User reviews

Of all the super-hero movies around, "Darkman" is my favourite. An original creation from Raimi, and not based on any comics, "Darkman" follows the story of Dr. Peyton Westlake, a scientist about to make a breakthrough in synthetic skin. Peyton's girlfriend, Julie Hastings is a hot-shot lawyer who gets on the wrong side of Robert G. Durant. Durant and his henchmen destroy Peyton's lab, and leave him for dead. Horribly burned and scarred beyond recognition, Peyton uses his uncompleted and synthetic skin to get revenge on those who wronged him - he becomes Darkman.

Darkman has no real super-powers - apart from some increased strength and his inability to feel pain - he uses the synthetic skin to assume the alternate identities, and fights his battles that way. Darkman is not a real super-hero. He makes no pledge to rid the world of evil-doers. He is just out for revenge, and every time Darkman acts, Darkman's dark-side claims just a little bit more of Peyton.

Others have mentioned the parallels to 'Robocop'. I'd like to mention the parallels to Sam Raimi's recent efforts with 'Spider-Man' - the two are very similar style-wise, but Peter Parker/Spider-Man is generally pretty happy and cheerful, where as Darkman finds sadistic pleasure in the way he toys with his enemies before finishing them off. 'Spider-Man' is family-friendly, 'Darkman' is not the sort of movie you would want to show to parents or younger-siblings.

'Darkman' is original, and yet another under-rated classic from Sam Raimi. Check it out if you like Sam Raimi, but avoid if you enjoy the family-friendly nature of 'Spider-Man'. Definitely my favourite super-hero movie, and nearly up there with Tim Burton's 'Batman' and 'Batman Returns', the best super-hero movies ever.

7/10

DARKMAN is a comic book inspired romp, directed by Sam Raimi (of EVIL DEAD fame). The main character was created by Raimi (as well as 5-6 other screen writers) after the rights to make THE SHADOW fell through.

The film THE SHADOW was eventually made, not by Raimi, and will be dealt with at a later time. Anyway, they secured Liam Neeson (who, keep in mind, was easier to get coming off of supporting roles in KRULL and NEXT OF KIN) to play the lead role; he would later go on to acclaim in SCHINDLER'S LIST. Frances McDormand, Colin Friels, and Larry "DR GIGGLES" Drake round out the cast.

OK, you've got Dr. Peyton Westlake who is in the process of inventing artificial skin, some bad guys blow him up good, and through a dubious operation he now feels no pain at all. This last fact is important because he is horribly burned all over his body, a fact that he attempts to hide by wearing a very cinematic trench-coat and fedora. He takes to dispatching the said bad guys who ruined his life one by one, etc. He also tries to rekindle the flame of his lost love and perfect the fake skin, all against the backdrop of a quasi-mystery involving corporate greed.

Is DARKMAN a great film?: No. Is it extremely fun to watch?: It is.

With all the goofy happenings, implausible situations, mustache twirling bad guys and the melodramatic inner conflict within the main character, the film has a sense of humor and a sly self awareness. DARKMAN charges headlong through the thin material with a wonderful visual style and camp sensibility. The performances are good and there are several clever scenes (ex: the two Drakes in the revolving door), to keep you watching. It is a tongue-in-cheek precursor to what Raimi & Co. would do down the road in ARMY OF DARKNESS, and should be of interest to film buffs at least.

Quick Trivia: When Liam Neeson stumbles out of the alley near the beginning of the film, he is splashed with water. The person who threw the bucket of water, was none other than Danny Elfman (who composed the score for DARKMAN). He was there visiting the set that day, and Sam Raimi felt he should be more "hands on" in the production. 7/10

I watched Darkman directly after 1999's The Boondock Saints so clearly, the latter was the better film. However, I had a lot of fun watching this one. It's a Superhero/Horror hybrid film with a lot going for it in the way of action and suspense. I don't think that many fans of either of those genres will be disappointed.

This is in no way Sam Raimi's best and how could it be when the man has directed such great films as The Evil series and Spider-Man. With that out of the way, Darkman has a decent story, great special effects, good acting from Liam Neeson, and some hilariously cheesy lines. Just don't pay too much for it.

At the end of the day, Darkman is in no way a masterpiece or a film that will go down in history but it is a popcorn eating good time. I challenge you to see what you think of this one.

