DARKMAN (1990) Retrospective/Review

[@wstine79]

Liam Neeson has a particular set of skills, but apparently recreating skin cells and nerves isn't one of them.

[@brettcooper3893]

wstine79 lmao. This made my day.

[@lennoxmate4064]

wstine79 brilliant! Proper made me laugh!

[@jswatch9270]

liam neeson is perfect

[@KarstensCreationsKC]

Perfect comment. You just won the internet, my man.

[@Cyborganna]

Quickly, there's no time!

[@NavySharkz]

I frickin love this movie. It was Sam truly at his "Raimiest!" "I told you everything" "I know you did Rick. I know. BUT LET'S PRETEND THAT YOU DIDN'T!!!" Classic! :-D

[@p_nk7279]

I totally loved this film!

[@robzilla730]

.me too ! Liked it better than his Spiderman films...

[@NavySharkz]

@robzilla730 Right on bro! Me too.

[@Larry]

Poor old Arnold Vosloo, forever typecast to play characters wrapped in bandages :D

[@laeldestan1536]

I happen to enjoy Arnold in this series. It was nice to see him playing a hero instead of villains like The Mummy or Hard Target.

[@zachthezombie]

Lael Destan plus you wouldn't want to hurt his feelings hehe

[@Nobodyneedsabodyanymore]

Two of my favorite KZbinrs in one place. Cool.

[@alienboy1322]

I felt that the Darkman sequels are pointless.

[@rolandog5424]

Arnold was not bad he made him more I'am Sure of myself Dark-man Arnold Vooslo made him More of a Dark hero on a Mission this one with liam was more I'm getting to know his deformity and trying to understand his new found Powers the first film was more of the discovery of his new persona

[@GothamKnight84661]

Darkman is an underrated flim one of Raimi's best work. The sequel's had their moments, the first one is the best one. R.I.P Larry Drake.

[@tylerskiss]

I think Darkman is right where it ought to be: Not a huge hit, but a comfortable cult status, like most of Raimi's earlier work. Darkman is one of the few cult films that hasn't become hipster-chic. I almost feel like the Evil Dead is almost beyond cult-status at this point because everyone knows it and references it. Darkman is still... dark enough.

[@Moleplay]

100% agreed. I love the Evil Dead movies but Darkman is still Raimis best movie in my opinion.

[@TampaJay]

I wholeheartedly agree with this comment

[@georgieramone]

"Take the fucking elephant" is the greatest line in cinema history. I love that whole sequence. Darkman is definitely one of my favorites of all time. I really enjoy your retrospectives Oliver. I discovered your channel semi recently and have been binge watching your videos lately. You should do one for "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", thats an old favorite of mine I'd love to see a retrospective/review of. Thanks for the great content.

[@dsandoval9396]

There's another channel that's pretty good called "Georg Rockall-Schmidt" that does movie retrospectives too, he's actually pretty interesting. You should definitely check it out.

[@KarstensCreationsKC]

Actually, my favorite wine is at the end when he's holding villains by his ankle in the air... The villain says he doesn't have the guts to drop him because he wouldn't be able to live with himself, Liam lets him go and as he screams, plunging to his death, he mutters "I've learned to live with a lot of things"... I freaking love that line.

[@Jerry-oz2sj]

Roger rabbit sounds good

[@mohdroshidi1636]

You talking to me,I'll be back,I want your clothes your boot and your motorcycle,you forgot to say please

[@clarkkent6035]

I heard he fully recovered after he found the Lazarus Pit and went on to train Bruce Wayne.

[@leecroft1983]

Wish movie's were still made like this. Nothing wrong with CGI but the technique is clearly being overused today, most movie's nowadays look like a videogame rather then film.

[@Joshua_N-A]

Oversaturation of CGI breaks a movie. Even Terminator 2, which have CGI is 95% practical. Jurassic Park only had 15 minutes of CGI animation. Today's technology could've bring animatronics and miniatures into the 21st century. CGI should be only used when it's necessary. I don't mind if a film has only 1% of CGI in it, it just need the proper use and execution of special effects in both practical and visual department.

