Review of Dark City (1998) by Conner R — 16 Dec 2010

I've seen this a few times now and I must say that the Director's Cut of this really sends it over the border of good into a great movie. Without the ridiculous narration that ruins the plot and a few extra scenes here and there, it helps give the story and visuals more time to spread their wings and show us the world that was originally intended.

Now the theatrical version of the movie isn't terrible, it just doesn't have the power and mystery of this cut. Rufus Sewell is by far one of the greatest villain actors of all time, but in this it's really cool to see that he can play just as good of a protagonist.

I love The Strangers, those are some bad guys that will never be forgotten (chattering teeth, bondage gear and pale skin). Also, the supporting cast of this is pretty much flawless. While Kiefer Sutherland is pretty much the only flaw of the movie, he isn't even that bad.

The visuals in this movie, especially the Neo-Noir city, is ridiculously beautiful. You just don't typically see so much time and effort put into every frame of a shot. The idea of a moving city is great and the way it is shown is even better.

What's neat about this movie even if you're not into its look is the completely original sci-fi element. Nothing has ever really tackled the essence of the human soul and human motivation and this does it without even trying that hard.