Justice Has A New Face - Darkman!

When Sam Raimi couldn't get the rights to bring The Shadow to the big screen, he created his own shadowy crimefighter and dubbed him "Darkman". If any movie got me to fall in love with the particular style of a filmmaker, it was Darkman.

Darkman appealed to me from the get-go, coming out in the same summer as Warren Beaty's Dick Tracy was barnstorming the country. I often think of these two movies together, two films about tough crimefighters with distinctive and unusual approaches to movie storytelling, and it's always the gritty Darkman that wins the contest. Beaty's movie is fun and full of vibrant colors and some delicious characters, but its self-awareness is too on the nose, while Raimi keeps Darkman's roots blended well enough that they don't stand out immediately. Later you think of it, but not while you're watching it.

For the folks who might not know, I'll just say that Darkman is scientist Peyton Westlake, a guy who discovers a liquid skin compound that proves to be light sensitive, a miracle for modern medicine moments before he and his partner are supposedly slain by mob boss Robert Durant in a move to retrieve a memo Westlake's girlfriend and lawyer had left at his place. But Westlake doesn't die, though it seems to be the case. Instead, he has his nervous system destroyed by doctors to save him from intense agony which in turn seems to give him immense strength when anger overwhelms him. He has lost his identity and the burns to his face and hands in particular make it impossible he thinks to return to the life he once had. Using his skin compound to create lifelike masks of limited duration, Darkman fights Durant's thugs and attempts to bring down the criminal enterprise that killed his friend, threatens his girl, and destroyed his life.

That's a pretty nifty premise. And even though Darkman is a "superhero" origin tale, it works as a crackerjack adventure too. Raimi's storytelling is top-notch and at once efficient and effective and eccentric. Darkman has a great cast, with Liam Neeson as Westlake/Darkman, Francis McDormand as his girlfriend Julie, and Larry Drake leading the way as the outrageous villain Robert Durant.

The movie was deemed a failure in its theatre release, but was ultimately successful in the video aftermarket, and produced two sequels, both straight-to-video affairs. The first was titled Darkman: The Return of Robert Durant and revives the main baddie from the first movie for another go around with a property deal and the constant struggle between idealism and the demands of the ordinary world. The movie's action is not as specific as the first film, both for budgetary reasons I suspect and because Raimi only produces this one and doesn't direct. It's a diverting film, echoing much of what happened in the first one as many sequels are wont to do.

Arnold Vosloo (who would go on to become The Mummy) is Darkman this time and he does a pretty decent job in his pre-Mummy days. Larry Drake is back as Durant and dominates the screen with this over-the-top baddie. This movie feels too much a need to cleave to the original and that hampers what can happen. The movie in many ways attempts to recreate the first one beat for beat but with fewer dollars. It's not a smart way to go I think ever.

The second sequel is titled Darkman: Die Darkman Die and progresses the story quite a bit. Jeff Fahey is delightfully vile as the new baddie named Rooker, but this time we see the villain's family who apparently are largely unaware of his crimes. He is confronted by Westlake again played by Vosloo and this time a permanent solution to Darkman's problem is dangled in front of the viewer. What will our hero choose, a life in the shadows dedicated to fighting evil or will he take a chance to live his life fully as Westlake. It's not a bad story really, though it breaks down a bit in the end, there is surprising complexity in this actioner. Whatever its failings at least they tried some new things. Again, Raimi is merely the producer.

I don't know if I want more Darkman movies or not. If Raimi were to direct, I'd say for sure. But with other hands, the special nature of the hero is lost a bit. Darkman is a very tortured superhero, and in the original his battle is so visceral that you feel his agony more than a bit thanks to Neeson's dang good acting. He gives us a Westlake who is truly on the edge of madness. In later installments this aspect is diminished quite a bit, to the detriment of the overall impact of the stories.

But if you've by some chance never seen the Darkman movies, but all means give them a look. The trilogy can be had for pretty small money. The original just might be one of the best superhero movies made before the avalanche of such films we enjoy in the modern day. Thank goodness Raimi was denied the rights to the Shadow, so we could get Darkman. 

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