[@Freakazoid12345]

Interesting that in here, CGI was used as actual cgi in the movie to display a holographic nose and other things like the hand, I believe (the head was obviously too good to be cgi, you can even see Liam Neeson's eye move as he's rotating), so it was used perfectly in the film. T2 used it well, Tron was in a computer world. Incredible that people can get million dollar budgets approved and mess up things that an average audience member can understand right away, in terms of what special effects are good/work.

[@gutz1981]

Ha ha, love the Sideshow Bob reference with the Die Bart Die. No one who speaks German can be bad. LOL

[@dsandoval9396]

I was looking for this comment, lol! It was a great reference 😂

[@KarstensCreationsKC]

Actually, The Simpsons we're referencing the film Die Blacula Die as was Darkman as the film was a nod to the monster movies of the 30s and 40s, and the Blacula movies were as well...

[@Freakazoid12345]

Neat!

[@johntziannis359]

This is the most underrated movie. It was entertaining and the actors were amazing.

[@hairy_cornflake]

This movie is my childhood, I remember watching this sooooo many times as a kid. Awesome awesome flick! I quite simply love Sam Raimi's work, it just clicks with me and reminds me a lot of my early teens and childhood.

[@Helios824]

And Spider-Man too

[@at3479]

Surprisingly, this was the film that made me watch Sam Raimi films. I had heard of him but never saw the Evil Dead films at the time. The trailers got me intrigued so much as a kid that it felt like a comic book film. Larry Drake as Robert G. Durant was a highlight and his persona on screen was different than Benny from L.A. Law. Thanks for this retrospective.

[@romegavadquez6310]

at3479 surprisingly, nobody gives a shit

[@remingtonwood749]

Sam Raimi is a wonderful director whose films are cemented as cult classics. I certainly hope you have had time to watch his other works. All the same, it's good to know he is appreciated.

[@M2Mil7er]

I love the 'The Darkman, The' joke. I've convinced people that Die Hard in Germany was called 'The Hard'.

[@cloudtx]

I loved it when I watched it for the first time as a kid. It was such a good mix of action and horrific imagery. The moments when Darkman gets angry and sees fire all around him made my skin crawl. So creepy. This is an underrated classic from the 90's for sure.

[@starsiegeplayer]

"The Darkman, the." That joke never gets old :)

[@Harkness78]

23:10 I mean, who is more likely to turn into a super hero then scientists working on dangerous new technologies/medicine? That trope has never bothered me.

[@lastsc7429]

The makeup artist really did an amazing job in this Film!

[@darkabyss3353]

You made my wish come true!!!! This is exactly the movie I've been waiting for you to review!!! It's my favorite movie of all time! I've been watching it since I was 3 and am now 27. Know the entire script by memory!!

[@TheDarkHour684]

what outstanding parents you had

[@sfighter0085]

Oh hell yeah, "Darkman" is such an awesome movie. The first "Darkman" movie I saw as a kid was sadly "Darkman 3:Die Darkman Die". But the first "Darkman" movie I rented was "Darkman 2:The Return of Durant". I finally rented the original movie when my local video store had it, but for a while I always skipped over the scene at the carnival with those robot clowns. Nowadays I watch that scene and have no real problems at all (The second robot clown is still a bit freaky though). But yeah, "Darkman" really rocks, great story, performances, special effects, and action. Fantastic review/retrospective as always Oliver.

[@JoeVincentPresents]

Loved it! Getting close to the 100k brother, Good work!

[@Sparkle0501]

Now he is closer to 200k

[@Demonico-j7x]

1990 was a good year for big budget action movies. You had Darkman, Die Hard 2, Robocop 2, Predator 2. Even TNMT was awesome despite being a more kid targeted movie. Still had a violent edge to it and was criticised as such. Love me some over the top violent movies with balls.

[@KevinJamesVideo]

I had been waiting on this one since I first discovered your channel. So glad to see you cover it!

[@KevinJamesVideo]

+5 points for the Sideshow Bob joke.

[@johnironz5676]

"Where is the money Pauly......What money I didn't make the pick up, I've been right here sleeping"!! 😆 😆 😂 😂

[@justahumanblendingin3996]

This is a great movie. Liam did an amazing job with his acting on this.

[@TampaJay]

I will be watching the heck out of this! Although many people disagree with me. This has always been one of my favorites.

