Gentlemen, I make it no secret that I grow more sick of you people every day. Especially you. Yes, you. But why? I know why, but I'll just pretend I don't. And in the spirit of voluntary ignorance, I shall claim we need to talk about something new (see title). Well, not new, just new here. Something we all know about. Something, when mentioned, will make you think "Hey, I know about that! I can totally get in on this!"
Gentlemen, I give you this topic of discussion: Darkman.
Yes. Darkman. Which should also be known now as Spiderman 0, because goddamnit, it totally is. Don't pretend you haven't you haven't seen it. And don't pretend you hate it, because nobody hated it. It's a scientific fact. The movie was unquestionably a success, and it was well received by all walks of life. Despite all that, nobody on the internet remembers this dude existed.
When was the last time you've actually seen Darkman, really? The 90s? Is that fair to Darkman? Doesn't he deserve better than that? The dude had all the feel of a comic book hero adapted to the big screen despite not being a comic book hero. Think about that for a second. Sam Raimi wanted to make a superhero movie, but nobody would give him the rights to any character worth a damn. So he fricken gave us Darkman. A decade later, he got to make Spiderman movies.
So, how can something that looks so dumb when seeing small parts of it possibly be good? Simple! By watching Liam Neeson devolve into a complete ****ing lunatic over the course of the movie. Just look at this ****.
Green Goblin went to bed every night, dreaming he was capable of rage on that level. He's the fricken incredible hulk, minus the box office flop. And he just keeps getting crazier and crazier. By the end, he's dangling from helicopters, shooing away pursuing police helicopters, and telling them to get lost. Why? Because the guy riding in this helicopter is his.
Also, unlike practically every other superhero who gets a movie, he has the balls to actually kill people. No, you don't wind up gagged & bound in front of a police station. You wind up dead if you **** with Darkman. And that matters. His revenge turns him from someone you feel sorry for to someone you root for, but more importantly, it makes him more & more crazy.
Now, personally, I gotta say I find Darkman to be a really bad movie. Watched it with a friend of mine a few years ago, just didn't dig it. Also found it to be a really not so perfect performance from the usually stellar Liam Neeson.
Now, the go-to awesome superhero who kills movie of the early-to-mid 90s for me is The Crow, freakin' masterpiece. Watch it many a time, always awesome.
As for Sam Raimi, I am a fan of most of his stuff despite Darkman heh, gotta love Evil Dead II, Army of Darkness and all that, plus that early movie Crimewave is fun.
-- One Piece: Pirates with style! -= Metal Gear Solid: Tactical Espionage Action =-
As for killing or not killing, that's not such a big deal, you can find plenty of both. And both can be equally good for a narrative, I mean the best character ever Kenshin decided to stop killing.
But as far as movies based on comics with lots of killing, look forward to DREDD this September.
-- One Piece: Pirates with style! -= Metal Gear Solid: Tactical Espionage Action =-
For you, o master of random references, I shall repent and watch this Darkman. And post results in this topic if it still exists by the time I get around to it.
-- No problem! This is a cute and pop genocide of love!
Veola posted... When was the last time you've actually seen Darkman, really? The 90s?
If it wasn't for the NES game, I wouldn't even know Darkman existed. As it is, I've never actually seen or heard any direct references to the movie once in my life.
The true irony of Darkman is when you see Bruce Campbell's cameo at the end, and realize that the entire movie has literally been Liam Neeson playing Bruce Campbell. And doing an accurate job of it, too
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We are thought, and reality, and concept, and the unimaginable
DeathChicken posted... The true irony of Darkman is when you see Bruce Campbell's cameo at the end, and realize that the entire movie has literally been Liam Neeson playing Bruce Campbell. And doing an accurate job of it, too
Could you explain that theory? Though that cameo was the highlight for me and my buddy, ha I mean the bitter and weird performance Liam gives is nothing like the lovable man gone insane (while still lovable) performance Bruce gives in his Raimi movies.
Also, everybody see The Cabin In The Woods.
Also...
-- One Piece: Pirates with style! -= Metal Gear Solid: Tactical Espionage Action =-
Um. Yeah it is. Darkman goes from a someone who never hurt anybody, to someone who doesn't even feel bad about killing others. And that ****ing terrified him. He even had a corny monologue about it, which was just impossible to take seriously, but it still happened. That's slightly different from a guy who one-sidedly murders a bunch of dudes, tells people not to do drugs, and when he's done, goes "Welp, that was fun! Seeya!" Or guys who were at least trained to handle killing. He doesn't do that justice crap. Or duty crap. Or "hey, I'm back from the dead and can't be killed, I should fight crime!" crap.
I respect your opinion, but the various comparisons and ideas you just presented there don't really hang together cohesively.
I'm not saying deciding to kill is not a big deal within a narrative, I'm saying focusing on this being a hero who kills as a selling point isn't a big deal, since that's not so hard to come by.
And hey, you're entitled to your view that the character Darkman is better realized than Eric Draven, I'll just very much agree to disagree right there.
-- One Piece: Pirates with style! -= Metal Gear Solid: Tactical Espionage Action =-
Actually, I'm not. I'm currently passionate about discussing Darkman. Because this has never happened. Ever. Shut up, Leonhart.
It could have been anything, really. For example, the first time anyone's ever seen that part in Jurassic Park when the raptors got into visitor center, everyone thinks that one kid wanted the other kid's jello, and that's why the long stare was happening. Everyone thought that. Everyone. I once brought it up with people, and they thought, "Oh crap, I thought I was the only one!" Everyone thought it. But nobody talks about it. I could have made us discuss that.
You are all doing a terrible job of discussing. This guy busted into a board meeting like the Kool-Aid Man. Cuz he just doesn't tolerate that ****. Discuss that, damnit.