Darkman (1990)
Directed by Sam Raimi
Dr. Peyton Westlake is on the verge of realizing a major breakthrough in synthetic skin when his laboratory is destroyed by gangsters. Having been burned beyond recognition and forever altered by an experimental medical procedure, Westlake becomes known as Darkman, assuming alternate identities in his quest for revenge and a new life with a former love.
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3 films that influenced Darkman
What critics say influenced Darkman
Raimi beats us over the head with that theme often, but as a cartoon this is perfectly acceptable—this isn't exactly in the same territory as Notorious , but I can imagine the Master of Suspense enjoying Raimi's work here.
The cheeky family comedy, from the people behind "Antz" and "Chicken Run," wags its finger at all of us humans for buying more food then we need — fast food, junk food, food we have delivered because we're too lazy to leave the comfort of our cookie-cutter houses and drive to the grocery store in our gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles, which, like the ever-growing encroachment of suburbia, are contributing to the destruction of the environment the cuddly "Over the Hedge" creatures call home.
But the direction by Tim Johnson ("Antz") and Karey Kirkpatrick (writer of "Chicken Run") sets a nice visual tone, portraying the disaster-prone neighborhood like a game of The Sims gone horribly awry, with the occasional mushroom cloud livening up the action.
Still, as co-directed by Tim Johnson (Antz) and Karey Kirkpatrick (the screenwriter of Chicken Run and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy), Over the Hedge is a bright, vibrant treat.
Darkman owes as much to The Invisible Man (1933) or Phantom of the Opera (1943) (with perhaps a dash of the Dr Phibes films for good measure) as it does to Batman or The Shadow , thanks to Darkman ‘s bandage-swathed appearance, flowing black cape and Gothic base of operations.
''Darkman'' invites the comparison, an odd strategy for an ambitious and self-consciously old-fashioned film whose hero spends much of his time looking like Claude Rains in ''The Invisible Man.''
It mixes camp with blockbuster live-action scenes and draws on the scenario of the 'misunderstood monster,' that is best seen in Whale' wonderfully creative and sensitive version of "Frankenstein" (31) and his ''The Invisible Man" (33) that has Claude Rains in a quandry on how to handle his new look.