53 - Donnie Darko - 4 stars
Unfortunately this is no longer the five star film that I initially believed it was, thanks to the unnecessary director's cut and the realisation that Darko was more of a fluke by Richard Kelly due to his other efforts like the terrible Southland Tales.
Unfortunately this is no longer the five star film that I initially believed it was, thanks to the unnecessary director's cut and the realisation that Darko was more of a fluke by Richard Kelly due to his other efforts like the terrible Southland Tales.
The original Donnie Darko remains an original and twisted take on the eighties high school movie that plays out like a "John Hughes meets David Lynch" film.
After 400+ reviews I thought it would be fun to do something little different and so I've dug out an old essay that I wrote as an entry for a competition Empire magazine ran to win the chance to be interviewed on the Director's Cut DVD extras. I didn't win but didn't mind so much as the featurette contained some, how shall I put it, "interesting characters".
The focus of my essay was on how Donnie was a new breed of superhero:
Over the course of the film, a new superhero emerged to join the ranks of Superman, Spider-Man and Batman in the form of a 15 year old troubled schoolboy. Am I right to call Donnie Darko a superhero?
In the film Gretchen jokes that Donnie's name makes him sound like a superhero (using the alliteration model like Peter Parker, Reed Richards, etc) and he replies that how does she know that he isn't.
In comics a superhero is normally defined as a figure endowed with superhuman powers and usually portrayed fighting evil and crime. Superhuman is defined as beyond ordinary or normal human ability, power or experience. Donnie meets several of these criteria. He is incredibly smart, seemingly able to control and manipulate time and hints at incredible strength. He also puts his hood up whenever he is about to use his powers, similat to a superhero donning a mask or cape.
Days remaining - 54 Films remaining - 55
Over the course of the film, a new superhero emerged to join the ranks of Superman, Spider-Man and Batman in the form of a 15 year old troubled schoolboy. Am I right to call Donnie Darko a superhero?
In the film Gretchen jokes that Donnie's name makes him sound like a superhero (using the alliteration model like Peter Parker, Reed Richards, etc) and he replies that how does she know that he isn't.
In comics a superhero is normally defined as a figure endowed with superhuman powers and usually portrayed fighting evil and crime. Superhuman is defined as beyond ordinary or normal human ability, power or experience. Donnie meets several of these criteria. He is incredibly smart, seemingly able to control and manipulate time and hints at incredible strength. He also puts his hood up whenever he is about to use his powers, similat to a superhero donning a mask or cape.
Days remaining - 54 Films remaining - 55
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