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All Movie Info
Starring:
Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Matt McColm, Jada Pinkett Smith, Monica Bellucci, Lambert Wilson, Harold Perrineau, Harry J. Lennix, Clayton Watson, Daniel Bernhardt, Christine Anu, Gina Torres
Directed By:
Larry Wachowski, Andy Wachowski
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The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
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Movie Review by Ezra
February 16th, 2007
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Even the weapons used in each film reflect this schism; The Matrix is full of big, high-tech guns and endless loads of shells, while in Dark City not one gun is ever fired. The Strangers opt, instead, for stylish knives and weird, alien devices of pain, although the only weapon they really need is their telekinetic power - a power which, much to their chagrin, is shared by John Murdoch.
Here, again, there is convergence between the two films. In The Matrix, Neo is "the One" because of his ability to alter physical reality - within the Matrix, at least. This power - called "tuning" in Dark City - is utilized by the Strangers; it is also the power that separates Murdoch from his fellow enslaved humans. When Dr. Shreiber discovers this power, he gives Murdoch an injection containing the fragments of memories Murdoch recognizes as his own, supplemented with the information he needs to defeat the Strangers. This same device is used frequently in The Matrix; it is the source of Neo's training.
Both films come to a very similar conclusion: humanity cannot be understood by the outsiders, due to the irrationalities of emotion. This conclusion is voiced in Dark City when Murdoch tells Mr. Hand (played by Richard O' Brien, an actor best known for being the creator of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, in which he also plays Riffraff), "You wanted to find out what it is that makes us human." He points to his head. "Well, you're not going to find it here." Luckily, Proyas, along with fellow screenwriters Lem Dobbs and David S. Goyer, chose not to be so corny as to have Murdoch correct Mr. Hand by placing a hand over his heart. The Matrix, however, lets a little schmaltz into its otherwise exciting conclusion. Like a scene from a Disnified Grimm Bros. fairy tale, Trinity awakens Neo from apparent death with a proclamation of her faith and love for him and a soulful kiss - sparks flying in the background, no less. While this is in synch with the film's theme of human emotion triumphing over mechanical knowledge, it feels a bit forced compared to Dark City's more unified, epic and honestly human conclusion (which also does not lend itself so well to the sequels that eventually came from The Matrix).
However, not to let the tone and content here lead the reader astray, I should add that I greatly admire both films; The Matrix is easily one of the best mainstream films of the last ten years. My purpose here is to make more people aware of another great, lesser-known film that came out a year earlier. I also do not wish to insinuate that the Wachowski Brothers ripped Dark City off; it is quite possible that they have never seen the film to this day. I merely found it interesting to note the vast similarities between these two fascinating films. If you see them both and compare notes, I think you'll agree.
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