This movie might have joined the ranks of the utterly forgettable Z-movies of the genre had it not been for excellent direction, superb characterization, and outstanding acting on the part of Liam Neeson, who played Peyton Westlake/Darkman, and Larry Drake, who played his enemy, the arch-villain, Durant. The movie presents the destruction of a man by a psychopathic monster for utterly trivial reasons -- and makes it clear that however horrifying the physical damage perpetrated on Peyton Westlake by Durant's minions might be, the effect on his soul and spirit is far worse. At the same time, it showed that in spite of what happened to him, Westlake/Darkman was able to rise above it at least enough to choose the life of a giver of justice rather than one of evil, as the physically unscarred drug-lord Durant & Co., the _real_ monsters in this film, had. This film does _not_ glamorize psychopathic, criminal violence in any way, but rather shows it for what it really is: repellant, ugly, and contemptible, destroying life and everything that supports it without a qualm for no better reason than cheap thrills or a very minor profit. This is _not_ a typical Hollywood film, nor just a cheap garage-flick monster movie special. It shows with graphic realism exactly what is left when conscience, civilization, and the rest of the more delicate mechanisms that constitute our humanity are stripped away: pure beastliness, without glamour and without redemption of any sort. -- And it shows, as well, that even when everything is taken from a man, he can rise above it, choose to remain a man, however damaged, rather than sinking down to the level of the beast.

Stumbled upon this movie backtracking Liam Neeson movies. Frances McDormand & Sam Raimi upped my hopes.

Otherwise an average movie of the 90s, I found these 2 absolute steals by the Mission Impossible franchise from this 1990 movie:

1. The hooking of helicopter so that it crashes - MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 1

2. The henchman kills his own mate thinking it to be the hero but its actually his mate who is taped behind the hero's mask - MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 2

What do you think guys??

It's crazy that it's been almost 35 years since 'Darkman' came out. Liam Neeson built up quite the action resume later in his career but with director Sam Raimi he got to mix a witches brew of action, thriller & horror elements here first. Ultimately it's the work of those two men and actor Larry Drake as the villain that holds the non traditional almost comic book movie with very outlandish moments together.

Peyton Westlake (Neeson) is a scientist trying to master the creation of artificial skin when his attorney girlfriend Julie (Frances McDormand) locks eyes on a memo linking city official payoffs to mob boss Robert Durant (Drake) and her city developer boss. To retrieve this document, Durant and his crew bust up the doc's lab, disfigure him & blow everything to kingdom come. He survives and plots a revenge with the aid of his tech while holding onto the fantasy that things can be what they once were before.

Though I hadn't seen 'Darkman' since the 90's, I've never forgotten Durant in the annals of memorable movie bad guys. Calm, cool, collected and that cigar cutter which gets put to memorable use in the opening action sequence. Ditto the folding of a carny's fingers all the way back in hilarious fashion. It goes without saying the makeup effects are great and Neeson is able to project some heart into his character. An almost 'Phantom of the Opera' sensibility. The story isn't deep - the finale is pretty predictable - but there's no denying it's still a fun caper.

With Darkman, an excellent idea is presented, but unfortunately it never quite reaches the level of good quality entertainment. It is quite stylish, fairly emotional, but the biggest problem I have with the movie is that there is no real sense of super heroism to it.

The plot essentially comes down to this. Liam Neeson is Dr. Peyton Westlake, a scientist experimenting with self-repairing skin cells. One night in his lab he is ambushed by a mob, beaten and left for dead, somehow he survives a lab explosion, after which he finds a hiding place in where he attempts to repair his scared body using his research. Peyton then decides to go after the mob who attacked him. There is something else on his mind as well. In the midst of all this, he is struggling with how to approach his girlfriend who is surprised to find him alive.

I like the way Darkman is set up. There is a sense of something big to come once the first act comes to a close with Peyton becoming Darkman and ready to fight. Unfortunately, that something big never really comes. Sure there is plenty of action, but no major thrill or spectacle to go with it. Frankly, I found the ending a bit disappointing.

Overall, I would not say that Darkman is a terrible disappointment, but it is not a superhero film that I'd recommend over everything else.

"Darkman" is a movie heavily inspired by the comic books , doctor Frankenstein and Phantom of the opera . It's hard to put it into one category . There's horror here , black comedy there , a little bit of action , thriller and science fiction . Together it all creates a very enjoyable movie that in my opinion is much more fun than any of Raimi's "Spiderman" movies.

The only thing that in my opinion stopped this movie from being a classic is the lack of heart. "Darkman" has many moments when it tries to affect audience hearts, but it all feels too melodramatic . When it comes to having fun Raimi's movie never fails , but every moment that should be heart wrenching comes out like a soap opera . It would be one of the many problems in his Spiderman movies . Beside that I could only complain about special effects that are rather outdated in few places.

