Dark City (1998)

Ebert calls the film a great visionary achievement that nourishes the imagination with original images and visual style, comparing it favorably to Metropolis and 2001. He singles out its triumph in art direction, set design, cinematography, and special effects that create an entirely new visual world.

The critic praises Proyas' film as a singular blend of film noir pastiche and meta-deconstruction of the genre through sci-fi elements, highlighting its literal depiction of a shifting city of stolen memories and its enduring influence on later works like The Matrix. The ending is noted for its duality of hope and hopelessness regarding identity and the human condition.

The review highlights the film's atmospheric blend of noir, sci-fi, and horror, its thematic interests in surveillance and self-actualization, and praises the excellent 4K transfer and extras, calling it the best home video release.

The critic praises the film's visual language of noir extended into fantasy and its dreamlike imagery that evokes a nightmare of city life. It justifies any critic's devotion despite Proyas' hit-and-miss career.

The director's cut of Dark City has finally received the acclaim it deserves after bombing at the box office. Proyas's edit removes the voiceover to heighten the mystery, and Roger Ebert praises it as one of the best sci-fi films of the past decade.

Holden finds the film a relentlessly trippy psychedelic nightmare that offers a visually arresting ride with unsettling surprises, even if the story does not fully add up. He praises its gleefully improvised demonic fantasy drawing from sources like Kafka, Fritz Lang, and Vincent Price.

The critic finds the film visually stunning but criticizes its lack of a coherent story. Proyas's direction delivers an inventive, poetic visual sense reminiscent of Ridley Scott or Terry Gilliam.

The critic finds Proyas' direction overwrought with two-dimensional characters that suffer by comparison to Blade Runner or Brazil, but notes that the central mystery remains surprisingly engrossing.

Anderson argues that atmosphere smothers the film, with set design and visual panels striving for dread but undermined by illogic, flat performances, and a critique of artifice that does not fully work. He singles out the distracting inconsistency in tone and the hero's inability to create tension amid the camping.

McCarthy sees the film as engaging mainly through its visually startling alternate universe but finds it pretentious, lacking in characterization and originality beyond second-hand noir and sci-fi ideas. He praises the production design and visual imagination that sustain interest despite a murky story.

The critic calls Dark City a dark, brooding sci-fi noir masterpiece and a hidden gem that benefits greatly from its hi-def transfer and Director's Cut. They praise its tight script, sumptuous effects, unique vision, and strong cast while highlighting the excellent sound mix and special features on the Blu-ray.

The critic praises Proyas as a writer-director to cherish for his visual daring and genre-juggling style that refreshes old clichés with inspired ideas. The film is described as full of ideas that spill over, a maverick work of imagination blending noir pastiche and sci-fi in an extravagant fantasy.