The Darkest Hour

Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on November 2012

In this tedious, egregiously rotten and comically unfrightening sci-fi slog, five disposable, one-dimensional young people (incl. a worst-ever Emile Hirsch, Max Minghella and Olivia Thirlby) in Moscow (pointlessly) do battle against invading aliens that seem to be made of electricity and that reduce humans to piles of sparkly dust. (Hint on how to cut production costs: make the aliens friggin’ invisible. How lame is that?) Eventually, with the assistance of a mad Russian scientist who wraps his cat in electrical wire, they fashion this Ghostbusters microwave ray gun and “fight the hell back.” Snore.