S.DARKO
Directed by Chris Fischer
2009 / Fox

If we learned anything from the Richard Kelly's original film, DONNIE DARKO, it is that time travel is best served with an air of mystery (a dose of water and metal won't hurt either), and a decidedly vague ending. I can't help but think the creators of 2009's sequel to took that credo way too seriously. I don't think this film is a shameless rip-off, or a blatant attempt to cash in per se. But the storyline is so convoluted, and the characters so contrived, I just can't say the film was a completely enjoyable experience. I think the writers and the director really did try to deliver a thought provoking and worthy sequel, but S. DARKO fails in execution.

S. DARKO takes place seven years after Donnie had his fateful date with a piece of trans-dimensional airline equipment gone free fall. Donnie's little sister, Samantha (Daveigh Chase) is now an angry teen disenchanted with suburban life, who is on a road trip with the unpredictable "tough girl" Corey (Brianna Evigan). They get stuck in a small Utah town after their car breaks down and find themselves unknowingly at ground zero for yet another rip in realities, this time with a meteor at the event horizon.

Local creepy guy "Iraq" Jack (James Lafferty), a Gulf war vet and resident crazy person, is visited by hallucinations prophesying doom for Planet Earth: 17 days left. After this, I'm lost. Bad characterizations (not characters, mind you) run amok, odd story lines emerge then retreat in a flash of "do over," and we find that Jesus doesn't keep local kooks from locking kids in mine shafts. If you're confused, well, take heart...so am I and I watched this film twice before writing this review. The second time with the Director commentary going so as to hopefully glean some clue as to what the hell was going on. See, the original DARKO was full of unanswered questions as well, but at that film's conclusion, I wasn't pissed off. Unlike this film, where I really was left wondering whether I was just unobservant, a complete dullard, or whether the film itself was just flat out written poorly.

After listening to the commentary, I've decided that while the writers, director, cast & crew really did try to deliver something of quality, the end result is just way too much a disjointed mess that will leave most viewers with a rather unresolved film viewing experience.

There are certainly positive things to be said for S. DARKO: the film looks spectacular, and the performances are quite solid, some even very good. It is obvious that people cared while making this, but just not enough to save S DARKO from itself.

2 out of 5
MARS