Review of Dark City (1998) by Victor T — 24 Jul 2015

Back in 1999 a film called "The Matrix" blew the mind of countless people as they saw it as an original concept, but I am here to say that if you believe that then you are wrong. Some films/comics/TV series have already approached the idea of mankind being the slave of another superior race and/or that everything you thought was real is not (the latter idea has been around since the times of Ancient Greece). Some examples of this statement are the original TV miniseries "V", John Carpenter´s "They Live", the Japanese manga "Ghost in the Shell", the comic "The Invisibles", the dramedy "The Truman Show", and the overlooked cult classic "Dark City".

J. Murdoch is a man who can't remember anything from his life. In his search for answers, he starts to unravel a conspiracy that makes him doubt of his own existence.

Just to clarify, I watch the Director´s Cut and I recommend you watch it instead of the Theatrical Cut. Director Alex Proyas had met some critical acclaim with the stylish "The Crow", so it's no surprise that he managed to surprise audiences with his follow-up film. "Dark City" counts with peculiar acting, either it is solid or it is hammy (with the perfect example being Keifer Sutherland); a fantastic twisted story that has a lot of surprises and it is filled with creativity, a suspense vibe that will grab your attention and put you in the edge of your seat, some beautiful surreal visuals, Proyas´s directing is as energetic and stylish as it was in "The Crow" (it really reminds of Terry Gilliam), the setting is a bizarre but gorgeous combination of "Metropolis" and "Blade Runner", the themes are executed with subtlety and they ask some interesting thought provoking questions, the atmosphere is a gorgeous film noir tribute, the production design perfectly recreates the fashion of the 40´s, the pacing is adequately slow as it takes its time to provide explanations, the character relationships surprisingly feel genuine (I say surprisingly considering the story), the cinematography is beautiful, and it has a big entertainment value. But even with all that greatness, "Dark City" has its flaws. The CGI is bad and as the film progresses it gets worse (sure, it is an element that can be forgiven due to all the things this film gets right but they take you out of the experience more than once), the characters aren´t memorable, and by the time the film finishes to surprises us and answers all the questions presented in the story (around the 90 minute mark), the film goes to a laughable action sequence that its reminiscent of the anime "Akira" but it doesn't work with the style the film has set.

"Dark City" is one of the best-if not the best- science fiction films of the 90´s. It is clever, fun, thought provoking, stylish, surprising, a well-made tribute to film noir, and beautiful to watch. One of the best films of the uneven year that 1998 was, a must see for sci-fi fans and people who like puzzle films. This is what "The Matrix" failed to be.