First Light (2018) Reviews

• A better movie than its IMDB score would suggest

  tg59721952018-12-28

  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.

• A very well made teenage sci-fi/romance film

  TheTopDawgCritic2018-09-29

  I'm 49 and saw this with my teenage kids and I must say, I enjoyed this as much as they did. If you're expecting a huge Hollywood blockbuster production, this isn't it, but it was still a surprisingly very well produced overall low budget B-film. It was very well directed and fairly decently written - aside from a few plot holes and issues. The cast were all excellent and convincing in their roles. The cinematography was on point, and what little SFX there was, it was done professionally, not cheesy like some recent sci-fi's I've seen. This is a fun and entertaining film for the entire family. It certainly leaves the door open for a sequel, and I hope they do make one. A well deserved 7.5 rounded up to an 8/10 from me.

• Not what i was expecting

  haltny-577432018-10-20

  I thought this was a well made film with good characters. Definitely not your usual teeny bopper garbage (that always seem to do really well). Whilst this may have been aimed at a teenage audience based on it's main characters, to me it had a more grown up feel. The reviews suggest this film is a bit Marmite, you either love it or hate it. I loved it and would recommend.

• Have some perspective

  Snootz2019-01-01

  This is neither a great scifi film nor the worst ever made. Come on folks, have a little balance in your reviews. If you're going to watch a teen-oriented movie, don't condemn it for being teen oriented. Seriously. That's like the atheists who watch religious films and then slam them for being faith oriented. That's stupid. This film has some unusually good directing and filming. The plot is a little thin and it's a little slow-moving, but it doesn't have "no ending" as some claim here; it's just not the tucked-in-a-box ending they wanted or expected. The characters were well-designed and the actors played the parts well. For once there was no cliche evil clandestine governmental conspiracy plots going on. This is a first-contact story without all the neat and tidies. That's based on simple common sense: If first-contact occurred with an alien species, what makes us think we would have anything at all in common as a starting ground? This is (as was fully declared from the beginning) a teen romance film. No it didn't all make sense. For example... how is it he starts out selling jewelry in a pawn shop for $20 because "we need the money"... then later they have enough cash for pizzas and medicine and bus tickets and whatever they need? So yeah, it could have been better thought out. So no, not the best movie ever made, nor the absolute worst. It's standard scifi. I'm starting to think there is a growing number of people who watch films they know ahead of time isn't their cuppa tea just so they can spout off on IMDB reviews. My advice: watch films you're likely to enjoy. Time is far too limited to waste it on genres you hate. Such reviews are useless to others. If you hate scifi or hate teen romances, then don't start watching this in the first place. Right? I found the watch enjoyable, not disappointing at the end, and basically entertaining. I give films 5 stars for "mediocre but tolerable". This one gets a 6. Not quite good enough for anything above that, but worth the watch.

• Another 'Teenagers are the center of the universe' movie

  jagatelesin2018-09-28

  Boring, predictable, shallow. Movies where teens are the center of the plot and ultimately either save the day, humankind, or are somehow the most important people on the planet and destined for special things... gets tiring. It's impossible to identify with the young female lead in the movie. She's more withdrawn and moody than any human I've seen outside of an asylum. None of the parents, law enforcement, or government are portrayed realistically - they're just irrational filler characters, and backdrop for the moody teens to run away from. Without spoiling the plot (what little there is), I'd recommend watching anything other than this to pass the time. Unless that is - you're 16 and need a way to feel special, and that the rest of the world doesn't understand you and ultimately doesn't matter. Even Arrival (2016) was more engaging and real than At First Light, and it was super slow, though quite intelligent.