Enjoyable, just don't tell anyone.

Rating: 6/10 (19 February 2004)

Have you ever gone to a movie and completely enjoyed yourself with all the action, comedy and romp only to leave the theatre thinking that you may not even give the movie a thumbs- up if you were asked for your opinion? That is exactly the situation I found myself in after watching Sam Raimi's third installment of the Evil Dead series, Army of Darkness.
Army of Darkness picks up where Evil Dead II left off 5 years earlier. Ashley J. Williams (or 'Ash' as we have come to know him) has been transported back to 1400 A.D. where he must continue to fight for his survival and deliver the people from the evil Deadites. Armed with a shotgun and a chainsaw arm (this may sound incredibly ridiculous if you have not seen the second installment), Ash is prophesized to deliver the Necronomicon, or Book of the Dead, which will rid the English townspeople of the walking dead and return Ash back to 1993 so that he can continue as a clerk at the local S-Mart.
As odd or downright foolish that the plot may sound, Sam Raimi (Spider-Man) does a good job of keeping us entertained with a balanced mix of slapstick comedy and outlandish gore. Bruce Campbell (Ash) doesn't take himself too seriously and the results include such laughable quotes as 'Oh you little b**tards! Alright, I'll crush each and every last one of ya! I'll squash you so hard you'll have to look down to look up!'. These types of verbal exchanges definitely lighten the tone from the heavy blood soaked Evil Dead I and II entries.
But what ultimately makes Army of Darkness so sinfully enjoyable is watching all the fun Campbell and Raimi seem to be having with the character and the notion of a self-centered fool using his 20th century knowledge in 15th century Europe. Whether it is Ash building himself a new arm or uttering modern day witticisms ('Gimme some sugar, baby.'), the movie never takes itself too seriously and that is most of the fun.
In terms of special effects, the movie has both the best and the worst of what technology had to offer in the early 1990's. A scene where the army of the dead storms the castle is an ode to Jason and the Argonauts and the splendid work of effects master Ray Harryhausen. It is well crafted and choreographed and hi-light of the films effects. On the very opposite end of the scale is the scene in which Mini-Ashes run amok over the full sized Ash, jumping into his mouth, sticking him with a fork.you get the idea. The Mini-Ashes look like they were from a completely different film and the whole chapter on the DVD should be avoided if possible.
So now I come back full circle with my initial statement. I enjoyed viewing Army of Darkness, and am embarrassed because of it. The humor is definitely adolescent, but you feel like a diabetic enjoying a chocolate bar, savoring the taste and hoping no one witnesses your satisfaction. Sam Raimi, who also helmed Darkman, does his best with an $11 million budget (his later $139 million budget for Spider-Man showed his true genius), and you can image by the energy exerted in such a preposterous storyline, that the cast and crew had oodles and oodles of fun during production. Thumbs up. Just don't tell anybody.
Post note: For you star search enthusiasts, look for Bridget Fonda, hot off the heels of her role in Single White Female, as Linda.
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