The movie is quite visually nice and the music by Danny Elfman is great. Some of the camera shots (like when Nesson is beaten in the lab) are really cool . There is a lot of humor here and I like the feel of 80's here.

Liam Nesson ("Schindler's list") shines as the scarred scientist who seeks revenge . It's impressive how he can switch from delicate and humble man to blood-thirsty monster . It feels very natural and you care about him from start to finish. Equally great is Larry Drake as Robert Durant . He's character was supposed to be only supporting villain , yet he's definitely the most interesting bad guy here. There's something about his cynical attitude that makes him much more than just a right hand of the main villain.

Frances McDormand is fine as the journalist and a girlfriend of main hero . Watch out for professor Toru Tanaka („Goldfinger" , „The Running man") in a small role of Chinese bodyguard and for Sam Raimi's favorite actor Bill Campbell („Evil dead") in a cameo at the very end of movie.

It's a good entertainment . Don't watch the cheap straight-to-video/DVD sequels . I give it 7/10.

At the time Darkman was an oddity. It was an R rated film in the superhero genre (dominated at the time by Batman) which was for kids/families. Along comes Sam Rami to make an "adult" superhero movie with horror overtones. Those of us who knew Rami was involved checked it out and at the time, I wanted it to have MORE horror and less superhero. At this point I can appreciate it for what it is and its a solid superhero movie that would fit much better today than it did at the time bc the adult audience for this genre exists today. Its a very ambitious movie for the time. Still a solid watch. The fx are adequate and the characters are top notch. The bad guys are hissable and the humor is amusing. The plot is clever and the violence and fx are solid. This is a movie worthy of rediscovery.

Dr. Peyton Westlake (Liam Neeson) is dating an attorney (Frances McDormand) who likes to get her nose into trouble. She uncovers a memorandum that exposes a connection between the local mob and a powerful real estate magnate (Colin Friels). Rather than ignore it or go to the police, she tells the magnate. Soon, in order to stop her and get revenge -- they destroy Westlake's lab and scar him for life. A few weeks later an experimental medical procedure turns him into Darkman.

"Darkman" is a film with a mixed history. While it has a strong cult following (as of 2008 action figures and comic books were still being made), the film as a whole is of a lesser distinction than one might expect. It is not one of Sam Raimi's more notable films ("Evil Dead", "Army of Darkness" and "Spider-Man" clearly win this contest). It also is not one of the more notable superhero films (beaten by pretty much everyone but Meteor Man). This is unfortunate, as the film is a classic Raimi tale and a classic superhero tale, with homages to Universal monsters thrown in (Frankenstein, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Invisible Man and even Phantom of the Opera).

The story itself is great -- a man who can disguise himself as his enemies to infiltrate their ranks -- and likely would have worked no matter what. But the actors are spectacular (Neeson, of course, but also the mobsters... even Ted Raimi is respectable). And while Raimi seems less himself here than in past efforts (the camera shots are less wild), many elements still creep into the picture. The Raimi zoom is here, and in one scene (the "dancing freak" scene) Liam Neeson evokes Bruce Campbell from "Army of Darkness", something I am sure Raimi had a hand in. And, of course, the shot following the flying rivet.

Two sequels came from here, but were not very positively received (which is not surprising with how little respect the first film got). The biggest problem likely being that Neeson did not reprise his role, handing it off to an actor whose name escapes me (and is otherwise foreign to me). I will not dwell on that here, as that is really a matter for individual reviews.

The film has some greatness (Neeson doing many of his own stunts), but also some drawbacks. The Danny Elfman score is excellent, but seems too similar to his "Batman" score. There is also a bit too much green screen at times (which is only amplified with the newer, better definition transfers).

If you have not seen "Darkman", consider renting it if you can find a copy. Although it incorporates many familiar elements of other superhero or crime films, it has a feel all its own. I can't even describe it. But all Raimi fans should love it, and if you like "Spider-Man" then you ought to give his other hero a chance. (Also, guest cameos from William Lustig, John Landis and Scott Spiegel.)

The Shout Factory Blu-ray is definitely worth owning, as it is loaded with extras, including new interviews with all the primary cast and much of the crew. Sadly, they have no audio commentary with Sam Raimi (for unknown reasons), but there is more than enough here to make up for that.

Raimi's dark/violent superhero-prelude to his Spider-Mans. I liked the ambition here, and the fact that there's clearly an artistic vision of what the film should be. It's also fun to spot some details similar to his later superhero adventures, and there's also tons of good uncompromising eighties stuff some parts of the film remind me of. Unfortunately the film looks cheap on a regular basis which is pretty off-putting and there's some unintentional goofiness involved.

