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The trailer for Dark City looked so cool. Well, I guess the actual movie looked cool, too. It just wasn't cool. In fact, it kinda blew. This is what I think it was about…
John Murdoch (Sewell, Dangerous Beauty) wakes up in a hotel tub. He has no recollection of who he is, how he got there or if he sliced up the whore in his room. Afraid that he may be a serial killer, the confused but aptly named John flees the scene.
The ensuing ninety minutes involve a wacky doctor (Sutherland), a brilliant cop (Hurt) and a pack of evil floating bald guys in hats and long black trench coats. The bad men, who have nifty names like Mr. Hand and Mr. Book, are from another world and have come to earth to continuously experiment on us humans so that they can live longer. John is an experiment gone bad because he can do crazy shit with his mind. Or something. Now, on to the important stuff.
Dark City looks awesome. Its set design is kind of a cross between The Hudsucker Proxy, Metropolis, City of Lost Children and Batman. It's perpetually nighttime (hence the title) and always sinister looking, even when the building aren't trying to kill you. From the looks of it, Dark City is supposed to be set in the 40's, but who the hell could concentrate with the throbbing pulse of Trevor Jones music. The inhabitants of the Dark City don't even realize that it's never daytime, so don't ask them.
Writer/Director Alex Proyas (The Crow) needs to stop it with the writing and concentrate on making the pretty. He needs to find a good script and just direct it. Dark City makes it obvious that Proyas suffers from Attention Deficit Disorder. The quick, choppy editing is at first appearance annoying and later laughable. The guy sitting next to me said it was like taking a regular conversation and editing out all of the spaces between the words. Mercifully, this made Dark City short, which is its second greatest attribute.
While the production package is certainly the high point, the acting is pretty decent as well. Sewell is relatively unknown to the mindless U.S. filmgoers and the girls will probably like his bare bum, which is shown in the first few minutes. Hurt and Sutherland pull of believable performances in unbelievable roles, but I will never know why people continue to cast Jennifer Connelly. She sucks the life out of every scene that she is in. She has two great assets, but you don't even get to see them, so why bother? Potential viewers should ask themselves that question before doling out their cash for this picture.
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