Darkman II: The Return of Durant is a 1995 Canadian-American superhero film directed by Bradford May. It is a direct-to-videosequel to the film Darkman, with series creator Sam Raimiserving as executive producer. Arnold Vosloo succeeds Liam Neeson as the titular character, who attempts to recover an experimental superweapon from his nemesis Robert G. Durant, once again played by Larry Drake. It was followed by the third installment in the trilogy, Darkman III: Die Darkman Die.
Plot[]
Sometime after the events of the original film, scarred scientist Peyton Westlake continues to work on perfecting his synthetic skin cell formula, funding his research by stealing from the criminals he fights as the vigilante "Darkman". His synthetic skin still has a 99-minute timeframe before light causes it to break down. Robert G. Durant, Westlake's old enemy, awakens from a coma after Darkman left him for dead in their last encounter. Durant quickly reforms his old gang and helps a prisoner, Dr. Alfred Hathaway, escape custody. Durant wants Hathaway to construct experimental particle-beam guns to sell on the black market.
Westlake, wearing a disguise and using a false name, meets and befriends a scientist named David Brinkman, who is also working on a synthetic skin formula. Brinkman has been able to break past the 99-minute photosensitivity problem of Westlake's formula. Westlake suggests the two form a partnership, to which Brinkman happily agrees. At the same time, Durant realizes that Brinkman's lab has the power requirements needed for his particle-beam weapons. Durant sends his men to try and buy the building, but Brinkman refuses. In retaliation, Durant orders his death. Durant's men return and brutally torture Brinkman before killing him. Westlake discovers his body and notices that a finger has been cut off (Durant's calling card), causing him to realize that his old foe is still alive.
Westlake also forms a begrudging friendship with a hot-shot reporter, Jill Randall, who is investigating Durant's possible return. However, Durant orchestrates her death, and she is killed by a car bomb after a news report on Durant's dealings.
Westlake learns that Durant is again seeking to purchase Brinkman's building, this time from his sister Laurie. He sets out to protect her from Durant, but she is captured. Westlake uses his synthetic skin to make masks and disguise himself as Durant's men so he can find the villain's hideout. In an ensuing battle, Durant's men, Dr. Hathaway, and the buyers Durant had lined up to purchase his weapons are all killed, while Laurie is rescued. Durant attempts to flee in his car, not knowing that Westlake had already rigged it with an explosive charge. Durant is killed in the explosion, mirroring Randall's death.
Westlake later sees a news report on Randall's death. Randall became a martyr and the police found out that Durant was behind her murder. Tipping his hat to the memory of his friend, Darkman silently vows to continue working on his synthetic skin cell formula and his fight against crime and injustice.
Cast[]
- Arnold Vosloo as Dr. Peyton Westlake / Darkman
- Larry Drake as Robert G. Durant
- Kim Delaney as Jill Randall
- Renee O'Connor as Laurie Brinkman
- Lawrence Dane as Dr. Alfred Hathaway
- Jesse Collins as Dr. David Brinkman
- David Ferry as Eddie Scully
- Rod Wilson as Ivan Druganov
- Jack Langedijk as Rollo Latham
- Sten Eirik as "Whitey"
- Steve Mousseau as Roy
- James Millington as Mr. Perkins
- Kevin Rushton as Skinhead
- Phillip Jarrett as Dan
- Catherine Swing as Bonnie Cisco
- Graham Rowat as Bob, The Producer
- Chris Gillett as Bob's Boss
- David Clement as Detective Stringer
- Donna Mullin as Miss S&M
Production[]
Development and writing[]
The original Darkman was a modest success in theaters, but it made more money on home video. Shortly after it was released, major rental chain Blockbuster Video appealed to Universal for a sequel. The studio was unenthusiastic about a theatrical follow-up, as the original's good, not great receipts, combined with the usual decrease in revenue incurred by sequels, made it a risky proposition. A pilot for a potential series, which featured Larry Drake as Robert G. Durant but was more reboot than sequel, was shot in early 1992. It was considered by Fox alongside another Renaissance Pictures show, M.A.N.T.I.S., but only the second was picked up. Later that year, Universal announced that it would retool the Darkman franchise as a pair of direct-to-videofilms.
Darkman II was billed as the first direct-to-video live action film produced under the Universal Pictures banner.However, a number of television films made by Universal Television subsidiary MCA Television Entertainment(MTE) had already been released on physical media by MCA/Universal Home Video. Among those were sequels to Universal classics like Psycho IV and The Birds II. While those premiered on Showtime before their video release, the concept was similar. In fact, half of the budget for the Darkman sequels came from Universal's television division, while the rest came from its home video division.