[@paulpizzlewizzle]

I loved Darkman.

[@jswatch9270]

i like the movie too

[@dsandoval9396]

One of the best movies I've ever seen to date!

[@cursedmonkey1033]

I watched this with my best friend when it first came out on video when we were teens. Cliff had this habit when we were watching movies of inexplicably bursting out laughing. He would just start laughing his ass off for a good three or four minutes. When he eventually calmed down you could ask him what he had found so funny. In the case of this particular film it was when Liam Neeson came flying out of the building when it got blown up.

[@AlexThe1Menace]

Maybe it's because Darkman isn't based on any comic book films but I always thought this film was never talked about enough. Super underrated film and one of my favorites from Sam Raimi.

[@விஷ்ணு_கார்த்திக்]

Darkmam resembles The Shadow.

[@BonyFingers1969]

Darkman was in the comic book world Source; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darkman_(character)#:~:text=The%20character%20originated%20in%20a,disfigured%20hero%20the%20Unknown%20Soldier.

[@trinidadbotello9906]

I like the first Tim Burton Batman movie, but if Sam Raimi made the movie back in 1989, the movie would've been great. I've read, that Raimi was considered to direct Batman Forever, and if he had made it, of course the movie would've been great. Sam Raimi can make a Batman movie nowadays, and it would be great.

[@beeman2075]

I agree. No offence to Joel Schumacher, but if Sam Raimi had directed Batman Forever, I personally think it would have been a much better film than the one we were given.

[@CatLives9]

Raimi would've made "Batman Forever" lighter in tone without all that neon, but still keep the whole aesthetics set by Burton and maybe even Danny Elfman's score. I think Michael Keaton would've stayed on, too, under Raimi's direction. We'd sadly never know.

[@trinidadbotello9906]

Feline Fatale Raimi would've made the film lighthearted, without it being too campy. The serious and lighthearted stuff would've work perfectly, if Raimi made Batman Forever (just look at Evil Dead 2). I think, Keaton would've still played Batman, if Raimi made the movie.

[@jswatch9270]

true but I love batman forever along with batman 1989

[@justbny9278]

@W.A M.P of course not ffs

[@davehandelman2832]

Great job, Oliver. I remember seeing this in the theatre and LOVED it. Though we ALL wanted a sequel, we all (also) knew it would never be able to top the original. So it's best left as a special one shot!

[@MaximumMadnessStixon]

"Darkman" has always been a favorite of mine. I grew up in the 90's, and remember liking the sequels quite a bit as well back in the day, but I was pretty young at the time. I recently re-watched all three films, and my views have definitely changed in regards to the follow-ups. The original is still a good, solid film in terms of production, performance and narrative. But the manic "Sam Raimi factor" is what elevates it. Great flick on the whole. Glad I own the Shout Factory Blu-Ray, and it's something I'd highly recommend. For a direct-to-video film, "Darkman II" definitely isn't bad, either. It looks like it had a sizeable budget in comparison to most modern DTV follow-ups, and there are some great moments. And even though it's sillier than hell, I always got a kick out of the cheesy sub-plot involving the "particle guns" and how they're going to be sold on the streets, because it feels like something right out of a kitschy 90's comic-book. Arnold Vosloo is a bit miscast, but he nails the quieter moments. On the whole, it's one of the better DTV sequels I've seen. As long as you go in with lowered expectations, it's perfectly watchable. By contrast, "Darkman III" is borderline unwatchable in my opinion. It's clear the director and cast were more interested in the second installment, and that the third chapter was more of an obligation than a passion. It's direction is fine, but it looks like it was rushed and had less of a budget. Performances are cheesy and over-the-top. And it really starts to show how much of a corporate product it is, with its rampant use of stock-footage from the previous two films inserted throughout where they couldn't be bothered to film new material, plus the insertion of a full frickin' Universal Studios commercial into a scene for no reason. They practically pause the film to show it. The worst offender though was the moment that they literally lifted an entire 2-minute scene from "Darkman II" and insert it into the third film to pad out the runtime. It's literally the exact same scene. Stuff like that killed it for me. "Darkman III" is only about 87 minutes... if you subtracted the stock-footage, credits, recap and commercial scene, you'd probably only have about a 65-70 minute movie.

