Retro Review: Darkman

A combination of Liam Neeson, and director Sam Raimi. What could go wrong? Right? A superhero movie with an interesting premise, an amazing director, and an equally good leading man. I had heard very different opinions on the movie, and wasn't sure at all how this movie was going to turn out. Well, it... turned out...

As I said, this movie DID have an intriguing premise. Peyton Westlake (Neeson) gets blown up while trying to develop a new kind of skin. Skin that people can wear to cover up scars, birth defects, whatever. In theory, it could change the world. The only problem is that the skin is only stable for 99 minutes, before it completely melts. But it seems like all of that is gone when Peyton seems to go up in the lab explosion, and his fiance Julie Hastings, (Frances McDormand) is left to mourn.  But actually, Peyton is still alive. He was found in a river where he was taken to a hospital, where there was no identification to be found. A John Doe, to the hospital. He is in so much pain, they had to perform a very experimental operation. Cut the portion of the Spine that sends pain signals to the brain. He no longer feels pain, but there are side effects. Adrenaline rushes through the body, giving him incredible strength. And because the body feels no physical pain, it manifests itself through emotions. The person will feel very lonely, and will be prone to fits of rage. And of course, he is still very badly scarred from the explosion. Peyton escapes from the hospital to exact revenge on the ones who did this to him, and bring justice to those like him. All the while, he is afraid that Julie will no longer love him, and hides himself from her, and the world.

As I said, I love that story. I think it's very intriguing, and can make for a very good movie. But the execution was just awful. The writing was really, REALLY bad. Even Liam Neeson couldn't make the writing any better. Oh man. It makes me cringe.

Liam Neeson did do a genuinely good job with what he was given. His performance was simply held back by this movie's ridiculously bad writing... which I feel like I'm going to be coming back to a lot. Hardly any of the other actors did a very good job, though. McDormand wasn't half bad, but it was really the only other one that stood out.

Liam Neeson goes around in this film with masks of skin, posing as other people. Okay, not a bad idea. And as much as it pains me to say this, a lot of this film's problem, it it's directing. Raimi tried to direct a horror film in the form of a superhero one, and it just didn't work. Several of the shots in this movie were honestly so bad they were laughable. It was like Raimi didn't know what to do with the movie's down time, so he just threw in random stuff, hoping that it would work. Oh, Sam. You're lucky you directed Spider-Man.

One thing I did like, was this movie's action sequences. While some of them were inconsistent, and made me feel like the movie ran out of budget, some of them were really good, and fun to watch. My favorite scenes of the film was the last one. (which couldn't come soon enough). They were fighting on top of an unfinished building, they were swingin' on cranes, and shooting bolts into each other. I was like, "This is completely unrealistic, but I am entertained." Yeah, the Helicopter blowing up was cool, but you just can't beat jumping from beam to beam.

I'm not sure how it happened, but this film had a real emotional weight. Seriously. I can't tell you how I felt this. But I did feel bad for Darkman by the end of this movie. He wants to love Julie, but can't because he's too ashamed of himself. Even though Julie repeatedly tells him that she loves him for what's inside, he just won't listen. I thought this was very sweet, and although I didn't cry, I probably would have if this movie would have had better writing. And if they had cut the scene out where Darkman is dancing like a monkey, with a weird hat on his head. Seriously, that scene took this movie down, like, two whole points.

This movie had an intriguing premise, but it was completely squandered by the overall lameness of the movie.
Neeson did a good job, but even HE doesn't help the movie. The only two things I really liked about this film, was the emotion, and the action, and even those weren't consistent. Overall, this movie just doesn't escape from it's horrible script, mediocre directing, mostly bad acting, and Darkman's monkey dancing. A reboot could prove interesting, but this one, although not a complete waste of time, is not worth your money. This movie almost falls into the so bad it's good range. But, being objective, I must give it what it deserves.

Final Score: 1.5/5 or 30%

So, what's your favorite Liam Neeson movie? Let me know in the comments. See ya next time!