TV veteran Bradford May, who had directed two features for MTE, was originally approached to helm some Hercules television films that Renaissance had tabbed for MCA Television's Action Pack syndicationpackage. He could not come to financial and creative terms with the production, but was offered the Darkmansequels as an alternative, and accepted. David Roessel, already a producer on the unreleased Darkman pilot and the short lived M.A.N.T.I.S., was the main producer in charge of both sequels.
During production, the screenplay was credited to Steven McKay and Chuck Pfarrer, a co-writer on the original, but Pfarrer was not mentioned in the final film. Lawrence Hertzog, who wrote one of the screenplay drafts, received a story credit, as did MCA regular Robert Eisele, writer of The Birds II, the Action Pack's Vanishing Son and the unreleased Darkman pilot. May says he also performed a couple of uncredited rewrites, although it is unclear which of the sequels he contributed to. Canadian composer Paul Zaza was originally approached to score one or both of the sequels. He declined out of loyalty to longtime friend Bob Clark, who had a job lined up for him, although he later regretted turning down the opportunity to work for Raimi.
Arnold Vosloo was approached to take over the role of Payton Westlake during the filming of another Renaissance production, Hard Target, in which he played one half of the villainous duo. Renaissance regular Renee O'Connor, then between her roles as Deianeira and Gabrielle in the Hercules/Xena universe, also appears.
Filming[]
Both Darkman II and III were filmed in Toronto with much of the same crew. The films were shot in quick succession, although not strictly back-to-back. A four-week break was planned between the two shoots, but it was extended after the Northridge Earthquake. Due to Larry Drake's prior commitments, his sequel was shot second, although it ended up being released first. For this reason, the film was known at the start of production as Darkman III: Durant Returns. Photography was listed as starting on March 15, 1994. The Return of Durant was budgeted at US$4 million.
Special make-up effects were overseen by frequent Raimi collaborators KNB EFX Group. Each of the single-use masks worn by Vosloo cost US$10,000. According to May, the opening car chase featured the first cannon-based barrel roll in the history of the Toronto film industry.
Release[]
Theatrical preview[]
Darkman II was screened at an AMC theater in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in presence of Arnold Vosloo and several executives at locally headquartered company Blockbuster Video, around two months prior to its national home video release. A contemporary Billboard magazine write-up suggests that the special showing was open to the general public.
Home video[]
According to director May, Universal considered releasing Darkman II in theaters after seeing the completed film, but eventually decided against it as some of the low budget visual effects betrayed its small screen roots. The film's sales campaign was backed by a standalone videocassette sent to rental stores nationwide, which featured a behind-the-scenes documentary and promotional pitch.
Darkman II was released on VHS tape on July 11, 1995. As per industry standards, the Laserdisc followed one week later on July 18. The film peaked at 28 in the Billboard video rental charts, spending two weeks in the top 40.
The Return of Durant was re-issued on DVD by Universal on January 5, 1999. It included production notes, cast & crew biographies, and a trailer. Shout! Factory released a special edition Blu-ray of the film on November 7, 2017. It features a new feature-length audio commentary from director Bradford May, and a standard definition print of the film's television version.
Television[]
Due to the novelty of direct-to-video sequels to studio films, some early examples of the format were given a primetime network TV broadcast. Darkman II was shown on July 7, 1998, on Fox. Airing opposite the MLB All-Star Game, The Return of Durant performed poorly, garnering a 2.8 rating and a 5 share. It received notice for being the lowest rated film in the history of the network up to that point. The film's television version includes a small amount of additional and alternate footage.
Reception[]
Critical response[]
One Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 29% approval rating based on 7 reviews, with an average rating of 3.67/10.
TV Guide gave the film two stars out of five and said, "without the hyperbolic style of Raimi [and his] sustained visual dazzle—here supplied mainly in flashbacks—Darkman, well, pales." Richard Scheib of Moria Reviewswas similarly unimpressed, writing that "on the whole, it is an entirely average effort" and "director Bradford May gives it the frustratingly banal look of a made-for-TV movie." He also rated it a two out of five. Hock Teh of IGN rated the film five out of ten and assessed that "Darkman II lost the comic book experience present in the first movie and in its place is a straight-up action flick with some major plot holes."
Ian Jane of DVDTalk was more positive, judging that "[p]layed with slightly more serious intent than its predecessor, Darkman II isn't bad for a low budget sequel."
Sequel[]
The film was followed by a third and final entry in the series, Darkman III: Die Darkman Die, which was also released direct-to-video on August 20, 1996.