A laugh out loud parody of the neo-noir sci-fi genre

Rating: 9/10 (1 September 2014)

Alex Proyas has us laughing almost from the word go in this understated send up of noirish conspiracy thrillers. The opening scene, in which Kiefer Sutherland's' ridiculous mad scientist calls protagonist John Murdoch, screams silliness at the viewer from the word go: Sutherland's masterfully created stammering fool just one of many characters with which the plot is littered in order to reassure the audience that not only is this film not supposed to make any sense, it's actually actively trying to subvert the expectations of the audience with respect to good movies of the genre.
Adding to Sutherland's expert delivery are the equally amusing Emma Murdoch - Connelly couldn't look more out of place singing in a jazz club if she tried, her attire, voice and manner purposefully not suiting the slender and smooth mood associated with such venues - the obviously deliberately named Inspector Bumstead - a title which perfectly juxtapositions the serious and the silly - and of course the cult comedy actor of choice Richard O'Brien.
Many other fantastically ludicrous set pieces litter the film, including the main character showing more compassion for a goldfish he meets for less than a minute than for a hooker with whom he spends considerably longer, the ridiculous clacking of the alien species during their rituals and, of course, the final fight scene in which our hero and villain LITERALLY SHOOT PSYCHIC BEAMS OUT OF THEIR FOREHEADS AT EACH OTHER, whilst giving absolutely no explanation as to how Murdoch acquired this ability in the first place.
Deciding that bringing the tropes of both science fiction and gangster genres crashing down around the ears of the audience isn't enough of a controversial move for one film, the creators of Dark City also have a quick little crack at the modern romantic complex during a scene in which Murdoch and his wife realise they have known each other for less than 24hrs but decide to have a go of it anyway.
The story is needlessly complex, never explained in enough detail and at the end of the film very little is resolved and humanity is still left to drift through the cosmos in a floating city with no connection to reality at all, once again turning the expectations of the audience on its head.
Yet some people insist on taking it seriously...