Darkman III – Das Experiment (Video 1996)

Darkman III – Das Experiment: Directed by Bradford May. With Jeff Fahey, Arnold Vosloo, Darlanne Fluegel, Roxann Dawson. When he double-crosses a drug kingpin, Darkman must free himself of his remote-control clutches.

“Dr Peyton Westlake continues to live in the Cityu0026#39;s sewer system, hiding his disfigured face and working on his synthetic skin. When he steals money from a criminal gang to buy more medical equipment he draws the attention of Peter Rooker. Rooker uses Dr Thorne to get to Westlake and work out how he has become so strong. With Rooker planning to create a small army of `Darkmenu0026#39; Westlake must learn to trust again to overcome Rookeru0026#39;s plan.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDespite the fact that this was another direct to video sequel and that it was shot at the same time as Darkman 2, it is actually quite good. In terms of the basic story it could have been better (creating super strong street thugs) but really there is plenty in the plot to enjoy. Westlake posing as Rooker and finding joy in Rookeru0026#39;s family life etc brings more humanity to the film than was done in part 2. Obviously the plot does has weaknesses – itu0026#39;s very short for one, itu0026#39;s quite clichéd for another, although there are nice touched around Rooker.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe use of OTT visuals and nightmare vision scenes is retained and very like Ramiu0026#39;s style – in fact some of the shot almost mirror the first film. While Westlake lacks some of the craziness that he had in the first film he is still a tortured soul – itu0026#39;s just a shame that this is mixed with the image of him as a sort of Batman figure.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eVosloo (best know as the Mummy) isnu0026#39;t as good as Neeson and sounds like heu0026#39;s reading some of his voice over lines. However he still does OK, but itu0026#39;s pertinent that he takes second billing behind Fahey. Itu0026#39;s not Vosloou0026#39;s fault that his character has become an ill-conceived Batman type. Fahey may well be playing an one-dimensional character but he does it well. Heu0026#39;s not a great actor but he can hold his own in TVMu0026#39;s and video movies! The rest of the cast are OK but suffice to say youu0026#39;re never in any doubt that this never saw the inside of many cinemas.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOverall itu0026#39;s not brilliant but itu0026#39;s actually quite good – certainly better than the second. Basically you know what know what youu0026#39;re getting and it doesnu0026#39;t let you down. Also – itu0026#39;s got a really cool title….u0026#39;Die Darkman, Dieu0026#39;……B-movie homage or what!”