Delayed Reaction: Darkman

What I Guessed It Was About: I don't know. Who is Darkman? He's a man in the darkness - no - of the darkness. Is he good? Is he evil? Is he both? He has a particular set of skills. Oh, geez.

How I Came Into It: I didn't know this was a Sam Rami film and that's key knowledge. He has a way of doing things that are messy and look almost amateurish if you assume that he doesn't know what he's doing. Given that this was his first studio film, there may have been some amateurism to it as well.

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) Rami committed to a style and I appreciate that commitment. He wanted something that was reminiscent to the old Universal horror movies of the 30s and 40s as well as having a comic book aesthetic. He largely succeeded at this. Liam Nesson and Frances McDormand (with an Oscar nomination under her belt at the time) are better leads than this movie normally could've gotten.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: Rami has never been focused on getting the best out of his actors. He's gotten better over the years, but it's never been a strength. Nesson and McDormand are completely wasted in this. Apparently, this script went through a dozen drafts, numerous writers, and even caused an editor to have a mental breakdown after the fact. All of that sounds plausible, having seen the movie. It seems like Rami had a lot of ideas but they don't all work together very well or comfortably.

Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend