--- title: "Dark City: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/dark-city/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/dark-city" critics_score: 70 critics_reviews: 12 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Dark City (1998): what the critics said Critics' score 70 from 12 reviews: 8 positive, 2 mixed, 2 negative. Most critics like Dark City, and nearly all of them like it for the same reason. The praise clusters on the look of the thing: the production design, the shifting city, the way Proyas stretches film noir into science fiction and something close to horror. Even the harsher reviews concede the visual world is startling and holds the attention. Several of the warmer notices come years after release and treat the film as underrated, with the director’s cut, which drops the voiceover, thought to sharpen the mystery. The reservations are about everything beneath the surface. The story is called murky and illogical, the characters thin, the performances flat. The spread is wide: eight positive, two mixed, two negative. Both dissents date from the film’s original release, the Los Angeles Times finding the atmosphere smothers it and Variety calling it pretentious and second-hand; the later reviews are noticeably kinder. ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 27 February 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. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/dark-city-1998) ## Little White Lies — Danilo Castro Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 27 February 2018. 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. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/in-praise-of/the-surreal-stylistic-brilliance-of-dark-city) ## Slant Magazine — Jake Cole Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 9 June 2025. 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. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/dark-city-4k-uhd-blu-ray-review-alex-proyas/) ## The AV Club — Jesse Hassenger Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 1 July 2014. 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. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/the-sci-fi-noir-dark-city-pulls-from-cinema-s-past-and-1798269949) ## The Times — Ed Potton Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 2 August 2008. 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. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/australasia-travel/australia/dark-city-directors-cut-g00rkzh3h99) ## The New York Times — Stephen Holden Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 27 February 1998. 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. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1998/02/27/movies/film-review-you-are-getting-sleepy-who-are-you-anyway.html) ## Empire — Adam Smith Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. 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. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/dark-city-review/) ## Time Out — TCh Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 21 July 2014. 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. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/dark-city) ## Los Angeles Times — John Anderson Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 27 February 1998. 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. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-feb-27-ca-23424-story.html) ## Variety — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 19 February 1998. 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. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1998/film/reviews/dark-city-3-1200452881/) ## Den of Geek — Robert Mclaughlin Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 24 November 2008. 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. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/dark-city-directors-cut-blu-ray-review/) ## Eye for Film — Angus Wolfe Murray Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 19 January 2001. 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. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/dark-city-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/dark-city.md