Dark City

In a futuristic world resembling the past where foreign beings of a higher intelligence control human thought, a man (Rufus Sewell) wakes up in a dingy hotel bathtub with no memory of his previous life with a dead body alongside him on the bathroom floor. A fugitive from justice, he begins to piece together the fragments of his memory while coming to the realization that he now possesses powers rivaling that of his controller. Alex Proyas' Dark City is a visionary work both inspired by the great science-fictions (and also noirs) of the past and carving out its own place as a great genre entry with mind bending sets, a serpentine, well-plotted narrative, and fine performances from Sewell and William Hurt as a dogged veteran detective. *** 1/2 out of ****