The Darkest Hour 3D Blu-ray (2011) [Region Locked]

[BleedOrange11]

Just watched The Darkest Hour in 3D.

The plot is just as bad as the critic reviews describe. The filmmakers do a great job setting up an alien apocalypse and creating a dark atmosphere. However, they repeatedly ask you to buy into absurd logic and cheesy happenstances, which completely ruin the story. On the plus side, the movie takes place in post-apocalyptic Russia, so we do get treated to some gorgeous views of Red Square and crumbling Moscow. The set pieces look awesome, and the performances from the four main characters are generally good.

The 3D presentation is best described as inconsistent. One minute, it's strong and immersive and the next, it's boring and flat. Image separation varies from one shot to the next without rhyme or reason. Camera cuts are too quick, especially during action scenes. Sometimes during subtitled dialogue, the movie switches to 2D. For the most part, the movie is filmed with 2D-style framing without attention to foreground placement or background layering. As a consequence, only environments with naturally interesting depth look consistently good. Use of low camera angles, long corridors, hole-in-the-wall viewpoints, floating CGI ash, and CGI alien POVs provide nice-looking exceptions. 90% of the scenes are kept entirely in positive parallax, and the screen becomes a noticeable barrier. Occasionally, a blurred foreground object does appear in negative parallax. The aforementioned floating CGI ash is the only effect that can be considered as "pop-out," and admittedly, it does look pretty cool.

It seemed like the filmmakers were learning how to use 3D as they made the movie. While a little more research and forethought into scene setup and 3D use would have been nice, I applaud their efforts and their decision to film with 3D cameras. There are some sporadically nice 3D moments, and the BD3D can be had pretty cheap online. I found mine used for $11.69 from GoHastings.

Movie - 2/5
Stereography - 2.5/5
Depth - 4/5
Pop-out - 2/5
Dimensionality - 4.5/5

[Jsmith82]

Good Review. I kind of felt the same way however I also had a viewing issue with this movie and my 3DBR player (needed an update). After the update, we watched it for a second time, probably close to 6-7 weeks after our first viewing - I enjoyed it a lot more this time around though I still wanted to punch that jerk from the beggining.

Pop is very weak, completely agree. Depth is pretty intense and the post apocalyptic Russia is a fun trip to take on a 3D setup.

All in all, I'd say it's a great native 3D movie to catch if you can get it on sale for <=19.99 USD all in.

[Zivouhr]

Thanks for the review BleedOrange. I was wondering about this one each time I walk into the store and see it on the shelves.

Post War 3D sounds appealing. The 3D inconsistency makes me think twice, but I will give this a try one day.

[mseeley]

I still want to check this one out too. Hopefully soon

[BleedOrange11]

I had been wondering about it for a while too. I liked the 3D trailer but saw that critics gave the story and 3D very average marks. I haven't always agreed with critic 3D ratings, so I gave it a shot since it was pretty cheap. In this case, unfortunately, the critics were right. It does provide a bit of fun though if, like me, you are really craving some native live-action 3D.

Next up: The Amazing Spider-Man in IMAX 3D.

[mseeley]

Originally Posted by BleedOrange11

Next up: The Amazing Spider-Man in IMAX 3D.

Going to be checking it out in that format next week I think! My cousin's husband(who works at Sony) thought the movie was terrific and he told me I should see it in Imax due to the shifting aspect ratio for the finale!! I can't wait!!!

[hsini2015]

Pop is very weak, completely agree. Depth is pretty intense and the post apocalyptic Russia is a fun trip to take on a 3D setup.

[Blu Tiger]

Originally Posted by BleedOrange11

I had been wondering about it for a while too. I liked the 3D trailer but saw that critics gave the story and 3D very average marks. I haven't always agreed with critic 3D ratings, so I gave it a shot since it was pretty cheap. In this case, unfortunately, the critics were right. It does provide a bit of fun though if, like me, you are really craving some native live-action 3D.

Next up: The Amazing Spider-Man in IMAX 3D.

I like your reviews. So I have been on the fence about getting this in 3D. What would you recommend? The 2D or 3D version?

[BleedOrange11]

Originally Posted by Blu Tiger

I like your reviews. So I have been on the fence about getting this in 3D. What would you recommend? The 2D or 3D version?

Thanks.

Just my opinion, but I wouldn't watch this movie for free in 2D. Unless the 3D is reference quality or I really love the story, 90% of the fun for me is evaluating the 3D and discussing it on here. The 3D isn't stellar, but it's a cheap disc. It's filmed native, so there's no wonky-looking depth mistakes. I'd compare Darkest Hour's 3D to that in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. If you need 3D to "Wow!" you, you can just skip it entirely. If you want to see a cheesy story in post-apocalyptic Russia with okay native 3D, this disc is for you.