[@M2Mil7er]

All time classic film. Jenny Agutter always makes a good nurse!

[@alienlv426ify]

But of course!

[@GamerForLifeDrakunia]

Oh hell yeah Olly! :)

[@brettcooper3893]

Still waiting on the retrospective of Sarah Connor Chronicles...

[@jc7671]

"In the darkest hour, there is a light, that shines on every human being but one."

[@TheVileOne]

The montage edits you have for your videos Oliver Harper are probably better than most trailers. At least better than the trailers probably made for some of these films. Some of my favorite parts of your videos!

[@KarstensCreationsKC]

Agreed. When the final montage is coming up, I always pause the review, kick back in my chair w/ the headphones on, and say... "Ok...here we go." ...PLAY

[@ovidioolivo7274]

Thanks for this I needed it. Love your videos Mister Harper keep up the great work. One of my favorite films.

[@bobcharlotte8724]

No one who speaks German could be an evil man.. PAROLE GRANTED!

[@Tubeite]

bobcharlotte Die Bart, Die

[@seanmcmanus9575]

Awesome retrospective Oliver I love darkman such an underrated movie would you consider doing a retrospective on quick and the dead

[@wouldwebealive]

Again a great review of classic material, thanks Oliver!

[@mtank30]

Excellent work as usual, Oliver. And I loved the SIMPSONS reference. ("Vie! Darkman, Vie!") I remember DARKMAN had a great tagline when it came out that really made me want to see it. "In our darkest hour, there is a light that shines on every man...except one." Great marketing. Look forward to your next review!

[@nassmatic]

I saw this with my mom at the theatre in 1990...she's your typical "Jane Austen-Bronte" fan and she loved this movie.

[@darkroger7379]

I've been waiting for this retrospective for way too long!! XD

[@LinkMarioSamus]

I have a bit of an affection for old-style superhero movies (the good ones at least lol). I also liked the new Doctor Strange movie which Raimi directed though.

[@Kalevra75]

I love Darkman. The sequels are guilty pleasures of mine.

[@rolandog5424]

I like Arnold Vooslo Portrayal because he becomes a more Confident Hero

[@ceufrscio707]

2:38-fun fact that alleyway is used again in spiderman 2. 18:26

[@gutspuck721]

I LOVED darkman so much! I also had the Amiga Darkman game!

[@isaacsreviews1]

Mr. Harper, thank you for this. I discovered this movie a couple of years ago, and it has since become annual viewing. Thank you.

[@AdrianMendoza23]

Another great retrospective Oliver. I saw this when I was a kid. My parents rented this for me and my brother and we loved it.

[@austinwoods466]

Brilliant video. I love these. It's like a wikipedia come to life. 99% of the time these are more informative than DVD bonus features (discounting director, actor, crew commentaries) which is really saying something. #BestofKZbin

[@rolandog5424]

Dark-Man is One of my favorite Characters Sam Ramii I like he had a love interest but the character is Priceless and I want them to reboot it!

[@thereisnosanctuary6184]

Yo yo yo you talkin about Darkman? With the incomparable Liam Neeson's? That is my jam

[@auvelier]

I love how you made a great effort not to crack up after the Sideshow Bob joke.

[@zachthezombie]

wow just like darkman the film you got a lot of info across in a short amount of time well done olli you are very efficient in your editing and scripting keep up the good work

[@trinidadbotello9906]

Yes Oliver! Sam Raimi can successfully combine Action, Comedy, Drama, and Horror. That's one of the reasons, Raimi is one of my favorite filmmakers.

[@BrendanMacWade]

I had no idea Jenny Agutter had a small role in this movie (along with her American Warewolf director John Landis!). What a cast. Also, if there was no Darkman, there would be no Spiderman 1 & 2 eleven years later. This was my most favorite movie of 1990. I saw a late night screen at an arthouse cinema on the same night I watched the original Flatliners. Darkman was so much more fun and hilarious (the old Hollywood dissolve on McDormand looking up at the explosion to wearing black at her boyfriend's funeral had the audience howling with laughter. I don't think there was another comic book movie as good until Logan nearly 27 years later.

[@tomsenior7405]

A Grand review. Cheers Oliver. I bloody love this film.

