A good film, but could have been much more...

Rating: Null/10 (20 May 1999)

I saw a trailer for this film in late 1997 and thought "This looks too good to be true!": it just looked like the kind of film I'd be able to watch over and over.
I then spent ages waiting for its release and was disappointed to find that that I'd managed to miss it at the cinema (I was on holiday on the week that it was in my local cinemas). I was lucky when, in the Summer of 1998, I got to see Dark City in one of the cooler cinemas in the world (the Prince Charles Cinema, just off Leicester Square).
I must say that I was a little disappointed - while the effects were very effective (the changing buildings looked extremely real, dirty and old) and the film itself had a lot of noir atmosphere, I think Dark City could have done a great deal more with its "parts". A very strong cast was (particularly in the case of Ian Richardson) rather wasted and the concept of warped memory and loss of identity could have been applied to far greater effect. Imagine having a "tune" halfway through the film, after which role of the detective chasing "Murdoch" was now played by another person (Murdoch's wife?). I think such variations would have offered greater insight into Murdoch's position and would have afforded the audience greater empathy with the characters. In effect, I think there was too much consistency in the characters.
Also, I think the end would have been more effective had there been greater attention paid to the potential impact Murdoch's newfound omnipotence might have had on his behaviour. For example, what if the woman he had believed to be his wife no longer found him attractive in her new persona - would he be able to resist the temptation to play god with her mind / heart? The potential of this story was such that any film utilising it was almost bound to partially disappoint. However, it's still a lot more intriguing and visually startling than any number of the mainstream sci-fi blockbusters that have been flying around in recent years.
I should state that, as I'm in the UK, I haven't seen The Matrix yet. Everyone seems to be making comparisons between the two - perhaps another worthwhile comparison might be Cronenberg's recent (partially disappointing) outing, eXistenZ?