Name: Retro Film Review: Darkman III: Die Darkman Die
Item: Darkman III: Die Darkman Die
Rating: 40
Author: @drax

(source: tmdb.org)

Few titles were as prophetic as the one used for Dakman III: Die Darkman Die, 1996 science fiction thriller. This was the third and the final part of trilogy started with Sam Raimi's 1990 original. Unlike the second instalment, the script didn't miraculously resurrect the original villain and the protagonist, tragically disfigured yet physically super-strong scientist Dr. Peyton Westlake a.k.a. Darkman (played by Arnold Vosloo) must fight someone else. That someone else is Peter Rooker (played by Jeff Fahey), lord of the city's crime empire. Westlake desperately needs resources for the experiments with new and better synthetic skin, so he steals Rooker's money, thus bringing the gangster's attention on himself. Rooker uses beautiful Dr. Bridget Thorne (played by Darlanne Fleugel) to set the trap for Darkman. The idea is to extract the super-strength serum from Darkman's body and use it to create invincible army of super-thugs.

It isn't hard to see why Dakman III: Die Darkman Die was the last film in the series. There are very few things that the audience haven't seen in previous two films – the plot is more or less recycled and director Bradford May in his fight with the low budget borrows too much of the previous footage. The only novelty is Jeff Fahey in the role of villain, and that role clearly shows that he lacks the evil charisma of Larry Drake from Darkman and Darkman II. Scriptwriters Michael Colleari and Mike Webb try to put some human touch by introducing subplot of Darkman, under Rooker's disguise, having few nice moments with gangster's family, but the concept is not explored, unlike in John Woo's Face/Off a year later. Fans of Star Trek: Voyager might enjoy the rare opportunity to watch Roxanne Dawn-Biggs a.k.a. B'Elanna, but few are going to recognise the actress without Klingon make-up. Most of the audience, however, shouldn't feel bad if they miss this film. RATING: 4/10 (+)

(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.movies.reviews on January 27th 2003)