First Light

There are lights in the sky. Cal (Saïd Taghmaoui) is following the UFOs. Teenagers are having a party in the woods. Alex Lainey (Stefanie Scott) gets affected by the lights and develops superpowers. Sean (Théodore Pellerin) has a crush on her and gives her a ride.

This reminds me of Chronicle in that it's a lower budget sci-fi indie trying to punch above its weight with some over-the-counter special effects. The story is basic but has potential. I actually found the brothers very intriguing initially. This should be a road trip movie with Alex and the brothers. It definitely needs a car chase to spice up the action. They already split up a truck. I don't think it's asking too much to crash one or two more.

Cal is the bigger issue. He's the source of a couple of problems. He's really only good for the expositions but maybe it would be better for the kids to figure things out themselves. Cal's first problem is his initial encounter with Alex. Why doesn't his radiation meter go off? He picks up a girl in her underwear and drops her off at a truck stop. What's wrong with him? Shouldn't he call the police? I'd just as well eliminate Cal from the story. It would be simpler. This sci-fi indie has lots of potential and achieves about half of it.

The wide swing in positive and negative reviews for At First Light would suggest that the movie is not for everyone. It does not deserve to be savaged by reviewers who expected from it something it was not intended to provide. It is not by any means ordinary low-budget sci-fi fare; the production values and effects are good, and the performances are commendable. It is, in the tradition of 2001 and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, more poetic than expository, and perhaps if it had had the budget of those movies it would be better received. Criticism that it is not sufficiently self-explanatory is misplaced, since any attempt to explain things that are supposed to be incomprehensible would have diminished the movie.

At the same time it is not perfect: its pacing is too deliberate for modern audiences, and its premise is far from original. But those who are not in a great hurry and who enjoy science fiction will probably come away satisfied with the viewing experience. The movie should have an IMDB rating above 7; 8 may be a little high in the grand scheme of things, but one must do what one can do to nudge it towards where it belongs.

Great acting, great direction, for a very quiet release over most countries this is a sneaky pleasure. I'd heard from american friends this was worth a watch and they were indeed correct. I want more from all sources.

Give it a chance. Watch til the end and you'll get it. It drags a little, but pay attention. I thought it was a good teenage romance/science fiction. I like movies where I have an emotional connection with the main characters, and I did. I recommend to teens and over.

This is my first review. I decided to try this movie in spite of some hateful reviews I had read. I'm glad I did. The movie was engaging and interesting, well produced and with appropriately worthy special effects. I felt it was slightly reminiscent of 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' at certain points. I give it 8 out of 10 to help offset some of the ugly negative reviews.