Sci-Fi for the MTV Generation

Rating: Null/10 (2 February 1999)

Roger Ebert listed "Dark City" (** out of ****) as his number 1 best movie of the year, perhaps the only critic in the country to do so. After watching the DVD of this film, I listened to the audio commentary with the writer, director, etc., and there was Ebert serving as a sort of moderator, identifying which person is speaking. Could there be a conflict of interest here? I didn't know film critics were supposed to be so cozy with filmmakers whose work they were supposed to be evaluating in a fair and unbiased manner! As for "Dark City," it nearly put me to sleep the first time. However, I tried a second time to make sense of the murky and tedious plot, then gave up. This is just a glorified MTV video, which isn't interested in involving the audience on any substantive level. It's just production design and special effects for their own sake, plus ideas borrowed from a host of other and better films. Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" seems to be an especially dominating influence. My advice: see "Metropolis", or better yet, any film noir from the 40's or 50's.