At First Light (I) (2018) User Reviews

Have some perspective

[Snootz · 6/10 · 1 January 2019]

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. Don't be goofy.

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 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.

sci-fi indie

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 21 June 2021]

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.

Unexpected

[markhappyboy · 7/10 · 28 September 2018]

I really enjoyed this movie and had no idea what it was about before watching it. Great acting scenery and effects. I always thought the film distributor " Gravitas Ventures " brought out Naff movies but this little Gem has proven me wrong! It's a 7 from me.

Could've been a whole lot better, but made no sense at all.

[LordCommandar · 3/10 · 30 September 2018]

With the sequence of events this film has, it lost it's way in the finality of the execution. In a nutshell, a girl has an encounter with an alien life force, received a special ability, and did absolutely nothing with her ability except heal her ex boyfriend's grandmother. She is then is chased by the govt, caught, experimented on, escapes, saves her sick ex boyfriend from dying and then vanishes? WTF? Not enough detail whatsoever, no real explanation of anything, leaving you wondering what did you just watch. It could've been so much better, but potential was definitely lost. I so wanted to like it, but it was just meh.

enlightening

[ops-52535 · 7/10 · 28 September 2018]

This is a teenage movie, a rather good one so to speak, with a science fiction bias attached to it. the pace are too slow at times,but thats elevated by the use of spectacular special effects.the acting are fine,also the filming , locations and use of sound effects.but i feel the story could have been better told.there are too much E.T stuff that are not presented well enough,especially the super secret special agency surveillance team that are pursuing the youngsters. anyway, a good film,nice surprise actually,a 7 from me.

A watchable sci-fi TV movie, but far from good, very far

[Skipfishh · 5/10 · 18 May 2023]

SPOILERS

A film with a proposal different from most TV movies I've seen to date, fleeing the conventional pattern and with a slightly more indie and alternative inspiration. Better than a Hallmark, but not really a great movie, far from it, just average.

And when I say average, it's because I take into account the limitations of budget, resources and good actors and I give a discount for all of that, otherwise it would be a really bad movie.

What's interesting here is that it's a science fiction film with a slower, rural pace, a pleasant soundtrack and a reasonable ability to make us curious to know how it ends. SPOILER - By the way, there ends up being one of the worst flaws of the film, which is the idiotic ending and without leaving at least any message for humanity from the contact made. In the end, Alex's entire trajectory in the story with the alien spiritual parasite that became part of her (or even being her, since she seemed to have some interaction since she was a child) had no great reason - END OF SPOILER.

When we take a movie like "Duel", also made for TV and with a very low budget, maybe even smaller than the budget of "At First Light" (I really don't know the difference between the amounts), that's when we realize the that a great director like Spielberg manages to do with few resources compared to another director who doesn't have the same talent.

In closing, the actors are just average, the main couple's chemistry is very weak, but the few and simple special effects are nice for the purpose and the aura of the production is likeable. And I enjoyed seeing the album cover of "Ziggy Stardust" on Alex's bedroom wall.

Enthralling Surprise

[mariuchka · 7/10 · 1 January 2019]

Interesting story of love and life. Perhaps we we all are individual stars in the universe, some shining brightly while others are still evolving. Enjoyable short film. Good acting and keeps one interested, if you're into "why's". I really enjoyed this thought provoking film. 👍

Lotta Potential...but Little Realized.

[nb-19881 · 16 November 2018]

Wow.

There's an hour and a half I'll never get back...

this film, which has decent cinematography and acting, doesn't know what it wants to be when it grown up and, hence, it's much ado about nothing in the end.

No real plot. Movie doesn't hang together. The first 2/3 is a different movie entirely and has little bearing on the last third, which sort of centers around the promised plot.

But then is falls flat and ends horribly.

If you liked the "non-ending ending" of Lost you'll love this.

