Dark City Reviews Page

Dark City is a really incredible film, a gem. I grow more and more impressed with it every time I watch it. My favorite movies are the ones that have breadth and depth. The cast is marvelous and the story amazing. WOW!

Drawing upon the tradition of film noir, Dark City resembles Blade runner in look and style. Philosophically, the film explores the challenging question of Free Will vs. Determinism, all the while demanding what constitutes a person? Are we more than the sum of our memories? What constitutes the soul? Great stuff!

Rufus Sewell does a wonderful job at a challenging role, demanding a wide range of emotional responses. From his first moment on screen, he draws the audience to him with empathy. Excellent use of body language to convey confusion and fear and most of all vulnerability. He's like a phoenix rising from the ashes. I love expressive actresses and actors who bring you completely into the story. Watch the "memory" clips for the range of skill he demonstrates: the tender lover, the angry lover, even a psychopathic killer (he looked REALLY scary and it was only a flash of moment in the film).

He has great screen presence and charisma. William Hurt has a strong presence as well, often dominating other actors on screen in other films, but not once does he over whelm Sewell in this one. He holds his own with Hurt, and that says a great deal.

I highly recommend this movie, not just for Rufus Sewell, but because it is a great story. More than mere entertainment, it presents a challenge for thought.

From Ginny, Florida USA

I’ll begin by saying that I’m not really a great fan of science fiction, but was dragged to see this film by my husband, who loves it. He had been looking forward to seeing it so I agreed to accompany him one cold, rainy Saturday afternoon last February and I’m so glad I did!

I was intrigued from the beginning. I didn’t like the opening voice over, and found out later that it was not a part of the original film, but was added later. I think it would have been more interesting without it.

The wonderful sets and the dark, mysterious city drew me in immdediately. I must confess that at that time I had no idea who Rufus Sewell was - but I thought him very interesting and fabulous looking, particularly in those clothes. I was impressed by his opening scene, but it took me a while to realize that it was actually Murdoch’s birth.

The beautiful thing about Rufus’s performance was the sublty with which he took this character from “birth” through the slow realization of what the strangers were doing to everybody and his unique ability to “tune” to finally being in control of the city.

I think the reason I liked this story so much was because at the heart of the story is the timeless appeal of good triumphing over evil. John Murdoch is at heart a good man - and as he (and we) discover that, we embrace him and his plight.

I’m a great fan of William Hurt and liked his detachment - we see that he’s afraid to see what is right in front of him - as long as he can he resists, because to do otherwise would be too difficult. I kept thinking that in many ways, Detective Bumstead was everyman today - going along with what is expected of him, without thinking too much about what it all means until confronted with what he can no longer deny. Jennifer Connolly played her role with the same detachment - in the early scenes she seems lacking in depth - again it takes a while to realize that her character is newborn as well, and slowly develops into a real woman.

I recommend this film - though it really needs viewing more than once to understand it. Enjoy it for the fantasy, the terrific sets, the costumes, the strange periodless city - and for Rufus. It’s great fun!

This is a tough one. I originally saw this film the same weekend as Dangerous Beauty (they opened on the same day). I own this film on both DVD and VHS, have seen it numerous times, and still cannot honestly say whether I really liked it or not. There are some great elements in this film – the set design and the mood it creates in the film are amazing and it is visually stunning. It’s dark (obviously, hence the title), sinister and leaves you with a vaguely uncomfortable feeling. It hearkens back to the days of true film noir, but is timeless in the sense that it blends modernity with past decades. This film does not fit neatly into any category.

That being said, let me talk about the performances, with which for the most part, I was not impressed. Particularly annoying was Kiefer Sutherland. I have been hit or miss with him in the past. Sometimes, I think he turns in good performances (like in A Few Good Men), other times I just feel like smacking him – the latter of which applies here. His halting, dragged-out speech pattern and his hunched-over shuffling really grated on my nerves. My wanting to hit him comes from the frustration of just wanting to get him to spit out the words. I realize that he was doing a take on those old Peter Lorre-type characters, but enough was enough.

Jennifer Connelly – Okay, I admit it. I just don’t get it. There was nothing in her performance that impressed me. Moreover, those caterpillar eyebrows of hers were immensely irritating. I have seen her give good performances in the past (Inventing the Abbots comes to mind), but this was most definitely not one of them.

Rufus Sewell – In general, I thought Rufus was good. I thought he played the bewilderment and uncertainty of his character very well – probably because he had no better clue who his character was than the audience did. I realize that this was the point – that John Murdoch was just a name to him and not an identity, so there was no way that the character could really be fleshed out. But, this was to his detriment, too, because he couldn’t really put his stamp on this character – there are many actors who could have played this part just as well. And though he did a passable job with the American accent, I unfortunately found it very distracting – which is just indicative of a problem I have when I know that the actor is not speaking with his natural voice, and I concentrate too much on how he is saying something, rather than on what he is saying.

William Hurt – In my opinion, he is one of the most underrated actors working today. Not only was his character the best developed of all in this film, his was the best performance. I thought he and Rufus played well off each other and my favorite scene in the film is when Bumstead is interrogating Murdoch. The look on Hurt’s face when he realizes that he should know how to get to Shell Beach, but can’t explain it was the proper blend of befuddlement and frustration. Very understated and restrained.

Another thing that I just didn’t buy into in this film was the relationship between Murdoch and his wife. I thought there was absolutely no chemistry between Rufus and Jennifer Connelly, and that the whole thing felt forced. It seemed to me that Rufus was trying too hard at something that just wasn’t there.

Overall, I liked the look and tone of this film. It reminded me in some ways of the original Batman film, and it works on the same basic comic book level. It’s when you dig deeper into the substance that, for me, the film just didn’t hold up.

Why, oh why, oh why? Call me a pessimist but I really disliked this film. I realise that it was meant to reflect the science fiction/ film noir genre of movie but this just did not work. Come on, lets be fair, IF the world stopped EVERY NIGHT so that Richard O' Brien could prance around the streets in a second hand coat in the middle of nowhere then I'm sure that somebody would notice. The plot was so implausable I almost gave myself a hernia trying not to laugh at it's stupidity.

I think that it could have been more enjoyable had my local cinema not decided to squash the rows of seats closer together so that every time you breathed out you recieved a clonk in the face from the person in front of you.

Anyway, the film: It was abysmal. I can't really remember it that well but all I know is that I was willing to pick a fight with anyone who looked remotely like Kiefer Sutherland. Why is that man an actor?

Gotta say in it's favour though: Bath scene with Rufus was the highlight of the film. Droplets of water gently falling off tendrils of thick black curly hair...I'm sorry, where was I? Rufus has to try to work on the American accent. I think he was a bit melodramatic.

I'm sure that the prostitute in it was from 'Home and Away', not that I watch it anymore, but it did form a substantial part of my childhood. She was quite good in a cheerful, Australian kind of way. I was left traumatised by her murder. I think that the director overdid it slightly.