Darkman II: The Return of Durant
Darkman II: The Return of Durant is a 1995 American superhero film directed by Bradford May. It is a direct-to-video sequel to the film Darkman. Series creator Sam Raimi serves as executive producer, starring Arnold Vosloo (replacing Liam Neeson from the first film) and Larry Drake. It was followed by the third installment in the trilogy, Darkman III: Die Darkman Die.
| Darkman II: The Return of Durant | |
|---|---|
 Official VHS cover | |
| Directed by | Bradford May |
| Produced by | David Roessell |
| Screenplay by | Steven McKay |
| Story by | Robert Eisele Lawrence Hertzog |
| Based on | Characters by Sam Raimi |
| Starring | Arnold Vosloo Larry Drake Kim Delaney Renee O'Connor Lawrence Dane |
| Music by | Randy Miller |
| Cinematography | Bradford May |
| Edited by | Daniel Cahn |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | MCA Universal Home Video |
Release date |
|
Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot
Scientist Peyton Westlake has re-located to a deserted building connected to an abandoned subway track, and continues to work on his synthetic skin cell formula, funding his research by stealing from criminals. His synthetic skin still has a 99-minute timeframe before light causes it to break down, and he continues to search for a way to solve the problem.
Robert G. Durant, Westlake's old enemy, awakens from a coma. Durant and his men plot to break out a prison inmate named Alfred Hathaway and use his scientific knowledge to build futuristic particle-beam weaponry in order to gain power in the criminal underworld.
Westlake meets and befriends a scientist named David Brinkman, who is also working on a synthetic skin formula. Brinkman manages to break past the 99 minute photosensitivity reaction that causes Westlake's skin to break down in the light. However, after Brinkman refuses an offer from Durant's men to buy his building (which they want for their particle-weapon scheme), Durant orders him killed. Durant's men torture Brinkman before killing him. Westlake discovers his body, and upon observing Brinkman's body missing a finger (Durant's calling card), is able to deduce that Durant is alive and responsible for Brinkman's death.
A reporter named Jill Randall discovers that Peyton Westlake is still alive while investigating Durant. She befriends Westlake but is later killed in a car bombing by Durant after broadcasting a story on him and his criminal operations.
Westlake then learns that Durant is trying to again purchase Brinkman's building, this time from his sister Laurie. He sets out to protect her from Durant. After she is captured, Westlake uses his synthetic skin to make masks and disguise himself as Durant's men. He infiltrates Durant's lair. In an ensuing battle, Durant's men, Dr. Hathaway, and a group of men who were intending to buy his particle weapons are all killed. Durant attempts to flee in his car, however, Westlake has equipped it with an explosive charge. Durant is killed much in the same way that he had earlier murdered Jill Randall, and Laurie is saved.
Peyton Westlake later sees a news report on Jill Randall's death. Tipping his hat to the departed Jill Randall, 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
- Rod Wilson as Ivan Druganov
- Jack Langedijk as Rollo Latham
- Sten Eirik as Whitey
- Steve Mousseau as Roy
Release
Home media
In 1999, the film was released on DVD, which included production notes, cast & crew bios, a trailer, and web links.
On August 7, 2007, all three Darkman films were released in a box set.
In 2014, it was re-released on DVD.
On November 7, 2017, Shout! Factory released a Special Edition Blu-ray of the film, featuring a new audio commentary with Bradford May.[1]
Reception
Critical response
Darkman II: The Return of Durant received largely negative reviews from critics.
The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 29% approval rating with an average rating of 3.67/10 based on 7 reviews.[2]
TV Guide gave the film 2/5 stars and said, "...like its eponymous character, [it] doesn't stand strong scrutiny in the light."[3] Hock Teh of IGN gave the film 5/10 stars and criticized the feel, major plot holes, the casting of Vosloo as the title character instead of Liam Neeson (who portrayed Darkman in the first film), the acting, and the character development.[4] Patrick Bromley of Daily Dead gave the film 2/5 stars and called it, "Fun, but silly."[5]
Sequel
The film is followed by a third and final entry in the series, Darkman III: Die Darkman Die, which was released direct-to-video in 1996. The third film was originally intended to be released second, but their releases were switched.
References
- https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/darkman-ii-the-return-of-durant?product_id=6398
- "Darkman II - The Return of Durant (1994)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
- "Darkman II: The Return Of Durant". TV Guide. Retrieved June 10, 2006.
- Teh, Hock (August 21, 2007). "THE DARKMAN TRILOGY REVIEW". IGN. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
- Bromley, Patrick (December 21, 2017). "Blu-ray Reviews: DARKMAN II: THE RETURN OF DURANT and DARKMAN III: DIE DARKMAN DIE". Daily Dead. Retrieved June 10, 2019.