Avoid.

a nothing movie

[corytrevorson · 2/10 · 4 October 2018]

Another "Use YOUR imagination to explain it because our writers were TOO LAZY, or too unimaginative, to do it themselves.

I liked the movie

[the_doofy · 7/10 · 4 October 2018]

I liked the movie overall, the acting was believable, the primary male actor was a 10+ in acting ability, I just really hope he is not an actual smoker for real, he runs well, so I doubt it

The 'set' was very believable, I got a real impression of two teen age males living in low class (and white, yea there are plenty of poor whites in this country, despite not being represented much in the sympathy media strands), the places the filming was done were the kind of places poor kids would be found

I can see a script argument occurred here, 'Lets make them poor kids in gangs and involved in drug trafficking'!!! Countered with, "How about we just make them typical poor kids".

I liked that the viewer had to figure out stuff, like-- how are people being selected and why would it occur in this manner?--

The one thing that really brought the movie down was saying that the visitors pre- dated the big bang, there is NO way the scientists would know something like that, especially since no communication ever occurred, AND the visitors are clearly trying to increase their numbers, which implies a finite life span

Expected more

[zailaanderson · 2/10 · 6 January 2019]

I absolutely love this type of sci-fi movie, so upon seeing the trailer I was really excited. By the end of the movie I was absolutely disappointed. The plot was slow and always left you wanting more. The alien concept they tried to create was well-intentioned, but extremely poorly executed with absolutely no intellectual explanations for anything and left you feeling confused and empty. I wanted something with a wholesome conclusion that left me satisfied and informed, like Interstellar or Arrival. Not worth watching.

A better movie than its IMDB score would suggest

[tg5972195 · 8/10 · 28 December 2018]

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.

Interesting alien movie

[zachmholl · 7/10 · 7 January 2019]

Out of this world.. cool characters it's worth a look see.

The slow pacing of the movie eventually dragged it down...

[paul_haakonsen · 5/10 · 7 May 2019]

As I stumbled upon "At First Light", I had never heard about the movie. I picked it up and it sounded like it could be interesting, despite the fact that I am not usually overly keen on Sci-Fi movies.

Luckily the Sci-Fi aspect to "At First Light" was relatively small and didn't have all that much of a part in the movie.

I really wanted to enjoy the movie, because it had a storyline that really had potential, but it was just to slow paced and that made the movie suffer terribly. Not that the storyline was boring or anything, it just simply took too long getting from point A to point B, and very little actually happened during that time.

The acting in the movie was good, and I always find it enjoyable to watch a movie that has new faces in it, because then you don't associate the actors or actresses with previously portrayed characters.

The script was adequate and the plot definitely had potential, just a shame that the movie was killed by an atrociously slow pacing.

My rating of "At First Light", sadly, lands on a very mundane and generic five out of ten stars. While this isn't a bad movie, it certainly wasn't a good movie either. It had potential, but that was sadly not fully utilized.

Don't expect a story to be told

[atinlook · 2/10 · 13 January 2019]

I gave this movie a shot, and now I don't know why. There is no story to it - just...well, I can't even put into words what happens. A girl gets some weird powers after almost drowning, and some lights come and take her away. Wrap that around a short movie and you get this one. No explanation about what is happening, why, any meaning to it, nothing.

One film ripe for a Hollywood remake (hint, hint Hollywood).

[markthomassintek · 6/10 · 1 April 2019]

REVIEW - AT FIRST LIGHT

Ok I'll admit there is one type of film or TV show I do enjoy watching, ones about UFOs.

Whilst this film is about that subject, whilst being slow and not having the Hollywood budget the film is actually surprisingly good.

Are UFOs actually UFOs? Why can't they just be orbs of light with no physical mass, this is the premise behind this film with an ending which reminded me of my all time favourite film Close Encounters Of The Third Time.

Story was actually quite interesting and but slow, stick with it because the ending is worth it.

One film ripe for a Hollywood remake (hint, hint Hollywood).

