SuaveSocialist on 17 March 2021
The Matrix, no contest. Critical consensus leans heavily in its favour on every noteworthy aggregate review site, it spawned a franchise across various entertainment media, carted away numerous high-profile awards, was once used as a sales pitch as the de-facto reason to buy a DVD player, is widely regarded as one of the greatest action movies of all time as well as one of the greatest sci-fi movies of all time, and has found its home as a staple in movie collections everywhere.
Dark City, while great, never achieved the same critical or commercial success and has pretty much been forgotten shortly after release. Its largest contribution to the medium is probably that it loaned some set pieces to The Matrix.