Rating: 5/10

Sam Raimi's "Darkman" is a highly entertaining and energetic combination of science fiction,action and horror!The performances are good,especially Liam Neeson is really believable as a disfigured doctor Peyton Westlake/Darkman.It's nice to see also an underrated Larry Drake("Dr Giggles")as a main villain.There are some huge gaps in logic,but I don't care.The score by Danny Elfman is fantastic and there are some nice visual effects!So if you have enough time to waste-check it out.7 out of 10.

I really liked the beginning of this movie - lots of interesting camera angles, cool action sequences. But the end was laughably bad. The scene with our main character running on top of the cars while being dangled by a helicopter was just embarrasing.

Overall, 4 out of 10 for me.

I liked this movie because it showed the consequences of being vengeful. Peyton Westlake was a scientist who experimented with artificial skin and hoped to perfect it to help burn victims. When he was mutilated and burned beyond recognition by Robert Durant. He turned his experiment into a weapon of revenge. He would disguise himself as his enemies and turn Durant's criminal organization against itself.

As he goes through this Westlake becomes Darkman. He no longer cares about helping humanity, but only about getting revenge. His soul loses everything that made him a man, and in the end he's a killing machine. He's just as bad as those who made him that in the first place.

But that's why I liked the movie. It doesn't glorify vengeance seeking, instead it shows the reality and consequences. Seeking revenge doesn't just hurt your enemy, it hurts you as well.

The movie starts off great, showing us what main villain Robert Durant (Larry Drake) is capable of. Now that we have become acquinted with evil, the movie presents the protagonist, Peyton Westlake (Liam Neeson), a scientist working on a way to produce synthetic skin, only to discover that the skin disintegrates before reaching 100 minutes of light exposure; to which one time, by accident, before the 100th minute comes the lights went off and made a groundbreaking discovery that darkness aids to the preservation of the synthetic skin, managing to reach 100 minutes. Peyton has a girlfriend named Julie (played by the ever so great Frances McDormand) who is a lawyer that has just come across this document which incriminates developer Louis Strack Jr. (Colin Friels); when confronted he confesses his crime, bribing people from the zoning comission, and he unravels his plans. The thing is, that mobster Robert Durant works for Strack and he sents him to find the document. Dr. Westlake had the document with him in his lab, and while they were working, Durant and his henchmen broke in and demanded the Memorandum. They kill Peyton's lab assistant, burn his hands and they make the lab explode; which makes Peyton fly out of the building, on fire, landing on the river nearby. Julie witnessed the explosion and believed Peyton to be dead. He was retrieved from the river and underwent a radical treatment which left him unable to feel pain. After leaving the hospital, he sets everything up to plan and carry out his revenge against Durant and his men.

These traumatic events led to big changes for Peyton, both physically and mentally; he finds himself to be mentally unbalanced, continuosly struggling between his quest for revenge and to not let the dark completely take him over. He doesn't want people to see his true appearance, so he keeps working on synthetic skin, which allows him to design several faces that will serve him to execute his revenge.

The movie is highly entertaining, it has a distinctive b-movie style to it, of course that was Sam Raimi's intention. Some of it was over the top, some camera angles, some dialogue lines; but all of that was made to achieve a greater dramatic effect, which it did, but not without making it a bit cheesy in my opinion. The acting is amazing, Liam Neeson and Frances McDormand deliver such prominent performances. The sequence where Darkman is hanging from the helicopter was a bit too much for me, to be honest. But I found most of the flick to be good, and worthy of watching. The plot is interesting, the whole concept about a disfigured "hero", (or more like an antihero, cause he acts purely out of revenge) is fascinating, and well executed by Raimi. It has minor flaws, but totally watchable.

******SPOILERS****** Left for dead after he was blown out of his laboratory offices by the Durant Mob who were looking for a document that would be devastating to their boss Louis Strack, Colin Friels, a big time city land developer. Peyton Westlake, Liam Neeson, is recovered from the river and brought to the local hospital. In an effort to keep the pain of his injuries bearable the nerve endings to his brain were severed, but by doing that it greatly enhanced his emotions, love hate and rage among others. Those strong emotions soon came into play when he he broke out of the hospital looking first for his girlfriend Julie, Francs McDormand, and then the Durant mob and their boss Louis Strack to whom Julie worked for Strack's firm as his law partner.

Left with his mind as well as his body horribly deformed. Westlake living in a deserted factory went back to his project of developing synthetic skin to replace the burns that he received from him being attacked by the Durant Mob. The best that he could do, like before him being burned, was that the skin would last for less then 100 minutes before it would dissolve and become useless.

