#Darkman2

[adamwatchesmovies]

Darkman II: The Return of Durant (1995)

Darkman II: The Return of Durant is a picture that demands special care when reviewing. This is a direct-to-video sequel to the cult classic Darkman. Its target audience is narrow. I say the first film (featuring Liam Neeson, directed by Sam Raimi) is only ok but I can appreciate more of Peyton Westlake/Darkman (this time played by Arnold Vosloo). under those terms, how does it do?

Darkman’s archenemy, Durant (Larry Drake), survived that fatal-looking explosive helicopter crash and has now awakened from a coma. While Darkman continues to search for a way to restore his face using synthetic skin, Durant begins rebuilding his criminal empire.

Darkman II doesn’t really feel like a sequel, more like a weird remake. You go in expecting the rematch of the century, Durant vs. Darkman! Together again for the first time! But the two characters hardly acknowledge each other. It’s not even that Durant thinks about Darkman and decides that he’s going to set aside his plans of revenge so that he can take back the streets for himself; it’s like he doesn’t even remember Darkman. Only during the climax of the film, where a series of coincidental events bring the two men together do we get the rematch that brought us here in the first place. It's disappointing.

I don’t mind Arnold Vosloo, I’ve liked him ever since the Mummy films, but if I were to take a guess at the three things that got people to fall in love with that first story, I’d guess 1) Sam Raimi, 2) Darkman’s look and 3) Liam Neeson! I appreciate, maybe ironically, the footage which retcons some of the original film's events to show Vosloo in the iconic disfiguration scenes that now force Darkman to wear bandages all the time. I was curious about seeing another actor take a swing at this role - Neeson seemed like an odd fit. This change? not an improvement. Overall Vosloo is ok, but like his predecessor, he's not good in the intense moments where Darkman's sanity begins to unravel.

It's not all bad. Durant commissions some superweapons from Dr. Alfred Hathaway (Lawrence Dane), who looks and feels like an evil version of Doc Brown from Back to the Future. That's fun. Some of the female characters are also highlights, as they turn out to be more than would-be damsels in distress or replacement love interests. I don’t have much else to say. The plot is alright. The makeup is pretty good. The violent deaths at the hands of Darkman or the gangsters satisfy. As far as direct-to-video sequels go, it isn’t bad, but I’ve seen better.

Hardcore fans of Darkman will still consider this follow-up more of a curiosity than a great feature to accompany their beloved off-beat superhero flick. The return of Larry Drake is neat but it is ironic. The one actor who returns is the one whose character was clearly bumped off. They don’t really even explain how the guy managed to make it out of that exploding helicopter so I almost want to give extra points to the movie for writing itself into a corner and just giving up and going with the return of Durant anyways. I’m going to give this picture 2,5/5. I don’t really feel like it deserves that much, but no one would ever see Darkman II without seeing the original and having a great time with it. For you, it's worth watching for free at home with the commercial breaks or for a couple of bucks. (On DVD, February 12, 2015)

[swarmm-cod]

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