"Boom…"
A massive explosion erupted. In the critical moment, Chris Dane managed to rescue Jay Rachel. Amid the explosion, debris flew everywhere, enveloping the two of them. Chris Dane shielded Jay Rachel, his Kevlar material absorbing most of the impact and debris. However, some shards from the side flew past Jay Rachel's face, leaving several cuts.
The physical pain was nothing compared to the trauma of losing her father. The radio on the scene had already informed Jay Rachel that her father faced the same dilemma. With Chris Dane coming to her aid, her father…
As she feared, her former senator father was sent to his rightful place by the magician.
Against the mad and lawless magician, Chris Dane, Detective Lynch, and Jay Rachel had nearly been defeated.
In the following scene, the magician's image was further elevated.
Faced with millions of dollars amassed by the mafia, the magician set the piles of money ablaze.
"This city deserves a more tasteful criminal!"
The magician's words revealed him as a criminal who had transcended base desires, someone with a higher, more malevolent pursuit.
His madness completely intimidated all the mafia members. Using explosives and gasoline as his weapons, he repeatedly orchestrated bombings across Manhattan. Every location in Manhattan could be a target, and anyone caught by the magician with disgraceful secrets would become his pawn, willingly or unwillingly.
In just half a day, Manhattan was thrown into chaos. To prevent external forces from entering the city, the magician even blew up all the bridges and tunnels connecting Manhattan to the outside world. For a brief period, Manhattan became the testing ground for the magician's malevolent ideology.
"This is the epitome of evil!"
Watching James Franco—or rather, the magician—reappear on screen, Daisy was completely enthralled. "No money, no women, just pure ideology! This is what true chaos looks like!"
"I am an agent of chaos!"
Daisy finally understood the meaning of this phrase. It was a philosophical thought, a logical idea, a brand-new spiritual realm!
She realized, "Isn't this what I've been seeking all along?"
The pleasure the magician brought her was a superlative enjoyment she had never experienced in this world!
Even knowing that the magician's madness would inevitably provoke a strong government response and couldn't last long, Chris Dane couldn't sit idly by and let the magician wreak havoc in Manhattan. He vowed to find the magician and bring him to justice.
Manhattan was in total disarray, citizens were terrified. Large crowds tried to flee the island amidst the magician's relentless bombings. With all land routes blocked, the few remaining boats became the last option. The New York government was doing everything possible to evacuate citizens from the magician's evil testing ground.
Meanwhile, the magician found Jay Rachel in the hospital. Suffering from the loss of her father and facial disfigurement, her mental state was on the verge of collapse, her faith severely shaken. In this vulnerable state, she fell under the magician's spell, revealing the dark side hidden beneath her bright exterior.
On screen, Margot Robbie slowly turned her head, revealing a long scar across her face. The once beautiful, sharp, competent, and righteous district attorney seemed to have half of her previous self torn away, leaving behind a face full of malice and resolve!
A completely different Jay Rachel was born!
"This… is this still the vase Margot Robbie?" Peter Travers couldn't help adjusting his glasses. "Her performance in this scene rivals James Franco's magician!"
Even ordinary fans in the theater were shocked. It was hard to believe someone could change so drastically just by turning their head, displaying such a stark contrast in expression and aura!
In this scene depicting Jay Rachel's transformation, James Franco and Margot Robbie shone together, their outstanding performances making the already well-laid groundwork believable. Jay Rachel's transformation felt entirely natural.
To stop the magician's madness and find him, Chris Dane resorted to using the bugging devices left behind by Reyna. When he finally located the magician, the two ferries evacuating people from Manhattan were revealed to have remote-controlled bombs planted by the magician.
Each ferry carried a bomb, and each ferry had the remote control to the other's bomb. If they didn't blow up the other ferry by midnight, the magician would detonate both bombs.
"A major test of humanity!" Richard Brody was immediately intrigued. "Murphy Stanton is going for a complete dark turn!"
Not only him, but all the critics were wide-eyed. This scene hit their sweet spot; it was the perfect test of human nature.
