This review is not really about this particular movie - no one has heard of or watched this movie, anyway, and as you'll see from the score I definitely don't recommend that they watch it, either. What this review is about is a specific type of film that I sometimes seek out. More specifically, a random Time Waster, a movie (usually from a random streaming service I currently have access to) which gets thrown on one screen while I chat, browse the Internet, and do whatever else one does when they lack executive function.

These movies have a few traits that are important. One of the main ones is that they can't be a movie I actually care about watching. They have to be low-value movies that are just interesting enough for me to click on, but not interesting enough for me to ever think about again. There will never be anyone to "discuss" these films with, and it has to be okay for me to not really pay attention to them. I'd still like them to be interesting enough to command some of my attention, though, so it's a fine line to walk.

I tend to gravitate toward sci-fi and action movies for all movies, but for these in particular; there are tons of "genre fiction" movies out there, and they rarely require attention and they are almost never big-budget movies that I really want to go out of my way to see. Sometimes they are that (for instance, Dune, or Jurassic Park, or whatever) but very often they are things no one has heard of, about space or the dying earth or evil wizards or a kidnapped child being rescued. B movies, I guess they used to be called! That's the niche being filled here.

This particular one, The Darkest Hour? It is not a good one. It has nothing to recommend itself. Extremely dumb plot, bad dialogue, pretty poor acting, absolutely crushed under the weight of standard movie tropes. But does it matter that much? Not really. That's not what it's designed for. I've watched a lot of these in my time, and this one is not good enough to click on, but you never know which one will be! And if you end up not really paying any attention, there's no great loss. There are no frivolities such as "themes" or "ideas" present anyway!

Although this one didn't cut it, when these movies work out, they provide a very different spark of joy to me than the big blockbusters can, because the good ones sometimes feel like they are made just because someone really wanted to make this movie for the sake of making the movie, rather than the feeling generated by, say, a superhero movie (money please) or an Oscar bait drama (awards please).

Score: 3/10

IMDb: The Darkest Hour

PS: What are some examples good dumb streaming non-blockbuster movies I have watched? Here are a few picked totally at random from memory (not at all an exclusive list): Extraction, Aniara, ARQ, Spiderhead, Time Trap. None of these movies are the kind of movies one gets excited about. But they all have some random aspect that makes them interesting enough as time-wasters; a charismatic lead, interesting action or interesting premise, or just pretty good pacing and production without being obviously stupid. It's not that hard, you're only aiming for a 5 or 6 out of 10 with this sort of thing!

PPS: Plus Spiderhead reinforces what Bad Times at the El Royale made obvious - Chris Hemsworth is not a protagonist, he is a charismatic villain, and he's good at it. Bad Times at the El Royale, now that's a good random movie to stream with no expectations. It's like a B-grade Tarantino movie!