Dark City (1998)

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Tell Me What You Feel

Dark City (1998)

6/10

Starring

Rufus Sewell

Kiefer Sutherland

Jennifer Connelly

William Hurt

Directed by Alex Proyas

Dark City does have a grand ending but the buildup is what causes many to feel this movie is just not that good, cause after a while of waiting wanting to see what these “Strangers” were up to, there was a point when I just got tired of wanting to see what they were up to and longed for the end of the movie but when I got close to end I found myself sitting up being drawn back into the movie and wanting to see what will happen next.

Directed by Alex Proyas (The Crow (1994) and I, Robot(2004)) Dark City is his next film after the Crow which saw the end to the life of Brandon Lee, who died on set in the final filming of the 1994 movie (The Crow).

The movie plot is about John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell), who woke up in a bath tub with no idea of who he is (amnesia) but to make it worse he finds a dead girl in his room, then he finds himself on the run from the police as he is being sort for, for murder.

While running from the cops, Murdoch attempts to discover who he is and clear his name, when a mysterious group known only as the "Strangers" who have psychokinetic ability, were also seeking him to kill.

There was fear that many wouldn’t understand the movie, due to the very complexity of what goes on, as you the audience are left to determine what is real and what is not, but that is the point of the movie and it added to the flare and the narrative style of the movie, which is good enough to keep you concentrating not lost. Proyas determination to make a horror thriller is what makes the movie dark, but the horror intention of Proyas is missed, as the movie is more thrilling than it is horror.

The writing of the movie was done by Proyas, Lem Dobbs and David S. Goyer, Goyer who wrote the sequel to Proyas 1994 cult movie The Crow. Proyas initially wrote the movie to focus on the detective Frank Bumstead (William Hurt), but as the movie script was being developed the main plot changed from the detective to the man being chased by the detective, John Murdoch.

Dark City was filmed entirely on set, with no location used, with Proyas using the same production designer from his previous film The Crow. This entirely built set showcases excellent cinematography, as we travel between what we know as city and the lair of the Strangers.

Dark City is a cult classic movie, and it has grown thanks to Roger Ebert (a popular and notable movie reviewer) and home screenings. Dark City has come to stay, holding a nice rating in many review sites, although the movie was not much of a box office success in 1998, it is still a well talk about movie, one that you can only enjoy if you hang on to the end.