Based on the earlier plot, the critics predicted that someone on the ferry would press the detonator. After all, the film had largely showcased the dark side of human nature.
The magician was unstoppable, always finding ways to expose the base side of the human soul.
Some audience members were also excited. Daisy clenched her fists, waiting for the ferries to explode, sending countless people screaming into the water.
But Justin beside her started to dislike the film. It was too dark and heavy. Despite his dislike, he held his breath, hoping the people on the ferry wouldn't make the wrong choice.
Most of the audience felt the same. People were discussing, some with despair in their voices.
"Is there no justice or nobility in humanity?"
"Not everyone in New York and Manhattan can be maniacs like the magician, Jay Rachel, and Chris Dane!"
Some fans even decided that if the ferry blew up, they would leave the theater and rate Murphy's new film poorly on various sites!
Murphy's previous films were dark but never made people feel hopeless. However, by this point in the film, the magician had completely overshadowed Chris Dane. Even the beacon of New York, Jay Rachel, was about to fall. The atmosphere was so oppressive it was suffocating.
They liked dark films, but not psychological torment!
Indeed, they liked the style and the fresh excitement the film brought, but they didn't come to the theater to be tortured by the film.
Countless fans watched the screen tensely, as if the theater itself was about to explode.
"Blow it up, blow it up…" Critics murmured, "Blow it up, it's the best depiction of human nature!"
A fierce-looking black man picked up the remote. New York faced its greatest test of humanity.
Justin closed his eyes, as did many around him, unable to bear the scene and shutting their eyes in despair.
But Murphy was not an art film director. He was a commercial director, one with a keen sense of market dynamics.
So, the ferries on screen didn't blow up!
In despair, do people only expose their ugly and base sides?
Even in the real world, there are numerous examples that say otherwise.
Murphy knew that if the ferries blew up, the critics would be full of praise, but the audience would be devastated.
Unable to resist his curiosity, Justin opened his eyes again, and the scene he saw filled him with joy. The oppressive darkness in his heart was lifted, and he felt hope—humanity was indeed noble!
The fierce-looking black man threw the remote into the water after picking it up.
A collective sigh of relief was heard.
On the other ferry, at the crucial moment, no one pressed the detonator either. The magician's test of humanity had failed.
In the Los Angeles IMAX theater, sparse applause began from the back, quickly growing louder. It seemed the hope represented by the triumph of human nature infected the entire audience, and the applause swelled like a roaring wave!
Leonardo DiCaprio watched the audience applauding below and fully realized Murphy Stanton's grasp of the human heart! This understanding extended not only to character settings and psychological changes in the film but also to the mainstream audience's viewing psychology!
No wonder someone like him was successful!
In the New York State Theater, Richard Brody was a bit disappointed that Murphy Stanton had chosen such a conventional outcome.
But reflecting on his earlier assessment of the film's overwhelming darkness, he nodded in understanding. It was precisely the preceding darkness and oppression that made the glimmer of hope so much more impactful!
On the other side, Peter Travers didn't care about such nuances. The film had already thoroughly impressed him!
The character portrayals were deeply nuanced. The line between good and evil had blurred significantly. Representing justice, Chris Dane was so helpless under the magician's relentless pressure that he almost turned himself in. Similarly, Jay Rachel, the bright knight and the city's greatest hope against evil, succumbed to hatred and fire, executing her captors and abandoning the principles of law, falling into darkness.
"The Dark City" was a thoroughly realistic crime film—intensely serious, dark, and tragic.
This was undoubtedly Murphy Stanton's most profound and powerful film to date.
Even with the ending yet to come, Peter Travers had no difficulty reaching this conclusion.
Watching the film, he had a question in mind: Between ultimate evil and ultimate justice, which is more terrifying?
_________________________
[Check out my Patreon for +200 additional chapters in all my fanfics! $5 for all!!]
[w w w . p a t r e o n .com / INNIT]
[+50 PowerStones = +1 Chapter] [+5 Reviews = +1 Chapter]