2) Darkman
Several readers will perhaps be a little more familiar with Darkman than the other movies on this list, but as a superhero film it continues to remain deeply buried beneath the gigantic blockbusters that have risen to glorious prominence over the past decade or so.
Beneath those grubby bandages is Liam Neeson – the sort of actor who has a habit of popping up in movies that feel way before his time – and here he stars as Dr. Peyton Westlake. After apparently discovering a breakthrough in his attempt to develop a synthetic substitute for skin burn victims, Westlake’s lab is attacked by thugs.
In a moment of acidic irony, the doctor has his face dunked in toxic chemicals and becomes brutally disfigured. Experimental operations to remove his pain see him develop enhanced strength, and using technology mastered in how own lab, Westlake soon becomes the man of a thousand faces. Although his new, real identity is the heavily-bandaged Darkman.
Sam Raimi – the man who went on to spawn a much more familiar superhero trilogy in Spider-Man – directs this strange, brooding revenge tale of puzzling proportions. Not all of it quite works, but the bits that do are pure vengeance-fantasy gold. Arguably depicting more of anti-hero than a superhero, Darkman is nonetheless a largely forgotten film that deserves digging up.
Published: Apr 26, 2015 11:50 pm