less than the sum of it's parts

Rating: 6/10 (26 March 2001)

now don't get me wrong, it's not that i don't this film, it's just that, well, it's just that it seemed to be a collection of quite a few films that have been put together. in some cases well, and in other cases badly...
the direction is fine, the acting is fine (the exception, and only a slight exception is a rather insipid performance by jennifer connelly) and the story is, well, the story is really rather strange.
to me this feels like this is somewhat a collection of ideas, rather on the lines of 'wouldn't it be good to get this in, but how about that. but hold on a second there is also that'. and instead of making the hard choices the director (and writer...and producer...and screenwriter) elected to keep them all. it's not bad, just a bit messy. why were the bad guys doing what they were? where are they from? where are the people in the city from? where are they going? why such an incomplete ending? why is that only one character (a good william hurt) asks any form of existential question and to sidestep that one not only is the question not answered but mr. hurt is 'removed' from the film? how is it that rufus sewell has the powers that he does? why is it that the bad guys look as though their costumes were thought up before the decision to see whether they would fit in with the rest of the design?
now i don't believe that all fims have to be neat and precise, nor should they always answer all the questions that they ask but the problem that i have with this film is that on more than one occasion it is just inconsistent. not the characters as such but the story itself. as i said it's not awful but it could have been so much better. all the elements for a really good (albeit silly) film are present but they just don't hit it off and the film as a consequence just doesn't work. it is damning it with faint praise to say that i have seen better and i have seen worse.
oh and incidentally, anybody who wants to see a great (and i mean great) film about memory should go and see memento. made on a fraction of the dark city budget but all of the money went on the right thing, the script!