Darkman | REVIEW

Everyone loves superheroes. Well at least most of us do. On one side you have your Marvel, DC, Darkhorse etc comic adaptations, and on the other side you have superheroes that are created for the sole purpose of making a movie. Darkman, for instance, was created by the then-unknown Sam Raimi in 1990 because he couldn't aqquire rights to direct The Shadow and / or Batman. No one would fund a director who had directed nothing, so Sam went ahead and made his own comic character who was never really in a comic book before. Darkman did pretty nicely in cinemas, especially after people grew accustomed to dark-ish superhero movies ala Tim Burton's Batman (1989). It grossed around USD 49million ; sweet profit as compared to its USD 16million production budget. The film had two direct-to-video sequels, Darkman II: Return Of Durant and Darkman III: Die, Darkman, Die! I have no idea who named the third film but it sounds as sh*tty as sh*tiness can get. Die, Darkman, Die?!

Darkman, played by Liam Neeson, is the story of Prof. Peyton Westlake, who is attacked and left to die by the baddie in this film, Robert Durant (Larry Drake), after his (Peyton's) girlfriend runs afoul of a corrupt developer. Peyton obviously survives but is horribly disfigured, and when I say this I mean that his face is fu*ked-up so bad that Extreme Makeover would have a effin' hard time trying to fix it. Anyway, Peyton undergoes a radical facial treatment thing that cuts off the sensitivity of pain to his head, driving him somewhat insane and erratic. He runs away and goes into hiding, finding ways to fix his looks, and in the process finds a way to create temporary 'human masks' that will help him blend in with the crowd. But his thirst for revenge grows stronger everyday, and he takes up the alter-ego known as 'Darkman'!

While Darkman isn't a bad movie, it's definitely not your average superhero flick either. Before X-Men came along and revolutionized the way superheroes were brought into the big screen, superhero movies used to have a constant corniness about them that a lot of people didn't buy into. Needless to say, Darkman had that corniness despite all its efforts to be a very dark film, or something that could resemble Burton's Batman. I personally enjoy anti-heroes more than heroes, or rather I prefer the ones with a more demented side to them. They're more realistic and easier to relate to. Spawn, Batman, Ghost Rider...they're all amazing. Darkman fits nicely into that category of demented justice-seekers but for some reason, I can't digest the character at all. He's a bit too pathetic and sympathy-seeking instead of really fighting for what he wants. He's constantly wallowing in the depression caused by his 'million-dollar' face. I understand it's not easy to live with a face like that but if it's going to be a semi-superhero movie, the guy has to at least be a bit bolder and more heroic. Are we to like this guy or just pity him?

There are certain scenes in this movie that are meant to be dramatic but instead look extremely funny. I assumed that back in the day it would have in fact been dramatic so I did some research and found out that early screenings of the movie back in 1990 also had people laughing for all the wrong reasons. Despite all of Liam Neeson's efforts and might I add, great acting, Darkman had a very tough time shaking the corniness off.

There are, however, some good parts to Darkman. Mainly the storyline. It has a nice arc to it with its conflicts and climaxes, plus Darkman dares to be different. A couple of years before Darkman, comic-movies were campy and superheroes were boy scouts. Tim Burton changed all that with Batman and Darkman further emphasized on the fact that these justice-seekers are in actual fact human beings, too. It creates questions like how justice should be served; via the law or can one man take it in his own hands if it's the right thing to do. In all those aspects, Darkman does well as a movie. But as a superhero movie and especially after all the awesomeness we've seen ooze outta' the likes of Spider-Man and Sin City and X-Men, it falls way behind the line as a washed-up film that doesn't appeal to today's audiences. It does, of course, have its cult followings and has spawned comics, toys, and other merchandise.

Now, leave the review aside and think about this. Sam Raimi only created Darkman because he couldn't get his hands on Batman or The Shadow. What would things be like today if he did manage to direct Batman instead of Tim Burton. Would he have still made Spider-Man, which is the benchmark for how good a comic-to-film should be? What would the Batman franchise be like today...campier, or darker? Pretty weird.
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Wrap : Darkman gets a...let's see...3.4 out of 5.0. For its time it did fairly well and it is still somewhat entertaining, come to think of it. It's not, by any means, a great film but if you want to refer to a superhero movie before the current craze started back in 2001, look for Darkman. And I mean the first one. God knows what the second and third are about. It's not the end of the world if you never get to see it, but if you do, you'll probably laugh more at the corniness of it all instead of actually feeling Darkman's anger. "Die, Darkman, Die!".....cracks me up every time.

Till the next review, ladies and gents!