to successfully interact with one another. And while it’s not really a spoiler to say that not everybody makes it, you’ll be surprised when and where these characters make their exits. And surprise is always a good thing.
The Darkest Hour came and went at the box office, which is a shame since it’s certainly as good if not better than a lot of sci-fi and horror flicks that make big dollars. Luckily, it’s out on DVD, Blu-Ray and DVD so you can check it out.