With an unstoppable fury Westlake/Darkman takes out his rage at the Durant Mob whom he smashes to bits and then confronts Strack and, who after telling Darkman that he doesn't have the conscience to do it, drops him some 650 feet to his death from a building site of his on the city waterfront. Strack obviously didn't know that Darkman put away Durant, Larry Drake, and his boys without any trouble to his conscience at all.

Unlike most comic super hero's Darkman didn't have a secret identity and doesn't get the girl that he loves at the end of the movie. Darkman unlike most comic book hero's is not really a crime fighter. The bad guys that Darkman takes care of in the movie were for personal reasons not for the elimination of crime from society. These are the reasons that makes Darkman unique and why the audience can personally identify with Darkman more then with most of the comic book super hero's put on film: Darkman wasn't out to save the world from evil, he was out to avenge the evil that was done to him.

Darkman is an innovative, fast-paced, fun super hero type film about a doctor trying to find the key to keeping artificial cells alive only to keep them going only in the dark. This scientist gets embroiled in a corrupt man's efforts to keep his corruption invisible and is left for dead by the henchmen of that corrupt man. While not a super hero in the classical sense, Darkman - the product of this science and burns covering almost every inch of his body - does avenge the wrongs done to him by using his machines, somehow still in perfect working order in his burned-out warehouse, to create any face he wants to wear. This device allows him to appear as other people and in some scenes we have the double appearance and spectators taking double takes with double vision. Sam Raimi shows us why he is so good with a movie like this by making us care about the character, wonderfully played by Liam Neeson, and keeping the pace nice and brisk. Which is good, because if you think too long about what is going on, you will know just how ridiculous the story really is. I cannot believe that all that scientific machinery was still in working order. The science is never fully explained. You are to take it at face value. I did, and the film was entertaining for that reason. Frances McDormand plays Neesom's girlfriend fairly well, and Larry Drake really chews up scenery as the primary henchman that has a penchant for cutting off the fingers of his adversaries. Raimi does substitute action scenes for coherent storytelling, but does so in such a manner as to still be somewhat convincing and as always entertaining.

For a Class-B type movie and feel to it, it's pretty good....better than I anticipated. I've seen it twice and enjoyed it more the second time. I had forgotten how stylish-looking it was and it was fun to see.

What I did remember were a couple of wild scenes, such as "Darkman" (Liam Neeson) being swung around in the sky on the end of a chain from a helicopter, and the big fire scene early on which turns Neeson's character into the masked hero.

The villains in the movie are over-the-top, leading with Larry Drake's character "Durant." There also is some outrageous Rambo action which stretches way past credibility, such as people shooting from five feet away and missing our hero!

Overall, not as good as the critics would have you believe, but still entertaining. At least it has two quality actors in Neeson and Frances McDormand. Drake went on to play the infamous "Dr. Giggles." If you liked this crazy film, you'll love that one.

Dr. Peyton Westlake (Liam Neeson) has created a formula to produce synthetic skin. The skin isn't stable, however, and deteriorates after 99 minutes. While working in the lab, he's attacked by gangster Robert Durant (Larry Drake) and left for dead. Durant and his hoods were searching for documents taken by Westlake's girlfriend, attorney Julie Hastings (Frances McDormand). Horribly burned, Westlake uses his synthetic skin to create temporary disguises for himself so he can exact his revenge on Durant and the man behind him, Louis Strack (Colin Friels).

Sam Raimi's first foray into the superhero movie gives us an original creation of his, after he was turned down for doing both Batman and The Shadow on the big screen. It's a darkly stylish film that hits on all the familiar superhero/vigilante tropes with campy glee. Raimi paints a beautiful picture with many scenes and imagery that typify comic book storytelling. It doesn't take much of a stretch to visualize what kind of Batman movie Raimi would have done. I think it would have been very similar to the Burton films but heavier on the camp.

Great direction from Raimi, quality acting from the cast, and a nice Danny Elfman score make this one you should definitely check out. Darkman is a highly entertaining ride that gives you lots of action, humor, and pathos. In short, it's a great comic book movie.

Who the heck gave 10 out of 10 to this one? Actually, who the heck put up the money for this appalling re-hash of Phantom of the Opera and Doctor X? Two great actors, Neeson and McDormand, are embarrassed by the silly antics they're forced to perform. The script stinks, and there is nothing here which hasn't been done before, only with a good deal more style. Where's the energy and inventiveness which made The Evil Dead so clever?

2 out of 10, and it's lucky to get that much.

It's so nice to see what Odo was like before DS9. No wonder they made him head of security.