(Review originally written at 25 December 2004)
"Darkman" is in many ways different from other superhero movies. As a matter of fact, Darkman himself isn't even a superhero. Yet the movie is made as if the movie is a superhero-one, complete with some typical comic book humor, situations and stereotype villains.
The movie begins really promising and has a strong opening. However as the story further develops we notice that the movie tries to be more than just a simple superhero movie like for instance "Batman", it tries to give the movie some emotion and character development. But just like in Sam Raimi's other movie "Spider-Man" it doesn't really pay off in the end. "Darkman" is cool and fun but with all the emotions added to it it is nothing more than an average movie. The combination of superhero/emotions/drama is much better executed in movies like "RoboCop" and "Hulk".
The casting could also have been done better. Liam Neeson really isn't the best choice as main character and Frances McDormand in an early role also seems out of place. Like in so many other movies it are the villains that are the most fun and really are the better characters of the movie. Larry Drake is the unforgettable villain Robert Durant and Dan Bell and Nicholas Worth play some fun villain sidekicks. Yes, the villains really make this movie worth watching.
They could have also put some more effort into the story. For some reason it reminded me way too much of "RoboCop" also probably because the main villain is building a new town just like in "RoboCop" was the case.
Sam Raimi successfully creates a dark and typically Sam Raimi kind of atmosphere along with some great visual style and humor. Also this is what makes this movie slightly above average. But all in all the movie is not a rememberable one.
7/10
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