DVD Reviews

Darkman – Blu-ray Review

By Patrick Luce Jun 26, 2010, 15:28 GMT

Liam Neeson and Frances McDormand star in this explosive, action-packed thriller from director Sam Raimi (Spider-Man). Dr. Peyton Westlake (Neeson) is on the verge of realizing a major breakthrough in synthetic skin when his laboratory is destroyed by gangsters. Having been burned beyond recognition and forever altered by an experimental medical procedure, Westlake becomes known as Darkman, assuming alternate identities in his quest for revenge and a new life with ...more

Before director Sam Raimi swung on a web with Spider-Man, he brought his own super-hero to the big screen with Darkman. The 1990 film looks solid on Blu-ray’s 1080p format, but some of the effects are a tad dated.

Written by Raimi, Chuck Pfarrer, Ivan Raimi, Daniel Goldin, and Joshua Goldin, Darkman starred Liam Neeson (who had yet to become the blockbuster star he is today), Frances McDormand (in her pre-Fargo days), Larry Drake, and Colin Friels. The movie also benefited from a super heroic music from Danny Elfman.

The movie was a pretty straight-forward origin tale with Neeson taking on the role of Dr. Peyton Westlake – a scientist working on a synthetic skin for burn victims. Westlake is on the verge of accomplishing his invention, but the skin will only stay stable in the light for 99 minutes.

While Westlake is at work on his skin, his attorney girlfriend Julie Hastings discovers that developer Louis Strack Jr. (Friels) and mobster Robert G. Durant (Drake) have been up to no good, and she has paperwork to prove it.

The discovery of the connection between the developer and mobster and a meeting with Strack results in Durant and his band of thugs paying a visit to Westlake to try and locate the paperwork. It is a short visit with Durant’s boys blowing up the lab with Westlake still inside.

Westlake (who is thought to be dead by Julie) somehow survives the explosion but is burned beyond belief. Due to the severity of the burns, the doctors are forced to cut Westlake’s pain nerves which causes him to have unchecked adrenaline flowing through his body and fits of uncontrolled rage. Westlake escapes from the hospital, returns to his lab, and takes on the mantle of Darkman.

Using his fake skin, he plots to take revenge on Durant and Strack. He also continues to try and develop his skin with hopes he will find a way to make it last in the light so he and Julie could be reunited.

The film moves at a predictable pace with Westlake taking out Durant’s men, and putting on their faces to get closer to succeeding in his plans to get revenge on Durant and Strack. We also get several scenes of Westlake struggling to regain his humanity and complete his life’s work – which seems to always be hampered by his unchecked rage.

According to various reports, Raimi wanted to get the film rights to bring The Shadow to the screen (he reportedly was also interested in taking on a big-screen version Batman), but developed Darkman when he was unable to get The Shadow.

Thanks to Spider-Man, Raimi is now an iconic director so it is hard to imagine a studio not jumping to help him get any project to the screen. Back in 1990, he was still mostly known for his Evil Dead films.

Regardless, fans of super-hero flicks lucked out because Darkman is one hell of a good time at the movies. Raimi knows how to take on a film like this and he mixes the movie with a blend of serious acting, lots of action and a tad bit of camp.

Neeson takes the role of Westlake and Darkman and treats them like they are Oscar contenders. The talented actor makes sure we care about both characters equally. You cheer as Darkman takes on the bad guys and dispatches them in very clever ways, but you also feel for Westlake and how he has lost everything.

McDormand also does a good job in her role as the love interest/damsel in distress for Darkman to save. She isn’t really given enough to do in the film, and at times her part seems to not really matter. It is more of a way to move Westlake/Darkman from point A to point B. Still, it is great to see her on screen in any role, and she makes the most of what she has to work with in the part.

At the same time, Drake plays Durant like the Grade-A screen villain he is, and seems to make no apology for the fact he is overacting in just about every scene. We know Durant is pure evil since he is played by the guy who would later bring Dr. Giggles to life and due to his need to collect fingers from his victim.

It appears Durant has a finger collection and enjoys using his cigar cutter to collect them. From the second Durant and his goons hit the screen, you are just waiting for them to die.

While the film looks good on Blu-ray (again some of the effects are a tad lacking on the format), I was disappointed in the total lack of special features. Basically, it just comes with My Scenes and other BD Live functions. The Blu-ray is probably the best the film is going to look and sound right now, but it would have been nice to get some features to go along with the reason to upgrade from the DVD version.

Darkman is a fun blend of serious action and camp. It is clear Raimi wanted to make a comic hero that could hang with Batman and The Shadow, and Darkman is a nice blend of those two comic legends. The film does feel a bit dated from time to time, but it holds up nicely for the most part.

If you have never seen Darkman, this is the format to watch, but I am not sure it is worth upgrading from the DVD since it lacks any real special features to add to making it worth the price.