So much average

Excellent adaptation.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Am i only the one of few who thought this movie was trash !unless most of the reviews were written by junior school kids .the plot was terrible ,acting was terrible ,i actually turned it of ten minutes before the end because i was so bored with the same old plot.no real story behind it except for a document that i cant even remember what it was about.he had no super powers i can remember except he didn't feel pain ,and was a bit stronger than others ,could he take a bullet hmm not sure ,just made no sense ,shoulda called it mr.crispy ,really bad film with awful acting ,i wonder how he made a rubber willy for himself ??

I have long maintained that in an age when Hollywood seems to have run out of inspiration there is no better place to go then into the past. Not the 80s or even 90s but even further back, the 60s and older. The best movies that should be remade are bad movies, this is no truer then with old b-movies most of which had interesting ideas but were held down by the technical and financial restrictions of the time. This is why remakes of those old movies work so well; 'John's Carpenter's the Thing' is of course the best example but what about Alien? Technically speaking Alien could be considered a remake of 'It! The Terror From Beyond Space', a movie which the filmmakers had seen, hence the term 'a B-movie done A'. Need further convincing? Well then look no further then Darkman. While the plot of 'scientist uses experimental research to take revenge on those who wronged him' is not new this is the first time it is taken to its logical next step and used as the backstory for a superhero. Despite this the movie never sheds its root; throughout the film you can see influences of a lot of old b-movies; The Projected Man, the Amazing Colossal Man and The Phantom of the Opera. In fact the Phantom of the Opera is the most subtle because it manifests itself in a particular design choice; most Phantom of the Opera adaptations have the phantom having a normal face except for the right half which he covers with a mask, Darkman's face is disfigured except for a small part which is on the left. This is no coincidence, director Sam Raimi did have the old Universal films in mind when he made this film and he succeeds in creating an updated looking version of the style. More subtle then Tim Burton's interpretation of the Hammer look for 'Sleepy Hollow'. Raimi also brings his distinct directing style to the project which infuses it with high energy through creative camera work, mind blowing effects (the helicopter chase scene blew my mind) and creative editing. This distinct visual style combines with the sly humour of the film to give it its own personality similar to RoboCop. Then there's the acting; the cast all do a great job but points go to Darkman himself. Raimi wanted to cast regular Bruce Campbell in the role of Darkman but Universal didn't like a relatively unknown actor in the role and so Raimi cast Liam Neeson instead (for Bruce Campbell fans don't worry, he gets his obligatory cameo at the end of the film). This decision was for the best because Neeson knocks it clear into orbit with his performance and manages to situate himself as one of my favourite actors; He goes from tortured to angry to insane to tragic in the space of a nanosecond and still allows the audience to empathise with him. Another thing I want to compliment is the film's content; most times when a film is rated R it feels like they add sex, violence and language unnecessarily. This film is ultra-violent but more in a RoboCop style and the rest of the R content feels natural, nothing feels like it was artificially added afterwards to crank the rating up. The final thing I want to compliment is the music. It's incredible how superhero soundtracks seem to fall into two categories; Danny Elfman or background noise. Despite also being composed by Danny Elfman (does he just compose all Superhero movies scores?) Darkman has a distinct soundtrack which manages to escort the audience on the film's roller-coaster ride while sounding distinct and original. All in all Darkman is a masterpiece; a textbook example of how to rework an old idea and how to make a superhero film. Not for younger audiences obviously but well worth the wait.