[@calvinwoolfolk324]

O yea I always like the darkman movies I wish they would bring him back now he was like Batman the mummy zartan the phantom of the opera n Freddy Krueger all in one 😎😎😎😎

[@bartonez123]

I used to watch this movie a lot as a kid on VHS. In retrospect, it was a fairly violent movie for an 8 year old kid to be watching lol.

[@jesseslack2089]

Your reviews are the best cause 1 you review what I like 97% of the time but the main reason is you play the og trailer, talk about bts and all kinds of just random facts that are awesome, and give great pro's and cons to all the films!

[@calvinwoolfolk324]

Darkman was like a superhero Freddy Krueger just like Spawn too but without the knife glove lol 😎😆😎😆

[@shaneodwyer6132]

Great video as always - here's a few leftfield suggestions from the same era for future episodes - The People Under the Stairs; Candyman; Nightbreed; Falling Down.

[@ben8447]

I need to watch this. Thanks for putting together such a great documentary.

[@danielcontreras561]

Good job on this video. However, at 08:45, you said that director Sam Raimi cameos as one of the hospital staff but that's Sam's older brother Ivan.

[@mikemacdee6390]

3 definitely isn't pointless. I think it does the most interesting thing with Darkman's disguise powers: making him the father and husband to a broken family, at first simply to keep from blowing his cover, but then deliberately over time as he realizes the real man of the house abuses and neglects them. It struck me as more fascinating than the plot of the original and it'd be nice if they'd had a better cast, budget, and director.

[@SteveSmith-wk9dx]

Darkman really had the feel of an existing comicbook property despite its original umm... origins. And I raise a glass to Moviedrome (and Alex Cox), which introduced me to films like Knightriders, The Wicker Man, Night of the Comet and Yojimbo.

[@zombie587]

Oliver you’re the best part of my workday you take up long increments of time with incredible knowledge and awesome videos that I’ve you later when I get home excellent listening material thank you for your smooth voice

[@darkhawk1979]

"Darkman is easy to get hold of on Bluray". I drove 50km and an hour of driving to go to 3 different stores and they only had the sequels! I only saw it for the first time last night, I love that bit with the pink elephant!

[@powerbomb4833]

Another amazing retrospective, Oliver. I watched this movie yesterday and with the information provided here I'm now really interested to watch the 2nd and 3rd movie, regardless of your opinion on them 😁

[@Johny40Se7en]

I've got to watch this, never even heard of it and it looks awesome and as soon as it starts I recognised Danny Elfman's dark orchestral cues. I can definitely see the inspiration for Darkman with Harvey Dent /' Two Face. Great video Oliver.

[@lawregulator]

Man I love this movie. I'm glad you did a retrospective on it!!! Pink Elephant! Quickly!

[@CatLives9]

Great episode! I'd like to make a few possible retrospective suggestions: Clive Barker's "Nightbreed", Wes Craven's "Shocker"

[@AMANAPLANACANALPANTS]

I love how Raimi has a similar shot of a guys head being smashed through glass in the first Spider-Man movie. Anybody remember that?

[@leecroft1983]

Would love to see Darkman brought back and put into the Marvel TV shows of Daredevil and Punisher, I think the character would suit along side those characters really well.

[@bdavis24fan]

TAKE THE FUCKIN ELEPHANT!!!!!

[@KarstensCreationsKC]

"BUUUUURN IN HELL!" :)

[@Duty272]

good old times,darkman rules

[@biguy617]

This movie is incredibly awesome. I love it. It is underrated and my favorite Liam Neeson movie.

[@xxMpEGxx]

Sam Raimi: I don't want to be associated with horror films only Also Sam Raimi creates Darkman (Part Horror, Part Superhero)

[@nerfytheclown]

...Sigh. "I have no idea why they put ninjas in there" shows a major lack of understanding with regard to; it was TMNT era. Ninjas because ninjas. There is no "why". It was America and it was ninjas and it was better than rainbows and unicorns.

[@orwellianson]

One of my favorite flicks of all time.

[@aidanlynn]

So I should watch Darkman 3 before Darkman 2?

