| As anyone who has seen the preview knows, Dark City is dark, Dark dark. One would be tempted to write off the movie based on its very blatant "look at all the cool visuals in this movie!" style trailer, but I think that the discriminating viewer can take a chance on this one. |
| Mostly unfamiliar Rufus Sewell stars in a movie populated by mostly unfamiliar faces (save Jennifer Connelly, you know, from Labyrinth, and of course Kiefer Sutherland - oh, and for us RHPS fans, Richard O'Brien!) which adds to the weirdness of the mood. Sewell does not look like a leading man, which makes his perfect for this part. He's interesting and unknowable, and that works great.
The Dark City they live in is dark for a reason (actually, if anything, some things are overexplained) and broodingly stylish in that Gotham-City Blade Runner noir style. It should comfort you to know that there is a *reason* the city looks that way that extends beyond the art department's jones for gorgeousness. |
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| What you can see, looks really friggin cool. Some of the look is central to the plot and I don't want to give anything away - it's actually sort of complicated. I have talked to a number of people who still missed the point after the movie was over so let me just say it's not a Blade Runny future and it's not supposed to be a specific place (the film makes this abundantly clear, I don't know WHAT these people were thinking). |
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Sutherland seems to be playing someone his father's age, always breathless and Peter Lorre-esque, vaguely seeming like he should have seemed after coming off Flatliners, instead of engaged to Julia Roberts. O'Brien is playing way against type as a creepy, ethereal bald guy with evil intentions and unearthly origins. Oh, wait.
The plot is interesting - my main complaint about the movie is that it was cool and original up until the pre-climactic obstacle for our hero (this gives nothing away, it's basic Film 101) - and then it goes straight down. The third act is totally clunky and Hollywood and loud and silly - after the creepy elegance (overall) of the rest of the movie, the ending is an utter letdown. I feel like I have been saying that a lot lately. |
| Oh, and considering how much of this movie is computer generated, there are wires ALL OVER the place. And I don't mean like, peering, squinty-eyed at the screen thinking, "Hey, I think I see a wire," I mean green and yellow cables with visible texture. You can create that huge shifting city scape but neglect to spend the extra $100 on erasing a few giant cables? I saw more wires in this movie than in Plan 9 From Outer Space! And Ed Wood had a good excuse why he couldn't digitally remove them!
Other than that, I thought it was cool and interesting. Maybe I'll rent the Crow now. |
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