Darkman [Blu-ray] [1990] [US Import]

Sam Raimi has always been an amazing director, marking his territory as a stylish director with the insane Evil Dead films, which managed to scare and delight audiences while being made on a miniscule budget. Usually when a director is given a bigger budget they tend to overdo things because they have the budget to. But not Raimi. His first big budget Hollywood film Darkman has a far better storyline and isn't a film that relies on fx to get peoples attention. The story of a scientist, Dr Peyton Westlake (Liam Neeson) who is slain by an evil mob killer (deliciously played by Larry Drake, and as unlike his LA Law character as you could possibly get) and seeks revenge while trying to save the girl he loves (Frances McDormand) could be your usual B movie fodder. But Raimi adds so much more to it. Neeson plays the dual roles of Darkman and Westlake well, especially when he is trying to control the rage that is inside him as Westlake, and destroy the evil that surrounds him as Darkman. Frances McDormand (in one of her only mainstream movie appearances) isn't your usual damsel in distress, and you see more of a relationship between them than in most films of the genre where the woman is just the bait for the evil killer. In many ways this film is like David Cronenbergs The Fly focusing on what happens to a man who is thrown into a situation he cannot control, and Raimi's visual flair is reminiscent of the dark gothic feel of the first (and best) Batman film. All in all a classic of the horror genre with some dark humour and great action set-pieces (the demolition site finale is great) plus a lovely Raimi afficiando in joke at the end makes this more than just an expensive B movie. I can't wait to see what Raimi does with Spiderman!

In "Darkman," director Sam Raimi's first mainstream studio effort after the runaway success of "The Evil Dead" (1982) and its sequel "Evil Dead II" (1987), the audience sees double. Well, not always, but it does feature a hero who is able to assume the physical identities of his enemies in an effort to cause confusion amongst their ranks in his quest of bloody vengeance.

How does he do it, you ask? Through science, of course. Raimi has a wild imagination (which showed itself throughout the rampant mania of his "Evil Dead" movies) and his reputation precedes him everywhere he goes. Such is the case with "Darkman," his ode to the superhero genre after attempts to obtain the rights to "The Shadow" failed. With a legion of screenwriters at his disposal including brother Ivan, Chuck Pfarrer, Daniel Goldin and Joshua Goldin, the end result is "Darkman," the blood kin of all the wronged superheroes out there who leave behind their old lives and loved ones to dedicate themselves to fighting crime.

In 1990, after the success of the comic book adaptation "Batman" (1989) and other then-recent works like "Dick Tracy" and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," it was a revolution to see a completely original hero take the movies by storm that year. Albeit a somewhat typical revenge/sci-fi action-adventure with placings of horror and dark comedy, "Darkman" still has its fair share of flaws, mostly in the script department, plus a few misjudgments on the part of the filmmakers.

As the film opens, Dr. Peyton Westlake (Liam Neeson) is a brilliant scientist on the verge of perfecting a synthetic skin formula but there is one major setback: the skin won't last past 99 minutes in the light, but will last indefinitely in darkness and so the question remains: How do you make the synthetic skin last past 99 minutes in the light? With his live-in girlfriend, attorney Julie Hastings (Frances McDormand), his life seems idyllic, and complete, and he's about to pop the "m"-word to Julie. But Peyton loses it all when gangsters led by the bloodthirsty and cigar-smoking Robert Durant (Larry Drake) break into his lab searching for a memo that implicates Julie's employer Robert Strack, Jr. (Colin Friels) in a land development scheme.

Durant and his henchmen beat up Westlake, kill his lab assistant, dip him in a conveniently placed vat of acid, and blow up his lab with him still inside it. The blast doesn't kill him, but leaves him burned beyond recognition. Once in the hospital after being fished out of a river, he is subjected to a radical new medical procedure that renders him unable to feel pain but leaves him with augmented strength and uncontrolled rage. Using his resources, Westlake rebuilds his lab (think, the Bat Cave for working-class men and disfigured scientists) and goes to work trying to perfect the skin formula and get back at his attempted assassins. The synthetic skin comes in handy because it allows Westlake to assume the identities of Durant and his goons, playing them against each other and allowing them to wallow in the confusion generated by Westlake's antics.

Although "Darkman" gets by on the strength of its originality, there are some lines in the script that seem utterly pained and forced by the actors. "Darkman" also works well as a superhero movie, if you care to categorize it as that, but the ending action scenes really make Westlake seem more like a generic action hero because, where would a lab scientist learn how to dodge bullets, grenades, and fight like he's done this stuff before? (He's not supposed to be a Schwarzenegger, a Stallone, or a Norris.) But I guess, since it's a superhero movie, an ending confrontation such as this is unavoidable.

If those are some of the major drawbacks, then there is a lot more working in its favor, chiefly the performances. Neeson, spending much of his time hidden behind hideous burn makeup that is compliments of Tony Gardner and Larry Hamlin, is thoroughly convincing as the superhero Darkman. And we come to admire his pitiable attempts to return to his former life. It's also quite admirable with the way the film explores how Westlake is risking becoming the very thing he hates on the inside by exacting vengeance on his would-be assassins. Also, his scenes with love interest Frances McDormand are fairly touching as his fears of rejection by her because of his outward appearance are dealt with in a realistic fashion.

Director Raimi shows considerable control over his material, even if the effort is uneven in the end. "Darkman" isn't a bad first mainstream effort for a filmmaker who's making a huge leap from the independent market. While the inevitable sequels have proved to be horrid affairs, "Darkman" shows that not every great idea is meant to be consumed for the masses.
On an endnote, remember that this same director helmed the directorial reins for a certain billion dollar franchise entitled...Spiderman

What is there to be said? Not much because in my opinion every word seems to be too much. Anyway, I will try.
This film has a bit of everything in it, and therefore it has nothing. I think the first and most important decision a director has to make is whether he wants to make an action film or a thriller, a comedy or a love story, fiction or reality. Sam Raimi forgot to decide. If you want to watch an excellent realization of a similar story I recommend "V for Vendetta".