first and just for the record and this film do not rip off the matrix . it come out a year earlier . such argument seem pointless to me anyway and since the basic premise both of these movie and plus the thirteenth floor and the truman show and pleasantville and et al be so blatantly appropriate from philip k dick sf of the 1950 . never mind that and though . this be another what be reality film ( a question dick apparently use to pose himself every morning ) while this time the variation be that an alien race have abduct a city of human and be perform experiment on them to try to find out the nature of the human soul . that isn not a spoiler and btw . in fact the very first thing that happen in this film be that the narrator tell you what i just tell you . you can not help but wonder if it might have serve to achieve a good sense of mystery if they hadn not think to lay that on you in the first 30 second and but the film manage to be quite suspenseful all the same . dark city be direct by the bloke who bring u the crow and which i thought be utter rubbish . it have a similar dark and stylised look and which will probably appeal to goth but in dark city there be at least a reason for this perpetual night . dark city be sf and nominally and but the kernel of hard sf which mostly emerge ( quite pleasingly ) at the end of the movie be subsume by the complete stylization of the movie visual element . there really isn not any need for the alien to all look and talk like riff raff from the rocky horror picture show and for the scary and gruesome and dark set for the fact that people be drive 1960 car around and wear 1940 fashion . there be no need to have an evil little kid alien and or for the alien to all chatter their teeth when they do something ominous . you have get get over the silliness of this sort of stuff and appreciate that it just part of the weird and atmospheric world the director have create . really it all owe as much to comic book horror and super hero stuff a it do to traditional science fiction . dark city be the sort of film which can easily annoy you if you allow it to and but if you can forgive it affectation and the fact that it doesn not even attempt to explain various obvious logical oddity ( e. g. why do not people who collapse face first in a bowl of porridge drown after a few hour . ) then the film can win you over a the hero go through his version of take the red pill ( or be it the blue one . i always forget . ) this film also raise several important question about kiefer sutherland . how come his glass do not fall off when he hang upside down . why do he speak haltingly and stutteringly and except when he stress out . do he just get this job because his dad know the producer . fortunately sutherland typically ridiculous acting be balance to an extent by william hurt a inspector bumstead ( honestly . ) the cop who chase after the hero . hurt be and a always and almost completely devoid of personality and and look as if he in a trance most of the time . of course he always like this and but in this movie it actually make sense . rufus sewell be fine a the hero the guy who wake up and so be jennifer connelly a his wife . the alien be all over the top and silly and and they float through the air and chatter their teeth and but like i say and you have to just think comic book and and you can forgive it all . in some way dark city be a film that i hate myself for like and but the truth be it a pretty darn effective and if somewhat ridiculous sf story and and what make it work be precisely the thing that make it silly . go figure . positive .