Rating 6 out of 10

Missing parts to be an effective Sci-Fi

[lynansaysingle · 3/10 · 19 October 2018]

It doesnt have known actors but that is not really an issue if the acting is good. It is an issue here as the dialogue is not really flowing and the movie itself is quite slow. The only saving grace is there is a story there but it is not explained well and there is a lot of holes in the plot. It had potential but it needs a much better screenplay.

Solid movie. More a drama than sci-fi.

[c7flat13 · 7/10 · 27 January 2019]

I really enjoyed this movie overall. Initially I was expecting something more along the lines of 'Chronicle' but it ended up more like 'Close Encounters of the 4th Kind'. The first 3/4 is slow. More of a character study until the end. The acting is good. Pellerin does a good job leading and the supporting cast is solid. You'd expect Scott to be the focus considering she is given the powers but he is the primary protagonist I feel the end was satisfying. More so than most movies like this. It wasn't epic like '2001' but felt just open ended enough to spur the imagination in a hopeful way. Worth a watch.

Teans come true - sci-fi in prospective of new ideas

[seekingallthetime · 1/10 · 7 December 2018]

I watched First Light and it left me in comma. Because of this comma I could fully watch it. For me its shallow and C-Class movie with bad script and dialogues irrelevant to what the story want to go. On the other hand the story is par. The acting is annoying, especially of the lead teen boy. The idea is too much used that it offers nothing and adds nothing.

TV movie worth the watch.

[mspray11 · 7/10 · 29 November 2018]

I'm not much for made for TV movies, but this one stands out. It reminded me of one of the better X-Files episodes.

Thought it was a low budget teen sci fi

[Seb-Neg · 1/10 · 18 June 2020]

This movie was crap, like a very bad version of a teen Cocoon that was written by a 14 year old.

A very well made teenage sci-fi/romance film

[Top_Dawg_Critic · 8/10 · 29 September 2018]

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.

Entertaining and very watchable

[AllanWB · 7/10 · 3 October 2018]

Apart from one or two glaring continuity errors this is a well produced, directed and acted movie. There are a few obvious holes in the plot but all in all an enjoyable movie. A solid 7/10.

More Really Bad Science

[westsideschl · 1/10 · 21 February 2019]

Positives: ?? Negatives: 1. Dumbed down dialogue. No attempt to be even reasonably factually accurate. Usual cheap movie filler of overhead drone views of, well, not much. 2. A really cheap production aimed primarily to be understandable/relatable to middle school dropouts. 3. First cheap was a close up view of a compass swinging erratically as director holds magnet just offscreen. Suppose to represent alien weirdness (I suppose.) Government peoples are wearing cheap WWII type surplus store gas masks. 4. Usual moving lights in the upper atmosphere or beyond (not clear). Guy in pickup is able to track aliens w/hand held high school lab EM meter while the government w/all their high tech can't. 5. Usual communication to human by making them semi-conscious zombie like; walking for no reason down the middle of a remote highway. Scene done before; aliens must not be very intelligent to need that hook. 6. Usual human infected by aliens gives us nosebleeds (Why? Who knows.), and can levitate things & toss cars around, which is also a done before movie alien hook. How or why she acquires such skills - minor point. 7. Usual flashing house lights. Usual strange bird flocking behavior. Usual government conspiracy. 8. Worst science part! The aliens which are little balls of light arrive because we sent them a light message. Unfortunately the authors forgot that the message would take at least a few thousand, up to millions of, years to travel. Then the alien light beings would have to understand and take the same amount of time to Earth. Forget about the energy & space obstacle for them to travel. We determine that aliens have been around since the Big Bang, a script hook is not even worthy of being called dumb.

Not worth watching

[injun-83620 · 3/10 · 20 January 2019]

I do not know who would rate this more than a 3. Terrible, terrible movie. Boring and full of obvious bloopers like a smashed car hood in one shot and not smashed anymore for the rest of the scenes. Stay away from this movie because "I told you so"