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Darkman 2: Return of Durant |
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Darkman 2: Return of Durant
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by Universal Studios
Sales Rank: 44367
Price: $9.98
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Sam Raimi created <I>Darkman</I> with a potential franchise in mind, and his original movie had enough flair to suggest a sequel was warranted. Unfortunately (or perhaps wisely--for Raimi), he handed over the straight-to-video sequel duties to rookie director Bradford May, and nobody bothered to come up with much of a screenplay. As a result, <I>Darkman II</I> plays like a bad pilot for a proposed <I>Darkman</I> TV series, with Arnold Vosloo (best known as a villain in Jean-Claude Van Damme's <I>Hard Target</I>) doing his best to replace Liam Neeson in the title role. Sporting a dastardly scar and delivering lackluster punch lines as he kills his many enemies, Larry Drake returns from the first film as the villainous Durant, who wreaks havoc in his attempt to finance and manufacture the world's most destructive automatic weapons. As he supports the synthetic skin experiments of a like-minded scientist, the scarred hero known as Darkman thwarts Durant's ruthless plot, but the case proves costly for the intrepid crime reporter (Kim Delaney, pre-<I>NYPD Blue</I>) who allies herself with Darkman's efforts. Basically, this by-the-numbers plot serves as a tissue-thin vehicle for lots of explosions and gratuitous violence, and it's all about as inspired as a bad syndicated action show. Of interest only to those who were dazzled by the original <I>Darkman</I>, and even then it's a disappointment. <I>--Jeff Shannon</I>
Viewer Reviews
Darkman 2 pretty much captures the same feel of the first. But it kind of took a turn for the Batman style. The costumed vigilante thing and to include his own "secret" lair. I didn't find this sequel as good as the first but it's still fun to watch.
Larry Drake returns as the ruthless criminal Robert G. Durant. Someway, somehow, he survives that helicopter crash with only a few scars and a limp. As crazy as his return sounds, I'm glad to see him back. In fact his character is what makes this movie watchable to me. Hes still just as ruthless with some funny lines. Without a doubt he's the highlight to me. Arnold Vosloo is the new Darkman/Peyton Westlake and surprisingly he's good. I didn't see too much of a difference.
Durant is trying to put together a company to manufacture super weapons. He muscles in on a scientist that is skilled in the same area as Peyton Westlake. These two try to form a partnership until Durant gives the guy his worst and final beating of his life. This sends Darkman hot on his heels for revenge.
The action scenes and cleverness doesn't match up to the original. But it never felt boring to me. There was enough action going on to keep this fun. Darkman looks a bit like Freddy Krueger, he could actually make a good horror vilian.
Darkman 2 is a worthy sequel and at the very least is good for a rental. I enjoyed the first two, they're real nice popcorn flicks to past the time.
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