Darkman [Blu-ray]

Theatrical Release: August 24, 1990
DVD Release: March 31, 1998
Blu-ray Release: June 15, 2010
Director: Sam Raimi
Writer: Sam Raimi
Rating: R

Reviewer: Eric

Darkman is one of those classic movies that you will want to buy anytime a new version comes out. Me, I love Darkman and I am one of those who have to own every version of Darkman. Since I love Darkman and some people would call me an idiot I went ahead and bought Darkman again, but this time on the crystal clear blu-ray edition.

Before Sam Raimi was making Spider-man there was another superhero movie entitled Darkman. Darkman is about scientist Peyton Westlake (Liam Neeson), a man who is so close to creating synthetic skin. Anytime Westlake is even close the skin starts to melt at the 99 minute mark. Some unfortunate events fall in Westlake’s lap in-between all of this and Westlake is living in the shadows after surviving a chemical fire.

Honestly the plot of Darkman is a mix between Spider-man and Evil Dead, well I think it is. It has the strangeness as Evil Dead did and at the same time it had serious, almost superhero moments like Spider-man. I mean come on isn’t it kind of funny that our hero, Peyton Westlake, is working on a cure for skin and then he needs to use it? Just how Westlake becomes Darkman is just out there and sort of random in ways.

Still as random as it may be this is one of Sam Raimi’s best movies I think. I do like the craziness that the Evil Dead franchise had but the original Darkman has some of the most random moments I cinema history. Who can forget the elephant comment at the carnival? Anytime I think of Liam Neeson saying “take the fucking elephant” I laugh out loud. This is the sort of writing that grabs the attention of those who have a sense of humor and can overlook some of the not so hot parts in movies.

What else makes this movie worthy of another purchase? The action sequences, of course! Now with the help of blu-ray technology we can see how bad some of these action sequences really are. No, this isn’t a bad thing, this is a good thing. I mean the helicopter ride into a building, through the glass…CLASSIC. I could seriously watch this movie as either an action/superhero movie or a comedy. Darkman rocks!

The visuals on this disc are presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Overall it is a nice picture but some of the films details are over looked and sometimes they seem to appear to be a tad blurry. I don’t know if the film got damaged or if the VC-1 encoding process was just not working out for Darkman. Not the best transfer but it is an improvement over the DVD one.

Same goes for the audio as hard as it is to say. The DTS-HD 5.1 sound mix does a nice job with the explosions and gun shots, you will feel like you are almost right there at times. The audio just does not give justice to Danny Elfman’s score. It wasn’t the best from Elfman, however the blu-ray disc almost tells you this by not making the score stand out. What a bummer.

Any extras? If you want to count the advertisement for The Wolfman (2010) as an extra then yes. Deep down though you will be just as upset as me since there is nothing extra. Just watch the movie and shut up fanboy, Universal does not care about your needs.

Final Verdict
I never got a chance to see the HD DVD version and that bothered me since I do have an HD Player. Since I can’t compare I have to say that the blu-ray version of Darkman is the best looking version and any fan out there should pick it up. Is this the complete version of Darkman that we deserve? Hell no! With no extras and a few minor problems with the video and audio, Darkman on blu-ray will just make you wanting more, that is if Universal will want to give us more soon. Let’s say a Darkman Trilogy on blu-ray with an extra disc of extras?

Rating Breakdown
Movie: 10 out of 10
    + I can’t help it, this movie is just so fucking good and it doesn’t get old.
    - Nothing, I’m sorry.
Picture: 8 out of 10
    + Much better improvement over the DVD version last released.
    - For a blu-ray out at this point you would expect a little more.
Audio: 8 out of 10
    + Action sequences in Darkman come to life with the discs audio.
    - Just like the picture, you know Universal could have done more.
Extras: 0 out of 10
    + It was easy for me to give a rating in this category.
    - No fucking extras? Are you kidding me?!? Thanks a lot Universal.

Overall
6.50 out of 10