Dark City (spoilers)

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Ok I finally saw it. Heard it was AWESOME, and a lot better than The Matrix, and built on the same ideas, etc etc.

Dark City was made first, and so its been said that The Matrix copied it, and copied it badly. However, I'm beginning to think it just depends on which you saw first. Personally, I didn't enjoy Dark City as much as I did The Matrix. Matrix explains what happens to humankind, Dark City just tells us that we have no idea how they got onto a...floating circular city in the middle of space?

Hardly anything in Dark City is explained. The effects seem...cheesy, although I do realize that The Matrix sort of ruined all other effects for us with its cutting edge, blahblablah, I can't remember all the terminology. Still.

Matrix = lots of action, awesome visuals, good acting, in SPITE of Keanu, who didn't do as bad as most people think.

Dark City = hardly any action, and the action it DID have was...meh. It was most of a psychological thriller, I think, not really comparable to the Matrix.

Yes, they had a few of the same ideas. But I think people do both of the movies a disservice by trying to compare them. They simply don't even seem to be the same genre.

Okay, enough of that, I'm going to talk abotu Dark City only now.

I loved the Strangers, they were really cool looking, although the little kid was freaky strange, and was never explained. I didn't see any female Strangers, yet there was a kid? :huh

The story was good, weird, but not bad. But..the ending...was... just there. Like they just cut the film off and said, "Ok that's it for now." I want to know how the humans get out of the city! Sure John saved the DAY (literally!), but what's next? Just live on the city forever, as he makes it into his own private playground? Weak!

Ok now that I've said that, I think I'll shut up and let others post. :D

[Nupraptor]

I never really saw the Matrix comparisons. If anything, the Matrix was more like the 13th Floor. But I really liked Dark City.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I don't like the comparisons either. I haven't seen the 13th Floor (that came out after the Matrix, didn't it?) but I did hear that it sucked. *shrug*

Dark City wasn't a bad movie, I guess I just heard too much about it from people comparing it to the Matrix. Like I said, they don't even seem to be in the same genre to me.

[Nupraptor]

I haven't seen the 13th Floor (that came out after the Matrix, didn't it?) but I did hear that it sucked.It came out a month or two after Dark City, IIRC. And no, it wasn't very good.

[Sanis Prent]

13th floor was a 1999 release, I believe.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

<a href=http://us.imdb.com/Title?0139809>and more... (http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/review/1999/05/28/thirteenth_floor/>13th)

The Matrix ('http://us.imdb.com/Title?0133093')

Dark City ('http://us.imdb.com/Title?0118929')

[JonathanLB]

I'm breaking my self-imposed banning, but I won't say much and I won't say anything of any controversy.

I think you are right, LD...

It's unfair (and perhaps intellectually elite?) to say that Dark City is simply better and that The Matrix just copied it totally and all of that.

I must agree that I found The Matrix a more enjoyable overall movie, but I LOVE Dark City, one of my favorite sci-fi movies, so that is not to discredit it. It's a more artistic film, i.e. less action, not for the "masses," so to speak, more for us sci-fi geeks who love these reality altering films and are willing to see a movie with basically no action if it is well done.

"They simply don't even seem to be the same genre."

Well, I disagree with you here, but I see what you mean. It's a fair statement. But I like to define a particular genre that nobody recognizes yet and I think it really should be given separate, special recognition. I just call these movies "reality altering" or "reality realization" films. Even The Truman Show, a drama, not a sci-fi film, would fit well into this category. So would Waking Life (2001, I'm writing my review now, I loved it), The Thirteen Floor, those types of things.

But other than that, yeah The Matrix and Dark City are dissimilar in many ways.

If anyone has not seen Dark City, I highly recommend it, though I admit it is not for everyone. It simply won't appeal to people who aren't really into that type of movie, which is my favorite kind of movie. I'm just obsessed with the movies that question reality and bring up the whole "dream world vs. real world" themes and whatnot.

Also, LD, do not dismiss The Thirteenth Floor so easily. It seems to me, by what you say of The Matrix and Dark City, that you would enjoy it. I thought it was going to suck too, I heard it was stupid, a lame ripoff, but in fact it was made around the same time as The Matrix, if not before, and released in competition with The Phantom Menace in May. It bombed, badly. Nonetheless, I actually gave it 4 stars and I consider it one of the best films of that year, which blessed us with not one, not two, but three reality altering films (Fight Club, Matrix, and The Thirteenth Floor). Then again, you could say I'm a sucker for these types of movies and that's why I loved The Thirteenth Floor, but I still recommend you see it before you judge it. I've heard the criticisms and I can understand their basis, but I cannot say I agree. The concept of that movie is particularly fascinating and brings up such a fundamentally interesting question that I couldn't resist liking it.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I might catch it some day...when I'm stuck in a hospital with no cable and only tapioca pudding for company. Let us pray that never happens!! Tapioca pudding is a horrible conversationalist. :)

I know they're technically the same genre, that wasn't exactly what I meant, but it looks like you understand sort of what I was trying to say through my bumbling choice of words. The Matrix and Dark City have the same basic theme: Humanity is imprisioned, and one man can change reality, is in essence, like their captors. The man does not know what is going on, and has to rely on others to help him along.

Other than that, they're totally different. ;) Dark City is...more 'artsy' if that is a word, The tone and feel of the movie was entirely different from The Matrix. It felt more like a 1930's whodunit than a 2450's end of the world thriller. If that makes sense. Probably does, but only to me. ;)

[JonathanLB]

No, you make good sense, I understand what you mean. :)

You are right, IMO. Well, I mean I can't make you see The Thirteenth Floor (thank god, hehe, that'd be bad!), but I will say that I think you'd probably enjoy it. Nonetheless, you probably have way too many other great movies to see before you'd think about seeing that, so I understand.

[ReaperFett]

lots of action, awesome visuals, good acting, in SPITE of Keanu, who didn't do as bad as most people think.
While I see overrated action and visuals and awful acting aside from Agent Elf and the bad guy (Cypher? I dont know, Ralfie in The Sopranos) :)



It's unfair (and perhaps intellectually elite?) to say that Dark City is simply better and that The Matrix just copied it totally and all of that.
I agree. You need to mix in Blade (1999), John Woo style action(1986-1993 being the main area) and Gap adverts (mid 90s) to have the total copy ;)


Seen those teaser posters? where the emphasis seems to be on the clothes? On a white background? Bet GAP Leather gets released before next Christmas ;)

[JonathanLB]

lol.

Point taken.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

ooh GAP leather...

;)

yeah yeah... :)

[JMK]

Ohhhhnoooooo........