Review #1495: Darkman.Cast:
Liam Neeson (Peyton Westlake / Darkman), Frances McDormand (Julie Hastings), Colin Friels (Louis Strack Jr), Larry Drake (Robert G. Durant), Ted Raimi (Ricky), Nicholas Worth (Pauly), Dan Hicks (Skip), and Jessie Lawrence Ferguson (Eddie Black) Directed by Sam Raimi (#611 - Spider-Man, #1296 - The Evil Dead, and #1483 - Evil Dead II)
Review:
"Some mornings you wake up and think, "Gee, I look handsome today." Other days I think, "What am I doing in the movies? I wanna go back to Ireland and drive a forklift".
There is a distinct difference to the superhero film from decade to decade that is particularly interesting to note, whether involving the era before Superman (1978, which namely involved serials), or the years that followed after the release of Batman in 1989. There were a group of heroes of comic and comic strip form that found their way into being turned into a film, for better or worse. However one thinks of the superhero genre as a whole, it is nice to see the stark differences between 1990 and 2020, and you can compare the pickings of what came from the former: Dick Tracy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Captain America, and this film. It came about due to Raimi's desire to make a film based on The Shadow (which found itself adapted into a film four years later), with the failure to obtain the rights leading him to make a hero film of his own, which would be inspired by his love of the classic Universal horror films of the 1930s to have a man who lost his face that found a way to take on other faces. This was Raimi's next film after Evil Dead II along with his first studio film (fittingly with Universal Pictures), and it would go through numerous drafts that resulted in five credited writers: him (who also did the story), his brother Ivan, Daniel and Joshua Goldin, and Chuck Pfarrer (with twelve drafts reportedly being written before a script to shoot came about).
With a darker outlook toward the nature of what it means to wear a mask and fight for some sort of justice, Darkman is a fascinating film of the superhero genre, intense with frenzied ambition that makes a capable thriller. At the helm of its mix of horror and action is Northern Irish actor Liam Neeson, who had worked for several years in theatre and gradually-rising roles in film that liked the turmoil of the title role that mixed with Raimi's desire for an actor that could do acting within plenty of makeup (done by Tony Gardner) and charisma. Neeson delivers a well-done performance here, one with plenty of emotive charm that runs the gamut from sensitive to self-hatred with touches of The Phantom of the Opera that make it all work with finesse. McDormand follows along with fine sensitivity and focused grace that makes a solid performance that resonates with Neeson just fine. Friels proves adquately slimy, but it is Drake (known mostly for his work on L.A. Law) who proves the most adept at disturbing excellence, a quiet but gruesome intensity to appreciate. The atmosphere of the film is captured well in darkness with its designs and music from Danny Elfman without seeming schlocky or too familiar to other films. The film has a kinetic and pulpy feel to it with its pace of 96 minutes that does good with making an involving story of a troubled soul come across with some depth and believability (the effects do their part as well) that lend for some interesting moments that go with a servicable climax and bitersweet ending. On the whole, this is a fine achievement that pierces at the dark with solid performances and a carefully done style that blends thrills and horror capably enough to stand as its own kind of superhero story.
Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.
