Listonixio Fresh and Exciting
Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.
Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
calvinnme Raimi had wanted for years to adapt and make a film version of The Shadow. However, the studios he shopped the project around to balked at the idea: He was still somewhat unknown at the time, and there wasn't much confidence behind the comic strip's popularity.Raimi, in response, chose the next best thing--he created his own version, blending elements of the original comic book hero, Phantom of the Opera, and even a little of The Elephant Man for pathos. What came about from it--spawning two very bad sequels in the process--was a film demonstrating a filmmaker's inspiration, but one pumped through his own vivid, wild imagination; and it makes for one of the most original entries into the comic-book movie canon in the last 25 years.Still the studios had no love for this film in its finished form. They slated it for release in August 1990 at the end of the summer release cycle. You know, the same month of the year they released "Coyote Ugly"? But the film was a success garnering almost 50 million on a 16 million dollar budget.Liam Neeson plays Peyton Westlake, a scientist on the verge of inventing synthetic skin from a series of photographs of the subject. Thus disfigured people could wear his synthetic mask and be moved toward a more normal life. Peyton's girlfriend, Julie, a journalist, has found a memorandum indicating a developer she knows made a Mafia payout in connection with a development he is building. She makes the mistake of telling said developer that she has this proof of his crime, but that she doesn't have it on her. So evil developer has his psychopathic buddies go to Peyton's loft/lab, blow up the place while taking the memorandum, and in the process Peyton's assistant is blown to bits. Peyton is burned beyond recognition but lands in the nearby bay.With no ID, as a John Doe, Peyton is given really good treatment by the hospital which takes the drastic step of severing nerves that allow him to feel pain, else he would spend all of his time screaming in pain from the burns. He escapes from the hospital, and meanwhile his assistant is buried as Peyton. You'd think family or friends would come looking for the assistant, but I guess that's another film.So Peyton continues his work on skin regeneration, with his lab now acting as a kind of batcave, and things are urgent because Peyton needs this cure for himself as his face and hands are horribly disfigured. As things are he has only 99 minutes before the artificial skin decomposes. And this works for some good fun for the next part of the film, because Peyton wants revenge on top of a cure. Plus he needs money. He finds a chance for revenge and money by posing as the different people who "killed him" and then just counting on the worst instincts of these thugs - and they have plenty of them - to turn on each other.But then a mistake - Peyton lets Julie know he's alive -wearing artificial skin of course - and that memorandum that was the whole point of ruining Peyton's life? It turns up on a desk, with the coffee stain Julie put there herself at Peyton's loft, right before he died. And now Julie knows Peyton's "death" was no accident. I'll let you see how things work out from here.The real revelation here was Larry Drake as evil Robert Durant. He strokes a small furry pet wearing gloves and an apron that says "Kiss the Cook" while maintaining his collection of human fingers he has taken from people who do not pay their debts to him. The reason he was a revelation? For years before this he had played a mentally handicapped man who has been working at the law firm showcased by "LA Law". It was a kind of last request from his dying mother to the firm so her son would have a purpose in life. To go from that gentle persona to a heartless monster shows Drake had range most people did not think he had.Give it a try. The special effects have aged a bit, but the human factors make it still relevant.
SquigglyCrunch Darkman follows a scientist who, after getting involved with some gangsters, is involved in an explosion that permanently burns him. He sets out to create synthetic skin for himself, get revenge on the gangsters who wronged him, and reconnect with his girlfriend. The whole movie is pretty unrealistic, but that's the way it's supposed to be. It's not supposed to be taken seriously, and for the most part it works pretty well with the comedic aspect of it. There are a handful of scenes that are so weird or over-the-top that they're just hilarious. The idea itself is pretty cool. I don't want to spoil it all, but trust me, it's pretty awesome. Liam Neeson plays a superhero that I would never expect to see, and yet here he is. The costume of the main character, Peyton aka Darkman is pretty awesome. Again, he's not your average superhero, and that makes him all the better. Overall Darkman was a fun movie to watch. There wasn't a whole lot else that I really liked, but the humor and originality was enough to keep it interesting. It was worth seeing, and in the end I'd recommend it.
leplatypus For me, Raimi is an underrated creator : he has a bit the same talent as Spielberg (writing, casting, directing, producing) but without his recognition and money. Sure Raimi wants to have fun while liking dark and horror so he alienates a part of his audience but he is full of original ideas: Here, he shows that he can do a real super-hero movie well before CGI effects and without a big budget. And what's amazing it's that is even better than the real thing : for one time, the origin story is interesting, the power is original and the LA setting is a change from the old metropolis. Raimi never misses the opportunity to a stunning and horrific frame or angle, his camera is like alive by itself and he stages great action sequence ! Ice on the cake : he has a wonderful cast to play with a Liam bringing all his massive drama and Frances rather convincing as the crying girlfriend ! Anf for sure, you will find all his usual cameos : Bruce Campbell, his brother and himself ! So it's a dream to watch the works of that guy such passionate in movies !
SnoopyStyle Robert Durant (Larry Drake) is a ruthless gangster who likes to collect the fingers of his enemies. Peyton Westlake (Liam Neeson) is a scientist working on a liquid skin but it has a fatal flaw of breaking down in the sunlight after 99 minutes. His lawyer girlfriend Julie Hastings (Frances McDormand) uncovers an incriminating memo from developer Louis Strack Jr. (Colin Friels). Louis sends Durant and his thugs to retrieve the memo. They kill Peyton's assistant, destroy his lab and leave him for dead. Peyton is assumed dead and barely survives as John Doe. His doctor severs his pain nerves. It leaves him with bouts of anger and unnatural power. He reconstitute his lab and creates masks of Durant's gang to cause chaos within the crime family. He recreates his face to reconnect with Julie. He becomes Darkman.This is a wonderful creation by Sam Raimi. He uses a lot of his horror experience to bring a style and special effects skill to the movie. It certainly is a nice progression for him from Evil Dead to Spider-Man. The only drawback for me is the 99 minutes. It would be even more compelling if the skin would disintegrate with sunlight. It would mean that Darkman would have exist in the dark. It would simplify his identity and make it real cool. He would be Dracula where his face melts in sunlight. The acting is top notch. It's a great entry in the comic-book style movie.
