Darkman

I liked this movie because it showed the consequences of being vengeful. Peyton Westlake was a scientist who experimented with artificial skin and hoped to perfect it to help burn victims. When he was mutilated and burned beyond recognition by Robert Durant. He turned his experiment into a weapon of revenge. He would disguise himself as his enemies and turn Durant's criminal organization against itself.

As he goes through this Westlake becomes Darkman. He no longer cares about helping humanity, but only about getting revenge. His soul loses everything that made him a man, and in the end he's a killing machine. He's just as bad as those who made him that in the first place.

But that's why I liked the movie. It doesn't glorify vengeance seeking, instead it shows the reality and consequences. Seeking revenge doesn't just hurt your enemy, it hurts you as well.

DARKMAN is a comic book inspired romp, directed by Sam Raimi (of EVIL DEAD fame). The main character was created by Raimi (as well as 5-6 other screen writers) after the rights to make THE SHADOW fell through.

The film THE SHADOW was eventually made, not by Raimi, and will be dealt with at a later time. Anyway, they secured Liam Neeson (who, keep in mind, was easier to get coming off of supporting roles in KRULL and NEXT OF KIN) to play the lead role; he would later go on to acclaim in SCHINDLER'S LIST. Frances McDormand, Colin Friels, and Larry "DR GIGGLES" Drake round out the cast.

OK, you've got Dr. Peyton Westlake who is in the process of inventing artificial skin, some bad guys blow him up good, and through a dubious operation he now feels no pain at all. This last fact is important because he is horribly burned all over his body, a fact that he attempts to hide by wearing a very cinematic trench-coat and fedora. He takes to dispatching the said bad guys who ruined his life one by one, etc. He also tries to rekindle the flame of his lost love and perfect the fake skin, all against the backdrop of a quasi-mystery involving corporate greed.

Is DARKMAN a great film?: No. Is it extremely fun to watch?: It is.

With all the goofy happenings, implausible situations, mustache twirling bad guys and the melodramatic inner conflict within the main character, the film has a sense of humor and a sly self awareness. DARKMAN charges headlong through the thin material with a wonderful visual style and camp sensibility. The performances are good and there are several clever scenes (ex: the two Drakes in the revolving door), to keep you watching. It is a tongue-in-cheek precursor to what Raimi & Co. would do down the road in ARMY OF DARKNESS, and should be of interest to film buffs at least.

Quick Trivia: When Liam Neeson stumbles out of the alley near the beginning of the film, he is splashed with water. The person who threw the bucket of water, was none other than Danny Elfman (who composed the score for DARKMAN). He was there visiting the set that day, and Sam Raimi felt he should be more "hands on" in the production. 7/10

For a Class-B type movie and feel to it, it's pretty good....better than I anticipated. I've seen it twice and enjoyed it more the second time. I had forgotten how stylish-looking it was and it was fun to see.

What I did remember were a couple of wild scenes, such as "Darkman" (Liam Neeson) being swung around in the sky on the end of a chain from a helicopter, and the big fire scene early on which turns Neeson's character into the masked hero.

The villains in the movie are over-the-top, leading with Larry Drake's character "Durant." There also is some outrageous Rambo action which stretches way past credibility, such as people shooting from five feet away and missing our hero!

Overall, not as good as the critics would have you believe, but still entertaining. At least it has two quality actors in Neeson and Frances McDormand. Drake went on to play the infamous "Dr. Giggles." If you liked this crazy film, you'll love that one.

Of all the super-hero movies around, "Darkman" is my favourite. An original creation from Raimi, and not based on any comics, "Darkman" follows the story of Dr. Peyton Westlake, a scientist about to make a breakthrough in synthetic skin. Peyton's girlfriend, Julie Hastings is a hot-shot lawyer who gets on the wrong side of Robert G. Durant. Durant and his henchmen destroy Peyton's lab, and leave him for dead. Horribly burned and scarred beyond recognition, Peyton uses his uncompleted and synthetic skin to get revenge on those who wronged him - he becomes Darkman.

Darkman has no real super-powers - apart from some increased strength and his inability to feel pain - he uses the synthetic skin to assume the alternate identities, and fights his battles that way. Darkman is not a real super-hero. He makes no pledge to rid the world of evil-doers. He is just out for revenge, and every time Darkman acts, Darkman's dark-side claims just a little bit more of Peyton.

Others have mentioned the parallels to 'Robocop'. I'd like to mention the parallels to Sam Raimi's recent efforts with 'Spider-Man' - the two are very similar style-wise, but Peter Parker/Spider-Man is generally pretty happy and cheerful, where as Darkman finds sadistic pleasure in the way he toys with his enemies before finishing them off. 'Spider-Man' is family-friendly, 'Darkman' is not the sort of movie you would want to show to parents or younger-siblings.

'Darkman' is original, and yet another under-rated classic from Sam Raimi. Check it out if you like Sam Raimi, but avoid if you enjoy the family-friendly nature of 'Spider-Man'. Definitely my favourite super-hero movie, and nearly up there with Tim Burton's 'Batman' and 'Batman Returns', the best super-hero movies ever.

7/10

"Darkman" is one of those action films that succeeds because the characters remain the primary focus throughout. Scientist Liam Neeson has been disfigured in an explosion. However, he returns with the ability to produce 99-minute masks. Now he is going out and eliminating those who almost killed him. Frances McDormand is excellent as Neeson's love-interest and Larry Drake makes a great bad guy. The direction is solid and the screenplay is surprisingly smart. 4 stars out of 5.