Since I was only lukewarm about “Darkman,” it should come as no surprise that the direct-to-video sequel didn’t exactly blow me away either. The kindest thing I can say about the film is that it's mediocre at best and could have been much worse. But Sam Raimi's absence from the director's chair is clearly noticeable, and Arnold Vosloo is obviously no substitute for Liam Neeson. All in all, this sequel was really unnecessary.

A stereotypical revenge thriller, _Darkman II: The Return of Durant_ is a marketable improvement over the original. When the notorious crime boss Robert Durant awakens from a coma he attempts to reclaim the black arms market by introducing next generation laser weapons, but the vigilante Darkman is alerted to his scheme when Durant murders a scientist in order to acquire a facility for his weapons manufacturing plant. Arnold Vosloo is recast as Peyton Westlake/Darkman and gives a strong performance. And the writing, although formulaic, does a good job at setting up the characters and at developing the plot. Yet the low production budget shows, and limits what the film’s able to do. Still, for what it is, _Darkman II: The Return of Durant_ is an entertaining action film.