Blankman | | Cast : | Damon Wayans, David Alan Grier, Robin Givens | | Director : | Mike Binder | | Studio : | Columbia/Tristar Studios | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | August 19, 1994 | | DVD Released Date : | June 07, 2005 | | Language : | Unknown (Subtitled), English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 11, 2005 | | Summary | They Were Onto Something... | Content
 | This is definitely one of the strangest superhero movies I've ever seen. Daryl (Damon Wayans) and Kevin (David Alan Grier) are two brothers who grew up on watching "Batman"...and nothing else is explored with that opening scene.
Kevin has grown up to be an writer for one crazed editor. Daryl, on the other hand, is an inventor who, of course, has dozens of ridiculous gadgets that will somehow pay off...or will they? Yes, his tools are creative, but they serve no purpose other than comic relief, which I didn't find funny except for Daryl's embarassment.
Sadly, the two brothers' grandmother is killed because she works for a City Mayor nominee who ticked off a cliched mobster (Jon Polito). Daryl swears revenge by dressing up in a ridiculous costume and using those odd gadgets to fight crime and build a secret hideout (which I'm surprised nobody finds since it's at the end of a train track).
Let me make this clear - there are some hysterical moments in this movie. The bickering between straight-laced Kevin and wannabe idealist Daryl is side-splitting. In fact, just about every scene with these two is very funny. The problem with this movie is that it has such a dark, dramatic tone in some scenes that just doesn't fit. For example, Blankman takes a reporter (Robin Givens, who's basically a black version of Lois Lane - that's not a racial slur) to this hideout, but there is some music that reminds me of a despressed version of Danny Elfman's score of "Edward Scissorhands," and some comedic actors trying to be serious about the world and love. That scene is absolutely disastrous.
There's another scene when the Mayor is going to publicly open a bank and asks Blankman to be present for the dedication. But then Polito's mobster and several thugs chain him up and set off a time-bomb that kills the Mayor, and possibly other people. THIS IS NOT FUNNY! The movie is not trying to have a dark sense of humor at all, but instead goes for laughs that seem like they belong in "Don't Be A Menace In South Central..."
The contrast of tones and themes don't work. Another case in point, Blankman fights crime on his first night out and confronts a pimp slapping a woman around, but then Blankman's genius idea is "Slap me around and call me Susan!" The scene is funny, if improbable...but seeing a woman slapped around and turned into comedic violence feels wrong to me.
Maybe I'm taking this movie too seriously, but when I see some jabs at classic superheroism that make me laugh uncontrollably (Daryl's inability to face life seriously instead of as a TV show is priceless), and then see some drama that is not only misplaced, but also horribly filmed and acted, then the potential hides itself underneath a movie that's trying to be a superhero comedy "PLUS" an urban drama "PLUS" a hip-hop flick.
This movie has a serious case of split-personality with no hope of control. I really want to like this movie, but it strikes so many wrong notes that I can't quite recommend it. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 13, 2005 | | Summary | Piece of crap | Content
| Everone says this movie is very violent and funny but it is the least violent and funny movie I have ever seen. |
| Rating | | | Date | January 08, 2005 | | Summary | Blankman | Content
| BlankMan is a laugh out loud riot for the entire family to enjoy. The film is about a nerdy African American, Daryl Walker, living in the New York area, suffers a tremendous tragedy when his grandmother is killed by a corrupt mafia leader; Michael Spinelli. Since then, inspired by the old Adam West T.V. show Batman series, Daryl dons the disquise of Blankman to fight crime to avenge her death. If you can imagine Steve Urkell from Family Matters pretending to be Batman, then you should have a good idea on who BlankMan is. The movie is simply hysterical and makes fun of all the typical super hero movie cliches. I loved how they used the old fighting sequences from the old Batman T.V. series to make fun of this genre. The movie will have you laughing histarically throughout the film with great scenes like when BlankMan confronts Spinelli or when David Allan Grier is talking to his crotch. Overall, this is a great comedy for the entire family. |
| Rating | | | Date | September 28, 2002 | | Summary | Funny | Content
| This movie is funny including Damon Wayans, and David Alan Grier. They should have been known as a best team, including that David Alan Grier should be named Just_A_Normal_SidekickMan. I give it a ...(5 out of 5). |
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