Darkman Movie Review

Campy horror filmmaker Sam Raimi took the traditional gothic disfigured-man-seeks-revenge premise, mixed it with high-tech details, and turned the monster into a superhero. Mild-mannered scientist Peyton West-lake (Liam Neeson), gruesomely burned and left for dead by gangsters, uses his invention of short-duration synthetic flesh to alter his charred visage and become Darkman, chameleon-like scourge of the criminal underworld. Kinetic camerawork, exquisite violence, and comic-book kitsch add up to a movie that's impossible to take seriously but fun while it lasts. Music by Danny Elfman.

1990 (R) 96m/C Liam Neeson, Frances McDormand, Larry Drake, Colin Friels, Nelson Mashita, Jenny Agutter, Rafael H. Robledo; D: Sam Raimi; W: Chuck Pfarrer, Daniel Goldin, Joshua Goldin, Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi; M: Danny Elfman. VHS, Beta, LV MCA, CCB