Normally these “alien invasion pictures” are pretty run of the mill, rote, predictable, etc.
However, “The Darkest Hour” has a pretty good cast already in Emile Hirsch and Olivia Thirlby; two twenty-something actors we’re pretty convinced are going to go on to Oscar nominations later in their career.
Two other promising actors have just joined the cast. Aussie actress Rachael Taylor, one of the only tolerable elements of the original “Transformers,” and Joel Kinnaman who we honestly don’t know, but he’s from “Snabba Cash.” That Swedish film has turned director Daniel Espinosa in to a hot commodity (he was being considered for “X-Men: First Class” and has a bevy of projects at his choosing). The entire endeavor sounds at least a little bit off the beaten path which sits right with us.
It’s produced by Russian filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov (ok, “Wanted” isn’t our favorite, but still) and it’s being directed by Chris Gorak (“Right At Your Door,” plus he was the art director on “Fight Club,” “Minority Report” and “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” which could mean some awesome aesthetics) and written by Gorak and Josh Zetumer, who is a Black List favorite and once was one of the writers on board the now-dead “Bourne 4.”
Also making it different is that the pic is set in Moscow and follows a group of Americans traveling in the city when an alien invasion occurs. OK, it could turn out to be something faceless like “The Faculty,” with a bunch of good looking, up-and-coming stars, but hey, we’re trying to be optimistic these days. Why not.
