S. Darko: A Donnie Darko Tale is now available on DVD and Blu-ray.
Somethings are better off being left alone…and the tale of Donnie Darko is definitely one of those things you shouldn't mess with unless you really have a good grasp on the film, the characters, and why the story was such a success in the first place. When it was announced that there would be a Direct to Dvd sequel to the cult classic film Donnie Darko I was pretty surprised. It is one of those films that really doesn't have more to tell (especially when the title character doesn't survive the film). With most movies that are released in this fashion you know going into it that it might not be the greatest or maybe just not live up to expectations. You must have a totally open mind when watching a film like this. This film was supposed to be a stand alone story within the world of Donnie Darko.
In the case of S. Darko, not only did it NOT live up to expectations, it was a utter waste of time and effort. You might be thinking, "wow is it really that bad?" The answer is: Yes. Yes it is.
The Basic Story:
The story is set 7 years after the original film and this time it focuses on Donnie's little sister, Samantha, who is still dealing with the loss of her brother and has run away with her best friend Corrie. It turns out that Samantha has been having the same reality altering dreams that her brother had, and she witnesses pieces of the future. The two girls set out to find themselves and escape from their former lives. When their car breaks down on the road they are stranded in a small desert town. While they are there, a meteorite crashes and sets in motion a chain of events that may lead to the end of the world as they know it. Samantha begins sleepwalking (again, like her brother) and she meets a man named Justin aka "Iraq Jack" (who has a surprising connection to someone from the first movie) whom she then tells that the world will end in four days, seventeen hours, twenty-six minutes, and thirty-one seconds. More craziness happens involving meteorites, creepy people in the town, and a new take on the "Frank" bunny suit and more. Really it is pretty difficult to explain the chain of events after this point because it really doesn't make sense. I would need several shots of Jack just to wrap my head around it…
Special Features
-Commentary with the Filmmakers
-Deleted Scenes
-The Making of S. Darko
-Utah Too Much Featurette
-1080p Video
-5.1 DTS HD Audio
Overall
I can say without hesitation it was one of the worst clusterf#$%s of a film I have ever seen (and I have seen some really, really bad films). You might think that I am being overly harsh, but unfortunately there is absolutely nothing redeeming about this film. The Director/Writer of Donnie Darko had nothing to do with this film…he didn't want to touch it. He hadn't even read the script.
If you are going to follow up on something that really set some industry standards and redefined films for our generation, you cannot follow it up with a film like this. The story is totally disjointed and really is pretty much nonsense. The massive plot twist from the end of the original film is not only used in the film, but is used THREE times. How certain characters are able to travel through time and alter the course of events is not explained and just happens and you are forced to accept it. This was a forced attempt to make more money and make Donnie Darko into a franchise. This film is truly a spectacular failure.
ComicsOnline gives S. Darko 1 out of 5 stars because I had to sit through the whole thing.
