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Dark City is one of the three best films I have seen this year (The other two were Gattaca and Saving Private Ryan). I've seen some extremely mixed opinions about this film. Some say it was a revolutionary piece of filmmaking, and others just say it was stupid and boring. I'll have to go with the "Revolutionary Piece of Filmmaking" option, however. The movie, first, plunges you into this dark, moody world where the clock strikes 12, and everybody in the city falls asleep instantly. Already, the film sets up a mystery. I just can't stand reading these reviews from various web-pages that say that the movie itself is boring. This film kept me constantly guessing and predicting what the strangers are doing to the city. You don't enjoy the film unless you think. Other reviews (unproffesional web-page reviews) I have read say they really hate the visuals. "It's too dark!" they whine. That's why it's called "Dark City"! I think the visuals are fantastic. The city has a visual theme... not like Blade Runner, but it relies more on dark brown, orange, and green, instead of pitch-black with neon lights (like Blade Runner, as I mentioned before). There is also a secondary visual theme... the stranger's underworld. It is a bit less dark, but the only color used in that set is blue. The camera lense itself very different, making the city look very claustrophobic... making the city "wrap" around you. I like Dark City's imaginative lighting and creative sets better than I like Alex Proyas' (the director of Dark City) previous movie, "The Crow". Also, you have to be "drawn in" to the story, instead of immediately saying "This movie's dumb" when the film first starts out. Since my favorate genre is Science-Fiction and Fantasy, I was easily drawn into Dark City's nightmarish fantasy world. Also the nighmarish strangers add to the already intensely moody and dark environment of Dark City. The editing is a style I have never seen before, almost comic-bookish. Especially in the beginning of the film, when John Murdoch first wakes up, Alex Proyas cuts out small seconds of the film between "camera cuts"... it adds to the movie's nervous and hectic speed. The music, though is good, even though I have heard better musical scores (you know, the actual orchestra music) to films. The music is really effective though, since it has dark synthesizers throughout the film, making the movie even more dark and "moody". The movie is not all just sound and visuals, though, the story will keep you constantly guessing, as I mentioned, and it is highly imaginative and asks questions like "If your memories were replaced by the memories of a murderer, would you continue to kill?". I have also heard complaints that the charactors are very shallow... well, how can you make good charactors when their memories have been erased? They are intentionally shallow charactors. In movies, you usually can connect to the charactors in them. John Murdoch (the main charactor) is easy to connect with since he is just your normal guy, but being chased by strange men in trenchcoats, accused of a murder he cannot remember, on a journey of self discovery, and discovering a strange new power that he has. A lot of people, especially those that find the Sciene Fiction genre to be completely rediculous crap, will immediately dismiss Dark City as another dumb film with bad charactors... but for those of us who can appreciate a real Science Fiction, I really recommend you see this movie... right now! Go rent it! DON'T READ THE FOLLOWING IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE... I liked at the end at how they will never know where they have come from... I remember at the end, the detective was asking where they have come from, and the doctor gave a response that went something like "I'm sorry, I don't remember that. None of us remember that... Where we once were... what we could have been... I'm sorry." It gave a wonderful sci-fi-ish element to Dark City, now that Earth doesn't matter anymore since they will never find it, and John Murdoch is left with the task of rebuilding the city to whatever he wants. IF YOU ARE GOING TO RESPOND TO ME, please E-Mail me instead of posting a message, since chances are, I will never visit this forum again. My E-Mail is at sean_b1@hotmail.com
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