A movie of both style and substance.

Rating: 9/10 (15 December 2012)

Director Alex Proyas, who'd previously directed the feature film version of "The Crow", brings a similar comic book style to this intriguing movie that injects a noir sensibility into an elaborate science fiction environment. Its visuals are very impressive, and at the same time that this movie is entertaining you it's making you think about certain aspects of human existence. Rufus Sewell is excellent as John Murdoch, an average Joe who wakes up in a bathtub with no memory of who he is; soon, mysterious entities named Strangers will be tailing him, as will the police, who believe him to be a murderer. The Strangers, it turns out, are fooling around with human memories, determined to get to the root of who and what we are as humans. They're fascinated by us, and keep this world in perpetual night. Production design, by George Liddle and Patrick Tatopoulos, is incredible, as is the cinematography by Dariusz Wolski. The pacing is very deliberate, but the story is compelling enough that one may not mind being guided through it carefully; there are action set pieces and special effects, but they're parcelled out a bit at a time. There is a certain grandeur to it all, as one can see from the lair of The Strangers, and the audience will also have a fun time absorbing the various plot twists that Proyas and fellow screenwriters Lem Dobbs and David S. Goyer come up with. The twist with the reality behind mysterious location Shell Beach is particularly effective. The acting is solid from all concerned, with Jennifer Connelly as Murdochs' wife, William Hurt as the intrepid detective who's just as puzzled as the hero, Richard O'Brien, Ian Richardson, and Bruce Spence as the very creepy principal Strangers, Colin Friels as harried ex-detective Walenski, Melissa George as the prostitute May, and Kiefer Sutherland in a very amusing, Peter Lorre-like turn as the stressed out doctor who knows a great deal about the reality of the situation facing everybody. In the end, this is provocative stuff that successfully deals with the issue of human identity; is it our memories that do indeed define who we are, or is there so much more to it than that? Many science fiction films over the years have dealt with the idea of what makes us human, and "Dark City" admirably keeps up that tradition. Worth a watch for discerning genre fans. Nine out of 10.