Then There Was

The Blackout is a well-crafted film from the start about a global blackout and its impact on one local area. The acting is superb and there is ample tension throughout its duration. It bogs down a little at times with mundane dialogue, but overall the pacing is good. The film is a study of human behavior during a time of serious crisis and it plays out in a fairly realistic manner. There is an obvious anti-gun bias evident, especially at the end of the film, where it seems that everything would be fine if there were no guns. Well, realistically, in a global blackout that lasted for any extended period, everything would not be fine--guns or no guns. In a world so dependent on modern contraptions and conveniences, most of us would not know how to survive in their absence--not for long anyway. In the end, it is a good film, but personally I could do without the political message.

Well the first half anyway is a somber and quite depressing look at the subject matter I always say was covered so awesomely in an episode of the greatest Sci Fi show ever made, The Twilight Zone. In the episode called 'The Monsters Of Maple Street.'

+1 Star for the movie pulling very few punches in the first half....

Really a nice retelling of that story with a few variations.

The biggest enemy of man, is man.

+1 Star For Really being fairly clear on that point even though a lot won't get it.

7/10

You either get my title or you don't. Anyway, wow, not a bad nobody of a movie. There are a lot of movies out there and only 10 stars. But I thought this one was better than a 5.3 so I give it a 6 for the curve. Only heard of one of the actors and thought the majority of all the acting was good. Actually thought some of the performances were really good. Wondered why nobody looked familiar. Only thing I didn't get was the illustration for the movie. There weren't any men with gas masks. Nor was there a significant woman with a small child. Oh well, worth something to put in if there's nothing else.

Some of the user reviews raved about this film, while others trashed it. I' in between. There are some wonderful exterior shots. There is--at times--some well-earned tension. And there is an ending that might surprise some of you.

On the other hand: the acting is not really that good. There are not startling or unique effects. The pacing--which was OK for my during my lunch break--might be painstakingly slow from some.

Bottom line: If you have a free night and you can't find anything else that interests you, then check this one out. It isn't a complete waste of time (unlike "Aftershock" which I just saw and other than some laughs at some sick humor-e.g. a guy loses his hand--graphically--and his female partner picks it up and places it in her purse. On the way to the hospital with his injury, his female friend has her purse ripped off. Had to laugh at this bit--and a couple more.)

So for an OK night, with an OK movie--you could certainly do far worse than "The Blackout."

As others have said, the total breakdown of society happens extremely quick in this movie. I think that's a problem a lot of people had watching it. I get they want to push the plot along but there are also so many moments when you're telling the characters to not do something logical. Movies that have to use dumb decisions to advance the plot or unrealistic scenarios are usually lazy writers. Add in some stereotypical stuff, like a pregnant woman in an end of times movie and teenagers making bad choices that also drag it down. I did want to like this movie, and the acting was pretty good outside of one college girl, But the plot is what did it in for me. I think if it did not have the college kids it could have been saved. I guess It's okay if you are watching it for free and need a couple of hours to kill, but you will not remember this movie long after you watch it. A good movie will make you think about it afterwards, this one just made me mad I watched it and wasted two hours. Especially the ending.