Expectations were low for this second sequel which has the wide reputation of being the worst in the trilogy. Well, I can safely say that this one is a lot more enjoyable than DARKMAN II: THE RETURN OF DURANT, as it's not just a rerun of Raimi's original film. Here Darkman finds himself up against another evil villain, this time played by a hammy Jeff Fahey, and also falls in love. As both this and the first sequel were made back-to-back on a low budget of $7 million, the special effects are fairly basic and there's no way this rises above a typical straight-to-video level. At least it's fairly entertaining.
Arnold Vosloo returns as Darkman, but (if that's possible) he's given even less characterisation here than he was previously! Instead he just runs around a lot and tries to get back his special skin formula which the bad guys have stolen from him. Along the way he falls foul of a corrupted scientist (played by Darlanne Fluegel, in a similar role to her one in SCANNER COP), and falls in love with the criminal's wife, played by STAR TREK actress Roxann Biggs-Dawson.
For entertainment value this film offers up an exciting action set piece around the middle of the film, which sees Darkman escaping from the bad guys by hopping over some exploding drums, lots of rubber mask hijacks like in the previous instalments, and the presence of Jeff Fahey, who is by far the best thing in this film. An actor consigned to star in straight-to-video films and television movies, Fahey cuts an imposing presence as the villain here, and the ending is absolutely hilarious and very nearly makes the film for me. Movie fans also might like to note that the script is by the guys who went on to do FACE/OFF for John Woo, and if you look closely there are a lot of similarities and similar scenes between the two films - it's interesting to compare them. Otherwise, DARKMAN III is more of the same for fans of the series, a step up from the previous entry but still below average. Not one to go out of your way to see.
Arnold Vosloo returns as Darkman, but (if that's possible) he's given even less characterisation here than he was previously! Instead he just runs around a lot and tries to get back his special skin formula which the bad guys have stolen from him. Along the way he falls foul of a corrupted scientist (played by Darlanne Fluegel, in a similar role to her one in SCANNER COP), and falls in love with the criminal's wife, played by STAR TREK actress Roxann Biggs-Dawson.
For entertainment value this film offers up an exciting action set piece around the middle of the film, which sees Darkman escaping from the bad guys by hopping over some exploding drums, lots of rubber mask hijacks like in the previous instalments, and the presence of Jeff Fahey, who is by far the best thing in this film. An actor consigned to star in straight-to-video films and television movies, Fahey cuts an imposing presence as the villain here, and the ending is absolutely hilarious and very nearly makes the film for me. Movie fans also might like to note that the script is by the guys who went on to do FACE/OFF for John Woo, and if you look closely there are a lot of similarities and similar scenes between the two films - it's interesting to compare them. Otherwise, DARKMAN III is more of the same for fans of the series, a step up from the previous entry but still below average. Not one to go out of your way to see.