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by hsini2015

Pop is very weak, completely agree. Depth is pretty intense and the post apocalyptic Russia is a fun trip to take on a 3D setup.

When you say pop, do you mean "Pop out" of the screen? Or Pop to the 3D layers, as in Layer Pop? Depth (how far back things go) is present in most movies, so I'm guessing you mean layer pop when you said "pop", meaning very few pop outs. Is that about right or am I off the mark?

[Blu Tiger]

Originally Posted by BleedOrange11

Thanks.

Just my opinion, but I wouldn't watch this movie for free in 2D. Unless the 3D is reference quality or I really love the story, 90% of the fun for me is evaluating the 3D and discussing it on here. The 3D isn't stellar, but it's a cheap disc. It's filmed native, so there's no wonky-looking depth mistakes. I'd compare Darkest Hour's 3D to that in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. If you need 3D to "Wow!" you, you can just skip it entirely. If you want to see a cheesy story in post-apocalyptic Russia with okay native 3D, this disc is for you.

Thanks! I think I"ll check it out in 3d.

[Lovemy3D]

Saw it in the theater. It was a bit disappointing. I had higher hopes for it. Some fun moments though. But over all forgettable. In fact, I had forgotten about it until seeing this thread lol.

I thought the 3D looked okay, though they should have had pop outs to make the movie more fun.

[sookymonster]

I have watched this twice now, and while the story is kinda weak, its enjoyable. The 3D is o.k, nothing special but nothing to complain about either...I suspect the budget played a part in this movie as it could have been lots better..

and even though Im aussie I found rachel taylors accent really distracting!

[steelerik]

Watched this last nite .... hmmmm .. i dont really know what to say about it ... maybe another viewing is needed.

I love cities being destroyed by aliens movies, and this started out well. Nice fx, nice depth to the 3D ... very little pop though if any. Then it started to go downhill! It was like 2 films nailed together at times. Suddenly the 3D was hit and miss, then the story dropped off ... and dont get me started on the hammy 'independance day' like speeches!

Maybe a renter rather than a buyer.

[Captain Jack]

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by this one, the story was better than I thought it would be and the 3D was fairly solid throughout. I'd recommend it, but as others have said as a renter more than a buyer.

[gamermwm]

Originally Posted by Captain Jack

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by this one, the story was better than I thought it would be and the 3D was fairly solid throughout. I'd recommend it, but as others have said as a renter more than a buyer.

I agree. I am a fan of Emile Hirsch but I went into this with low expectations. Suprisingly, I found a decent movie (although I couldn't stand the Austrailian chick and applauded

[Show spoiler] when she was destroyed lol

). But I guess I kind of liked the movie a little bit

I would say it's a solid 2.5 to 3 out of 5. Entertaining enough to keep you interested for the most part. The 3D was solid, but they clearly did not set up shots to take full advantage. I also would recommend as a rental or a cheap buy to anyone who hasn't already seen it

[gamermwm]

Originally Posted by sookymonster

and even though Im aussie I found rachel taylors accent really distracting!

...Glad I'm not the only one

[steelerik]

Originally Posted by gamermwm

...Glad I'm not the only one

The syrupy speeches throughout the whole film almost made me vomit!

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by BleedOrange11

Just watched The Darkest Hour in 3D.

It seemed like the filmmakers were learning how to use 3D as they made the movie. While a little more research and forethought into scene setup and 3D use would have been nice, I applaud their efforts and their decision to film with 3D cameras. There are some sporadically nice 3D moments, and the BD3D can be had pretty cheap online. I found mine used for $11.69 from GoHastings.

Movie - 2/5
Stereography - 2.5/5
Depth - 4/5
Pop-out - 2/5
Dimensionality - 4.5/5

This sounds pretty good if dimensionality is 4.5/5 with depth 4/5. I think I might give this one a try if I see it in store for under 20$. Thanks again for the details on the 3D.

Originally Posted by gamermwm

I agree. I am a fan of Emile Hirsch but I went into this with low expectations. Suprisingly, I found a decent movie (although I couldn't stand the Austrailian chick and applauded

[Show spoiler] when she was destroyed lol

). But I guess I kind of liked the movie a little bit

I would say it's a solid 2.5 to 3 out of 5. Entertaining enough to keep you interested for the most part. The 3D was solid, but they clearly did not set up shots to take full advantage. I also would recommend as a rental or a cheap buy to anyone who hasn't already seen it

I think the lady from Dredd 3D is also in this one. Olivia Thirlby. She was good in that movie.

[BleedOrange11]

Olivia Thrilby, Rachel Taylor, and Emile Hirsch all did a nice job with their characters.

The 3D is decent. Go for it if you find a bargain and are interested in the movie. I think by "dimensionality," I was trying to rate roundness of the 3D objects and gave it a high score because it is all native 3D with decent depth strength. "2D thinking" by the filmmakers probably hurt the experience the most.