The Darkest Hour
Metascore
16 out of 100

Overwhelming dislike - based on 10 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 10
  3. Negative: 8 out of 10
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  1. Variety
    Reviewed by: Joe Leydon
    Dec 26, 2011
    50
    The Darkest Hour turns out to be a modestly inventive and involving variation on a standard-issue sci-fi doomsday scenario.
  2. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Mark Olsen
    Dec 26, 2011
    40
    Capable and compelling performers like Hirsch and Thirlby seem left to their own devices to make some connection with the material. The idea of semi-invisible aliens, an unseen enemy, should mean the film has a lingering sense of paranoid abstraction (not unlike "Right at Your Door"), but Darkest Hour never gets beyond rote efficiency.
  3. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Keith Staskiewicz
    Dec 29, 2011
    33
    You should be rooting for the humans, but you might as well be rooting for the blobs. Most likely, though, you'll just be rooting for the credits.
  4. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: John DeFore
    Dec 26, 2011
    30
    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.
  5. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Joel Brown
    Dec 28, 2011
    25
    Once upon a time, you'd go to see a grade-C genre movie like this willing to trade consistency and artfulness for a few stray thrills or oddball charm. But Darkest Hour doesn't have even as much character as those Discover commercials.
  6. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marc Savlov
    Dec 28, 2011
    20
    This is exactly the sort of film I wasn't expecting from either Gorak or his producers. In many too-obvious ways this is just a formulaic riff on Spielberg's "War of the Worlds."
  7. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Jeannette Catsoulis
    Dec 26, 2011
    20
    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.
  8. Boxoffice Magazine
    Reviewed by: David Ehrlich
    Dec 28, 2011
    10
    The Darkest Hour isn't just a dark horse contender for the year's biggest joke, it's the darkest.
  9. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Nathan Rabin
    Dec 28, 2011
    0
    Not since Mark Wahlberg trembled in fear beside a menacing houseplant in "The Happening" has a film tried to provoke terror with such an unlikely object of menace.
  10. Slant Magazine
    Reviewed by: Budd Wilkins
    Dec 27, 2011
    0
    In a year-end season stacked deep with worthwhile films, what possible incentive could there be for submitting to The Darkest Hour's utter pointlessness?

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
5.2 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 141 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 48
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 48
  3. Negative: 18 out of 48
  1. Knicksfan7
    7
    Before you freak out and judge my review by the number, relax, i know this movie was terrible, but you have to realize, the makers of this movie definitely weren't going for oscar material. The acting was laughable and there was one cheesy speech after another, but my dad and i watch the primetime scifi channel movies every saturday night, so we have experience with these movies, and we love them. I really enjoyed this movie because i went into it with the right mindset. Expect it to be terrible and still give it a slight chance and you won't be disappointed. They definitely did the whole invisible alien concept really well, and the special effects were pretty nice at times, but as always with a cheesy scifi flick, like i said before the acting was a complete joke, but i enjoyed this movie. If you go into the theater expecting a really good alien invasion film with suspense and terror and a solid cast, then don't bother, but if you enjoy a laughable and cheesy film, then this is a must-see, i enjoyed myself. 6.5/10… Full Review »
  2. Neefu
    3
    This movie was pretty darn awful. There never really seems like any point in the movie where there is any sort of legitimate drive beyond "lets go this way". And even then, they rarely answer the question "why". "let's go this way, because this that and the other"... and why does that matter? And beyond that, it didn't even spend that time developing any of the 5-6 main characters more than "I have a family somewhere else in the world who I'm wondering if survived!" and, about the special effects stuff, the only thing it really had to offer, were some cool death scenes, and one or two cool landscapes (the one involving the airplane was rather cool). Everything else was either dull or silly looking... If you are absolutely dying to see this movie, wait until it's on Netflix so the only thing you're wasting is the hour and a half spent watching the movie. :P… Full Review »
  3. pogodog7
    0
    I would rate this film one star and that would be generous. The characters were one dimensional and you knew who was going to get killed a mile off. The special effects were on the level of a made-for-TV-movie on the sci-fi channel. The 3D was needless because there was nothing enhanced since the special effects and the aliens were practically non-existent. I would advise to save your money and time and stay home and watch a good sci-fi dvd. This movie would have appealed to children from 10-15 years old, with absolutely no knowledge of what constituents a good movie experience, plot or special effects. When it was finally over, I wished that I could have gotten my time and/or money back.… Full Review »
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