# Question About "Dark City"
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-dark-city/341050
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [January 22, 2006, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-dark-city/341050 "2006-01-22T00:49:03Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2006, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-dark-city/341050/21 "2006-01-23T14:36:44Z")
Umm… it’s been a while for me but isn’t the “Twist” of the movie that it’s not earth, it’s some kind of artifical spacecraft/spacestation and there IS no escape except out into space? The narration doesn’t give that away. It even implies the opposite by saying “here” it implies that here IS earth. Yeah, it says they’re aliens, so what? That’s not the surprise.
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### Author:  [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2006, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-dark-city/341050/22 "2006-01-23T14:47:57Z")
> [@gonzoron](#):
>
> Yeah, it says they’re aliens, so what? That’s not the surprise.
If they hadn’t told you that in the beginning, would you have been surprised? I know I would have been.
Did y’all feel that the intro monologue added aesthetically to the movie? If so, how?
Daniel
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### Author:  [@Scoundrel\_Swanswater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scoundrel_Swanswater)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2006, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-dark-city/341050/23 "2006-01-23T15:15:06Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#):
>
> If they hadn’t told you that in the beginning, would you have been surprised? I know I would have been.
>
> Did y’all feel that the intro monologue added aesthetically to the movie? If so, how?
>
> Daniel
Yes, I actually think it did.
It established the mood of the film (noir) and also sort of explained what type of movie you were watching.
I don’t think it was necessary, but I can see why they wanted to get people into the right mindset at the start of the film.
Not everybody likes their movie to be a puzzle, in fact most people like the opposite (The Rock, Face/Off).
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### Author:  [@Scoundrel\_Swanswater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scoundrel_Swanswater)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2006, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-dark-city/341050/24 "2006-01-23T15:16:14Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#):
>
> If they hadn’t told you that in the beginning, would you have been surprised? I know I would have been.
>
> Did y’all feel that the intro monologue added aesthetically to the movie? If so, how?
>
> Daniel
And no, I wouldn’t really have been surprised, but that was most likely because I rented it and it was in the Sci-fi section.
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### Author:  [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2006, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-dark-city/341050/25 "2006-01-23T18:32:36Z")
> [@Trunk](#):
>
> I completely agree with **Larry**.
>
> First, it’s barely a spoiler because of the timing of the revelations, and because when you see the movie cold, it doesn’t really mean anything to you.
>
> Second, the movie is about John figuring out what the hell is going on. It’s about his human struggle to deal with his memories and the power of the mind. It’s not about foiling alien plots to tune your city.
That’s exactly what I thought, too. Love that movie! Creepy, clever premise and an extraordinarily effective “noir” feel. I knew virtually nothing about the movie before I saw it, and it blew me away. I didn’t mind the V.O., which was very effective in setting the mood. Don’t remember any reference to them not having to use the bathroom.
I still wish the William Hurt character weren’t named “Bumstead,” though. I kept expecting him to make and eat a really big sandwich. (_Then_ he’d have to go to the bathroom!)
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