Subject: Review: Dark City (1998)

From: "Berge Garabedian" <[email-masked]>
Date: 1 May 1998 05:05:58 GMT

DARK CITY			
RATING: 8 / 10 --> Great movie
					
Review Date: 	March 29, 1998
Director:	Alex Proyas
Writers: 		Alex Proyas, Lem Dobbs & David S. Goyer
Producers: 	Alex Proyas and Andrew Mason
Actors: 		Rufus Sewell as John Murdoch		
Kiefer Sutherland as Dr. Daniel Schreber
William Hurt as Inspector Frank Bumstead
Jennifer Connelly as Emma Murdoch
Richard O'Brien as Mr. Hand
Genre: 		Science-Fiction
Year of Release: 	1998

Alex Proyas' visionary follow-up to his big hit from 1994, THE CROW
(8.5/10), is a stunning success on all counts of movie-making magic.

PLOT:
Some eerie "people" named The Strangers living under a "dark city"
attempt to identify the constitution of human beings in a futuristic
setting.

CRITIQUE:
Grand vision. Out of this world special effects (not one bit of cheese
either). Deep story line that allows us to ponder the ramifications of
our childhood, memories, and future behaviour. This movie is set on a
quick pace, and doesn't let up till the very end. It's a very original
story, set to Mr. Proyas' unique style, and dark motif. I never thought
I'd see a movie that was darker than the original Crow, but here it is,
ladies and germs! Obviously, if "dark films" are not your cup o' tea, I
suggest you skip this piece of blackness.

This movie brought back images of BLADE RUNNER (7.5/10) and the
original BATMAN (8/10) (before Joel Schumacher turned the series into a
fantasy cartoon for him and his friends...) in regards to its grandeur
and scale, and certainly will be remembered in the years to come as a
cult classic. On the down side, Kiefer Sutherland's performance as the
Doctor ran a little too close to a bad impression of the Hunchback of
Notre-Dame, but I digress. The love story was also a bit weak, but then
again, if you want to see a good love story, you wouldn't go see a film
called DARK CITY in the first place, right?

Overall, I must say that this film is one that I thoroughly enjoyed
from frame one to frame last, and look very forward to watching it over
and over again, with nachos by my side, and mind set to "absorb". Try
to see this flick on the big screen, boys and girls, it will certainly
make for a stronger impression. Until then, I'm off to find a poster of
The Strangers to plaster all over my walls.
  
Little Known Facts: 
Film was originally titled DARK EMPIRE and DARK WORLD.
Director Proyas was apparently extremely distraught after the shooting
of THE CROW (and more specifically, the accidental shooting of his
young star, Brandon Lee) and took several years to recover. I would
venture to compare the meaning behind this film with the thoughts that
Mr. Proyas experienced for his ill-fated star.

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(c) 1998 Berge Garabedian