Darkman II: The Return of Durant

Straight to video sequel that lost most of the charm and quirks of the original. The new actor playing Darkman had a beautiful voice but was painfully corny at times. The standout was definitely the journalist (Kim Delaney) and she's in the best moment of the film (you'll know when you see it). The action scenes were far from the quality of the first film but then again, this sequel obviously had a much lower budget. It's a mediocre flick as in very average TV pilot quality, and not painfully bad as the turd, pardon third movie. It's something to see as a curiosity if you liked the first Darkman.

Rating: 4 out of 10

Not an entirely bad sequel, just nothing all that great. It passed the time quite nicely just really not enough substance this time around though and the absence of Liam Neeson hurts. Granted, it would have been a waste of time getting him back for just a direct to video sequel. The story has Durant back and once again he is played by Larry Drake, no surprise they were able to get that actor back. Drake is okay in small doses and as a villain, he really is not a headliner though. The guy who played the mummy in the mummy movies is Darkman this time and while not as good as Neeson he is not bad. Once again Darkman is on the verge of making his synthetic skin work and last in the sun and once again Durant screws everything up this time taking out a guy who was working on the same thing. There is a lot of Darkman playing with Durant's mind as he is trying to pull everyone's face off in fear it is Darkman and then there is a rather weak conclusion. They bring him back from the dead basically and then do not have some super showdown at the end like one might expect. Still, it is entertaining enough to keep one occupied, however it is not anything I would go hunting down to watch either.

I only watched this film when it was on telly because I am a big fan of Renee O'Connor who had a biggish part in it, and I wanted to see more of her work in films, but I wasnt really expecting this film to be good. But I was in for a surprise - I think the film turned out to be really good - with some good action scenes - and the acting from everyone - especially Larry Drake (Durant) was brilliant. I have heard that the first of the "Darkman" triology (there is also a third which I also recommend) is the best, directed by Sam Raimi, so I would like to see that too, but this particular film blew me away. I really would recommend it, and give it 9 1/2 out of 10. Look out for some great scenes between Darkman and a bad guy - Ivan. Overall, the whole film is great, and if you are a fan of Renee O'Connor, then you would like it because her performance in it is really good.

DARKMAN II isn't as good as the first (obviously), but it's a decent sequel despite the obvious: there's no way Durant should be able to return. He was most-assuredly fried, roasted, toasted and burned all to hell at the end of the previous film, and his return is rather laughable. The story only briefly mentions that he was in a coma since that incident, and doesn't bother trying to come up with anymore more believable. They at least could have had him horribly scared or something, giving him a taste of what he did to Westlake.

But still, it's fun to have him back only so we the audience that take delight in patiently waiting to see him get his at the end. He's just as vial as he was the first time around. Arnold Vosloo takes over for Liam Neeson, and it was nice watching play the hero for a change. He did a good job. Kim Delaney is rather wasted in a part that could have been much more vital to the story than it was.

The film did a good job keeping up the feel of the original, despite lacking Sam Raimi's added punch. It still maintains that comic book feel, with a hidden underground lair and a hero struggling with his own inner rage while trying to stop a madman. Also nice to see the film keep the original movie's musical themes, something sequels don't often do. There's not as much action as the first one, and it's not as good as the second sequel, but as a sequel itself, it's not bad. If only a more believable explanation for Durant's return had been given.

I haven't seen the original "Darkman" in some time, but I remember liking the film quite a bit. "Darkman II: Return of Durant" was an OK film, and had some good stuff in it, but I had a lot of problems with it.

The story isn't too terribly cheesy, but certainly not great either. The acting in this film was OK, but could have been better. Larry Drake did a good job as Robert Durant. Kim Delany and Renee O'Connor both did fine jobs with their respective roles. Arnold Vosloo was sometimes really good and other times just terrible. The rest of the cast was OK, but nothing spectacular.

There were a lot of things that I didn't like about the film. One of these things is near the end when Darkman/Dr. Westlake keeps changing masks every five minutes. Where is he carrying all these masks?

All in all, if you liked the first "Darkman" film, then you may want to see this just in case you do like it. If you haven't seen the first "Darkman", DO NOT watch this film until you have seen it. Thanks for reading,

-Chris