[@terrywright8289]

"Where is the money pauly"!....."What Money! Like I said Mr. Durrant I didn't make the pick up, I've been right here sleeping"!!!😂😂😂

[@91Definite]

That shit was crazy 😂🤣! They definitely took his ass out for that 🤣!

[@gilbertiniguez2544]

Did anybody notice that Liam Neeson in Dark Man 1 looked exactly like Imhotep's 2nd form from the mummy and that it's ironic that the man who played Imhotep played Dark man in the later film.

[@jaysonraphaelmurdock8812]

Good one

[@walter_the_wobot2349]

I need to watch this movie again. I haven't seen it since I was a kid. I remember not liking it at the time.

[@stewartbladensb]

Been saving this all week.

[@Andrews_Wrestling_Life]

you so should do this for Toxic Avenger

[@kevindeanschrooders]

Ever think about doing American Psycho? Another great review, by the way!

[@retroworld8090]

This movie is even better than I remember. Watched it recently. Awesome.

[@niterida380]

I always liked this film. One thing I never understood was how did Westlake account for height and weight of the villains?

[@jbrown1169]

I need to watch this again, I've only seen it once and that was way back when it first came out on VHS when I was probably 11. My brother and I were fans of the Batman movies back then and I think we rented this expecting something along those lines. I don't think we were all that impressed but I remember being pretty sucked in. Like it wasn't really my thing but it was well done enough that I cared how it turned out.

[@MatsMovieReviews]

Loved this film on release Particularly like the reference to movie drome with alex cox used to love this it introduced me to some classics like trancers!! 👍

[@GameplayandTalk]

My only experience with Darkman was seeing it in videogame magazines in the early '90s. The film looks like a fun watch, so I'll have to check it out sometime.

[@AnthonyJames13]

20:24 "What about that tattoo on your chest? Doesn't it say die Bart, die?" "Nooo, that's German for The Bart, The."

[@Laserdreamz]

What a cool movie, had the Amstrad game at the time, loved how most of Ocean's movie conversions were basically the same game...Batman, Robocop, Hudson Hawk, Darkman!....very similar!

[@fox-jake8784]

Darkman is probably one of Sam Raimi's best films. TBH I wish we had more darker superheroes like Darkman, Spawn and the Crow. Also with all of the awesome stunts and practical effects, I'm surprised Raimi never made a traditional action movie in the 80's or 90's.

[@jerrymelvin2650]

if hollyweird want to remake..how about bale to take the mantle?when i was a kid how Liam portrayed the character, really superb..i feel sad of him..it's makes me cry a bit..so i think if they want to remake..the actor had a really hard job..and must be a serious actor..and the villain..maybe Garry Oldman would be great..

[@PictureProductStudio]

Thanks for an interesting retrospective. Being a big fan of a character I've seen, played and read most of the mentioned. I can thoroughly agree that two direct-to-video sequels are exactly as you described: not bad but so paling in comparison there's no joy in watching them. I like, however, that Durant remains Darkman's archenemy in practically every version: in Marvel comic (far superior then the sequels) he gets resurrected as a cyborg, while in Dynamite crossover which follows the sequels he returns as a deadite. As for Darkman changing the voice and overall appearance: movie does a far better job then many movies with a mask gimmick: we can see Peyton practicing voice throwing and mimicry and recording Durant's voice, we can see the height difference in some scenes (Notably Smiley, as seen on 26:47) and, well... acting by Larry Drake and Nicholas Worth who portray the masks the longest really sells the illusion, as both are great and do a great job mimicking Neeson trying to mimic them.

[@asifkhan4822]

Darkman is a serious cult classic movie with a superb lead performance by Liam Neeson. Arnold Vosloo just couldn't capture this. Great comic book movie.

[@simonwoodthrillerwriter]

I remember this having a fun but sadly wasted ad campaign in the British press. A couple of months before the film came out I kept seeing 2" square ads in the newspaper with "Who is Darkman?" & "Have you seen the Darkman?" with the Darkman's silhouette. I didn't know what they were about until the film came out and it made sense but i wondered how many people missed these tiny adverts.

[@joeycampbell3703]

nice review hope you do more

[@paralentor]

Saw this twice in the movies. Never met anyone else who loved this movie like me. When Raimi's Spiderman came out I had to chuckle inside at how Darkman was it's template.