In the era of Batman '89, Darkman surely puts it to shame in just about every category: effects, tone, pacing, humor, gags, origins, ingenuity, music, color, sets, even most of the cast fits together and has chemistry. Holds up marvelously.

Blu-ray looks very pretty indeed :))

The movie that always gets forgotten when people put together lists of the best superhero movies of all time -- probably because the character is invented for the screen, rather than adapted to it. And, maybe because its "hero" is a self-described "monster" with a gruesome face. But this really is Raimi's first stab at the genre, and a very successful one.

Plus, it's eerily like a TAKEN movie when you watch it now: Liam Neeson's life gets wrecked and he swears revenge using (in this case literally) superhuman fighting skills.

It also includes the phrases "The Rangeveritz Technique" and "The Bellasarious Memorandum." I love DARKMAN.

It's times like these that the 5 star rating system just isn't good enough. Definitely a 4.25/5

I don't know if I've ever seen a movie that so effortlessly blends so many of my favorite elements into one new (and completely original) whole: Superheroes, Universal horror, The Shadow, Lon Chaney ("The Man With 1000 Faces") movies, and some light dismemberment. I'd write more about how amazing this movie is but I'm tired - what is it about the dark?

Wanna know what the best Liam Neeson moment ever is?
Four words...

"Take the fucking elephant."

If Raimi had done Batman, it'd be brilliant!.

The character is interesting, having an amoral and corrupt superhero is always more interesting than the average hero story. But the movie is pretty dated, not only in the effects, but the set pieces are ridiculous, and make suspension of disbelief almost impossible.The final cameo is great though.

I was going to write a review for this film. But then I decided that the below says more than I ever could with words..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbdeAhpIPhE

HOW did anyone involved in this film go on to have a real career? Sam Raimi employs everything that was WRONG with superhero-type films in the 80's and early 90's. Liam Neeson and Frances McDormand put on the worst performances of their career, barely worthy of a Troma film. (and the casting of McDormand as the female lead/love interest?? Whose idea was that?)

It woud be easy to blame its poor quality on the bad fx and such, but those are simply a product of its era. No, they are not to blame. The basic idea could have made for a decent film, but in the hands of Raimi, it was a complete cheesefest. There are moments scattered throughout where it's not so terrible, but the rest.... well, at times it was so bad, it seemed to be a spoof.

Nice poster.

Wanted to watch this movie for quite some time and Leam Neeson is one of my favorite badasses, but maybe it was the fact that I was watching a football game at the same time, or the fact that I did not watch this when I was a kid…it just did not have that 5 stars effect on me. Dark at some points and very 80’s, Neeson still had a lot to learn at the time and although it is good gore sometimes, it just doesn’t reach that point beyond the so bad is good. It is a film worth seeing but not the masterpiece some people call it.

There’s a certain enjoyability to the film. It has an over-the-top sensibility that is very reminiscent of RoboCop, though without the level of polish of that film. But that lack of polish, the poor special effects and dialogue weigh the film down considerably. This is a film where the enjoyment comes as much from laughing at it as from anything the director actually wanted to engage the audience with. Read full review.

I can't believe how much of this he lifted for the Spidey series. Goblin/Darkman parallels, the final set pieces of this and S3, and Darkman's lair looking a lot like a precursor to Doc Ock's. I miss this early era of Raimi more then most things.

I don't know if I've ever seen a movie that so effortlessly blends so many of my favorite elements into one new (and completely original) whole: Superheroes, Universal horror, The Shadow, Lon Chaney ("The Man With 1000 Faces") movies, and some light dismemberment. I'd write more about how amazing this movie is but I'm tired - what is it about the dark?