Dark City (1998)

Most of the movies I've given a positive review on this site so far, such as Super Mario Bros. and Dante's Peak, haven't been, per se, thought provoking. But Dark City is philosophical and original. It asks questions about the human soul, morality, and...well, a lot of things. How can it be described? It's sort of a new age science fiction thriller set against a film noir backdrop. It also has a lightning-fast pace that never slows down. So why did it bomb so hard at the box office?

Many years ago, a race of omnipotent beings with the power to reshape the physical world with their minds came to this solar system and built a gothic metropolis of perpetual nighttime known as the Dark City. It was part of an experiment to learn more about humankind. One day, John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) wakes up in the city with no memory of who or where he is, only to find that the police are after him on account of several murders. (Like a slightly darker version of The Hangover, isn't it?) After meeting the nightclub singer who claims to be his wife, Emma (Jennifer Connelly) and a mysterious scientist named Dr. Schreber (Kiefer Sutherland) John learns that even the ghoul-like alien beings known as "The Strangers" are in pursuit of him. He'll have to find out what really happened in his past, why none of the other citizens can give him a solid answer on anything, and if there is any way to escape from Dark City.

Let me just say that the aliens in this movie really outdid themsleves on architecture. Every set piece and special effect used for the city here is amazing, and would probably be even more so in the Blu-Ray version. It owes much inspiration to the cities of the 1940s, and fans of the BioShock games will no doubt love this movie. Of course, it goes beyond good art direction. The script is so complicated and fast moving that you have to watch the movie more than once to take in everything. The only thing that gets a little annoying after a while is Kiefer...Sutherland's...Adam...West...style...stuttering, but that's a minor issue. It's a movie that leaves the viewer stunned, and it's always a good topic for debates. For example, I've always thought the Strangers were symbolic for the Nazis. Or, they could be anything. The director, Alex Proyas (I, Robot) has a talent for mixing questions about the unknown with mind-blowing action, but he'll probably never make a movie this good again. It's like a really good Twilight Zone episode with a big budget and a really good Twilight Zone style ending. What is it? I'm not saying. But the overall moral of Dark City is that people can achieve anything as long as they believe in themselves.

And, yeah...that's pretty much all you can say about this movie without giving something away. Oh, wait! One question that's been popular over the years is whether or not 1999's The Matrix stole from this film. And the answer to that question is...possibly. I can't make an entirely accurate since I haven't actually seen all of The Matrix (I know, I know, crucify me), and while the theme of computers is completely non present in Dark City, there are some similarities. Namely, the idea of humans unknowingly living in a realm controlled by nonhumans. Heck, even something that looks like the famous bullet-dodging sequence from The Matrix is in D.C., more or less with a knife. Also, a rooftop set piece from this movie was used in the opening of The Matrix. It's almost as if the Wachowski Brothers' action-adventure epic was a more well-marketed version of D.C....only this one might be better.

Oh, and one more thing--Richard O'Brien, who played roles in campy cult classics like The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Flash Gordon is extremely straight-faced and eerie as one of the alien Strangers here. Of course, now, he's the voice of the Dad in Phineas and Ferb.