An Hour (or Two) of Darkness

I watched The Darkest Hour over the weekend. I know it's not the greatest thing to say, but I really was not a fan of this film. I enjoyed the concept of pure energy invading Earth. And I was even with it when they started to use the aliens' own energy against them. But something in the movie turned me off.

I think it has do with a couple of key facts. First, the dialogue was really corny. Beyond corny in fact. A lot of it felt like it came from a movie from the 1960's. No, the characters weren't quite talking like Captain Kirk, but it sure was close.

Second, Skylar, who is supposed to be Swedish, does not have an accent to match the character. This is one that I may have taken a little personally, you know, having a little experience in Sweden and such. I mean, really, Skylar isn't even a Swedish name. And honestly, the least they could have done would be to allow him to swear in Swedish. Peter Stormare got away with doing it in Jurassic Park: The Lost World. (Helvetes jävla = Hell's devils, which is probably better translated as fucking bastards)

Third, the characters were way too predictable.When you can tell from the beginning of the movie who will make it to the end and who will not, you know you won't have a good time.

And lastly, the ending had to be one of the cheesiest. Main character male and main character female survive, and as the end comes up, they try to share a kiss, but the younger female supporting character, who they save (and who the male main character's best friend sacrifices his live for) looks over at them and says something along the lines of, "Oh, please," and looks away while putting in her earbuds. In a sense, they main character male has a right to harbor some feelings against her. Why does she survive and not his best friend? I just didn't buy it.

In the end, the concept was awesome and pure, but the overall production, not so much. They tried putting far too many "cool" elements into the film, and in the process dropped it from a potential blockbuster to a B-movie.