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Dark City Movie Review

Dark City is a 1998 science fiction action film directed by Alex Proyas and starring Rufus Sewell and William Hurt. It’s a polarizing movie for me.

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“You are probably wondering why

I keep appearing in your memories, John.

It is because I have inserted myself into them“

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It follows John Murdoch, an amnesiac man who finds himself suspected of murder. Murdoch attempts to discover his true identity and clear his name while on the run from the police and a mysterious group known only as the Strangers. This movie came out a year before ‘The Matrix’ and basically these two are all the same and everything I have said about that overrated film also applies to this one.

Dark City creates this stunning, dark world full of eerie atmosphere inspired by the works of noir and German expressionism. There is no doubt about it, the aesthetic here is splendid. The cinematography is great, the sets are superb and the film is meticulously detailed and highly atmospheric throughout. The sound and score are also pretty good.

However, the movie favors action over genuine storytelling and exploration of its themes. Gods manipulating humans and its Ancient Greek influences are cool, but at the end of the day the movie does not explore any of that. Instead, it opts for a spectacle approach, and I was utterly bored with that.

The various fights are uninteresting and the movie unfortunately reminded me too much of superhero cinema and never of true, genuine science fiction filmmaking. That’s because the villains, though they may be intriguing to some, are basically superhero villains as they are over-the-top and cartoony. I did not care for them personally and they dragged the film down significantly.

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Dark City is also not that well developed when it comes to its characters. John Murdoch is far from memorable despite his drama being somewhat interesting. But in terms of personality, he hasn’t got one. William Hurt and Kiefer Sutherland are more memorable themselves in solid roles, but ultimately even they aren’t all that great. And the female characters are underutilized and boring. The emotional connection and investment are thus entirely lost in this movie. As for Alex Proyas, his movies are definitely not my cup of tea.

While Dark City is very atmospheric and memorable in the noirish and expressionist world that it creates, it’s ultimately a boring experience. Everything that I have said about The Matrix also applies to this one – the visuals are cool and the movie is at first intriguing, but it crumbles beneath all the action, spectacle and superheroics without ever focusing on genuine storytelling and the exploration of its themes.

My Rating – 2.5