A flawed but great sci-fi adventure

Rating: 7/10 (4 January 2011)

Alex Proyas' sophomore film is a fun one. It is sort of one of those films that you just have to take it for what it is, but if you do so then you can have a lot of fun with it. It's the story of a man who wakes up with no memory of who he is, but is wanted for a series of gruesome murders. As he attempts to piece together his past he discovers his city is being run by strange horrific beings called The Strangers and they are hunting him down for some reason. The film starts out as a wonderfully perplexing mystery, and eventually turns into an overall fun science fiction experience.
There are some ingenious concepts behind the story and exposition of this film. As I watched I kept thinking about The Matrix, and of course to my surprise this film came out a year before The Matrix. But it borrows from a lot of the big brother concepts we've seen in sci-fi's in the past. But thankfully the concept of this story stays overall original and enticing. It might not have the depth that other films like it have, but it does justice to these exciting sci-fi elements and creates a still original story. My only problem with all this, however, is how everything is explained. I'm not a fan of having everything explained to me via one character's monologue, and that is exactly how Dark City pans out. After a lot of mysterious exposition I found myself enthralled into trying to figure out just what was going on here. I was anticipating the big "a-ha" moment, but then Kiefer Sutherland's character appears and explains everything outright, turning the "a-ha" moment into a "ok now I get it" moment, which is pretty anti-climactic if you ask me.
The movie also falls a little short on characterization, but not enough to frustrate me. Rufus Sewell as the main character, John Murdoch, does a decent job. His range isn't tremendous but he delivers a performance decent enough to drive the story well. His character could have used some more depth but I still enjoyed what I was given. Jennifer Connelly, who I'm madly in love with, plays Sewell's wife and she does a good job in her limited, yet important, role. I wasn't a fan of Kiefer Sutherland and was put off by his performance. His character arguably could have been one of the most intricate and best of the film, but his performance is lackluster and the character isn't brought out to his full potential. William Hurt is the highlight role of the film as Inspector Frank Bumstead. He is a great character with a lot more depth than the rest. And Hurt's performance is great.
Characters aren't exactly the main focus of Dark City though. The real focus is towards the storyline and especially the overall design of the film. The city in which the film takes place is brilliantly and hauntingly designed. It is an aptly named city, as there is no sun there and it is always dark and gloomy. The film gives off a constant future-noir vibe much like that of Blade Runner, my favorite science fiction film of all time. The eerie interior and exterior designs of all the buildings in the film give it a great feel that the film never loses. There is also the underground world where The Strangers live that leans much more to the science-fiction side of the future-noir spectrum, and is something really odd and fascinating to look at. This film's artistic design is definitely its highlight and it gives Dark City all of its unique flare.
Dark City is no doubt a good science fiction film. The design of the film is genius and it sets it apart from a lot of films that try to capture this kind of look but fail at it. I really just wish that the film could have matched its visual elements with great storyline elements. The exposition is fantastic, but I was very disappointed when everything was explained so simply and so unoriginally to me. And from there the film lost a lot of its mystery aspect and morphed into simply just an action packed science fiction adventure. Maybe I asked too much of this film, but regardless I came out of this movie with mixed feelings. I would have liked more, but I still really enjoyed Dark City and would at least consider watching it again.