This is probably one of the best comicbook characters that didn't actually start out as a comicbook character, he was in fact created by director Sam Raimi. Thinking about that its actually pretty impressive really, Raimi wanted to make a comicbook movie adaptation of one of the more well known existing characters but couldn't, so he just made up his own...kudos. What's even more impressive is the fact this character has gone on to become a popular cult comicbook franchise alongside Raimi's other famous creation Ash.The whole premise behind Darkman in my opinion is a humble beauty and the beast tale really. Obviously Liam Neeson's character gets horribly mutilated but what follows is very similar to that French fairytale. On the other hand you could also say the character is very similar to 'The Phantom of the Opera' both in plot terms and visualisation. I think its fairly easy to see how Darkman is visually similar to The Phantom with his face mask of bandages and black sweeping attire. His appearance also harks back to other classic dashing heroes of the 30's such as The Shadow and more so The Spirit in the 40's, the age old dark coloured fedora always looking the business. Yet another influence (in my opinion) for Darkman's look could be Universal's sci-fi horror icon The Invisible Man who literately wears the same outfit with bandages of course.The plot does kinda run along the same lines as 'Beauty and the Beast' or The Phantom. A disfigured man who hides in the shadows existing away from civilisation but watching them from a far at the same time. He has strong feelings for a woman whom he tries to protect and at the same time attempt to open up to her, but of course he cannot, he is conflicted inside over his hideous appearance. He is haunted by inner demons, how he is now treated and looked upon, and of course In this movie there is the added revenge and rage element against the mobsters that destroyed his life and face. Its the old winning formula of a hero (or anti-hero) who is scary for whatever reasons...but that fear draws you in, it intrigues you and makes you cheer for him.I remember when I first saw this movie back in my teen years I wrote it off as a blatant Batman-esque wannabe (foolishly). Back then I wasn't totally aware of Raimi's work and hadn't seen his Evil Dead movies so I thought the effects were crude and poorly done. Watching now, being wiser and more experienced with movies, its easy to spot those typical Raimi effects and sequences, his way of directing that had become his signature. Yes the effects are still crude looking (carnival mans obvious rubber fingers getting twisted by Westlake), much of the movie showcases really bad bluescreen and some of the movie just looks cheap, but it all has that glorious Raimi style that peaked with 'Army of Darkness'. The most expensive looking aspect of the movie to me seems to be the use of a helicopter towards the end.Did anyone notice that Darkman's burnt up face looks remarkably similar to Evil Ash's undead face in 'Army of Darkness'? The bottom of the jaw especially looks to be an almost identical design, still great looking though, the makeup and prosthetics are really effective in this film. I also really liked the tiny scene where Westlake's hands get fried in a wicked little stop-motion sequence. Its little touches like that that are pure Raimi and they look marvelous, plus its always nice to see the old methods being used. Looking back now the rage sequences in Westlake's mind are quite amusing too, its all very basic.On the whole this movie is in all honesty a bit poor visually and not exactly an original concept. The acting is passable throughout but clearly hokey, its a good job Larry Drake is so fantastically cool, evil and distinctive looking as the main bad guy Durant otherwise this may have sunk without a trace. I think the film could of done with some more action sequences at night, hence Dark...man. I realise this title isn't suppose to simply mean a dark brooding Gothic type character, its more to do with his damaged psyche and where it leads him. But if ever a character did need some murky menacing action set amongst neon lit skyscrapers its this. Still, you gotta give big kudos to Raimi for thinking this colourful character up out of thin air, to look at this film you could easily be mistaken for thinking it was an adaptation of an already established comicbook character. That is a pretty solid achievement right there.7/10

Dr. Peyton Westlake (Liam Neeson) has created a formula to produce synthetic skin. The skin isn't stable, however, and deteriorates after 99 minutes. While working in the lab, he's attacked by gangster Robert Durant (Larry Drake) and left for dead. Durant and his hoods were searching for documents taken by Westlake's girlfriend, attorney Julie Hastings (Frances McDormand). Horribly burned, Westlake uses his synthetic skin to create temporary disguises for himself so he can exact his revenge on Durant and the man behind him, Louis Strack (Colin Friels).Sam Raimi's first foray into the superhero movie gives us an original creation of his, after he was turned down for doing both Batman and The Shadow on the big screen. It's a darkly stylish film that hits on all the familiar superhero/vigilante tropes with campy glee. Raimi paints a beautiful picture with many scenes and imagery that typify comic book storytelling. It doesn't take much of a stretch to visualize what kind of Batman movie Raimi would have done. I think it would have been very similar to the Burton films but heavier on the camp.Great direction from Raimi, quality acting from the cast, and a nice Danny Elfman score make this one you should definitely check out. Darkman is a highly entertaining ride that gives you lots of action, humor, and pathos. In short, it's a great comic book movie.