Impressive mix of a fantasy film and a psychological thriller

Rating: 8/10 (18 May 2002)

Although the basic plot seems nothing more than a typical twilight zonish subject expanded to a 90 minutes time slot Alex Proyas succeeds in the narration of this strange story . His assistant technicians should take the credit for pulling off this never-boring-for-the-viewer movie with their decent art direction and dark cinematography .
I will begin by saying that CAUTION : this is NOT an action film . If you except the fact that our lead John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) is constantly on the run to escape from his pursuers , there are no bombs , gunfire etc etc . If you want to see a typical sci fi adrenaline-packed blockbuster see the "Matrix" . AHHH! Here we come to the point . This atmospheric predecessor of the Matrix proved that you don 't need gratuitous action scenes with kung fu and corny acrobatic SFX to keep the audience 's attention ( however I would like to point out that it is unfair to say the Wachowski Bros ripped off Dark City because drafts of the script existed ever since 1996) . Anyway Dark City starts off as a psychological thriller . John Murdoch has a strange kind of amnesia . He can 't remember who he is , he is wanted for a murder he can 't recall committing , he has a wife who doesn 't recognize (played by Jennifer Connelly) and he has an unexplained desire to visit a place from his supposed childhood (Shell Beach) .
From the beginning though it becomes clear that we are watching a fantasy film with supernatural forces . I won 't say more however in order not to spoil the fun . The similarities between Matrix and Dark City are evident (3 leading characters , the pursuers/baddies , a massive hallucination) . But whereas Matrix was an IMPUDENT ripoff from Star Wars , Terminator and Nightmare on Elm Street mish-mashed with pseudo religious hints , Dark City can stand on its own thanks to the imaginative direction and mostly due to the mystery factor which keeps the viewer hooked until the end . (no need for "cool" rayban glasses or black capes) . Of course this doesn 't mean that the Proyas film isn 't inspired from other films . Dark City deals with the question "what makes us human" and is slightly reminiscent of Blade Runner . Personally I believe that Dark City answered the question much better than the 1982 film (no need for slow pace and foggy frames here as well!) . The prophecy about the ONE who is going to save man kind seems to be taken by Dune ( I am not saying Star Wars because we don 't have the plot device mentor-training-student ) . There are also some plot elements which I can 't give away but I will say that reminded me a little bit of "Close Encounters of the 3rd type" , "The Shadow" with Alec Baldwin and the villains seem to be cousins of Uncle Fester from the Addams Family .
The art direction seems to be an amalgam from Gotham City
(the most famous in-joke about Batman finally materializes : a city which never sees the daylight!!!) and 1920 's Detroit fashion : the cars , costumes and hats (the barber shop reminded me of the Untouchables) . The edition is nice with the flashbacks popping out here and there , the cinematography is beautiful (especially in all scenes near or on the river) but I believe the SFX needed a bit reworking . Anyway there are a couple of sequences you will never forget and the narration has the nice amount of mystery , action and suspense . Rufus Sewell performs a difficult task . Despite his plain looks and unattractive characteristics he gives a likeable character who struggles to save his life and memories in a messy environment. No real star power or bulged body or handsome face (Harrison Ford anyone ?). If the film was more mainstream we would have a Bruce Willis or Brad Pitt in the role . Unfortunately one of the liabilities is that Mr Sewell carries the film exclusively on his shoulders . William Hurt seems as a forced-in decorative role with no real purpose . I liked seeing Jennifer Connelly who was lost after the amazing Labyrinth back in 1986 , but unfortunately she isn 't given much to do . Both Connelly and Hurt are wasted and end up as nothing more than extended cameos . The actors behind the villains could have been interesting if we could tell them apart !!! The only supporting actor I found interesting was that strange cop and I hated seeing him vanish so quickly . Finally Kiefer Sutherland : his dyslexic character is obviously inspired by Mouse , the retarded blond adolescent who lived at the underground society in TV 's Beauty and the Beast with Linda Hammilton . Sutherland is sometimes irritating with the way he talks although he has the key role . (at least the plot twist was ingenious) .
Enough said I think . If you want to see an independent production , entertaining and simultaneously thought-provoking see Dark City . To its credit this is a short film obviously not wanting to have unnecessary interludes of action to fill in the screen time . It is the good way of telling an inventive fantasy story without being a boring flagging depiction of a one dimensional gimmick (cough , cough , Gattaca , cough , cough ) . Oh , and before I forget my hat off to Alex Proyas for delivering a much better film than the Crow .
8.5 / 10