Intelligent and enjoyable introspection into the human psyche

Rating: 7/10 (18 April 2004)

Let's get one thing straight. All over I read comments that Dark City is similar to The Matrix. BAH!!! Dark City came out a year before The Matrix, which makes The Matrix SIMILAR to Dark City. PERIOD. ****Possible spoilers**** Now onto the movie...well, one word, brilliant! Dark City has to be one the best psychological sci-fi/thrillers I've seen in a long time. The cinematography is top notch, the acting elegant, the story line intellectual yet unpretentious. Alex Proyas does an excellent job of exploring the metaphysical and psychological questions of reality, self and being. The concept of individualism is examined and questions are raised, but seldom answered which is good since individualism is heterogeneous. What strikes me most is the intricate relations (or lack thereof) between future actions and past memories and how memories can (or can't) influence behaviour. The idea of genetically modifying personalities for observation is original and again questions are raised about what being human is all about. The aim of the movie is to try and establish what it is that makes us tick, and I think this is cleverly represented in the visual effects by the analogy of clocks and spirals. We all know old-fashioned clocks operated by the winding down of a spiral. The `Strangers' needed to know what it is that made humans tick, (thus creating the whole experiment) but also realising that their time was slowly spiralling down. All in all, I find Dark City to be an intelligent and enjoyable introspection into the human psyche, skilfully presented and excellently executed.