Remember this project? Around last July it was last reported that THE MARK---the next possible "4th Of July" Will Smith event movie---was going to undergo a new rewrite and an entirely new plot. Rob Liefeld, who penned the original script, said he'd like to take another stab at it. That was last year. And as of now, it seems like THE MARK was on hold indefinitley. But word has it that Will Smith wants to make this his fourth of July film for 2003 (the summer after MiB2 is supposed to be released) and Universal, which acquired the rights two years ago, really wants to get this ball rolling since they've been spending a lot of cash on this project. Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich are still attached as exec producers but haven't really touched any of the project since last year (firing the X-Files scribes Glen Morgan and James Wong).

This review is the first draft of the script, dated April 1998 by Rob Liefeld. Keep in mind that this draft was entirely rewritten three times (twice by those X-FIles scribes). But if you want to get a feel of what the movie's gonna be like...read on. This contains some spoilers, but as I will explain later, there is a 'new plot'.

The story goes something like this: Througout time, a talismen of power has been passed down. This talismen leaves an irremovable 'mark' on the person's hand. Collins' super powers are exactly like the Green Lantern's: whatever he thinks of, he can make to fight villains. Now, try not to laugh: Moses, King Arthur, Christ, Joan of Arc, and dozens of other saviors in history have had this mark on them. The story opens up in World War II. After a quick twenty pages of Hitler looking for the Mark talismen (he'll 'Control The World if he does) and the good guys hiding the talismen, we flash forward to the year 2000. It's the end of the millenium and everyone's ready to celebrate in the most original of places, Manhattan. Enter New Yorker Mike Collins (Will Smith). One night, he happens upon a mysterious dying stranger. The nice guy that he is, Mike asks the guy if he's okay. Wrong move. The man grabs Mike's hand and transfers The Mark onto. Collins is the latest guy to happen upon this power, and boy, he's not ready.

There's this group called the Disciples, a bunch of cloaked dudes that have been walking the Earth, teaching each user to use their powers for good (think a bunch of Morpheuses from THE MATRIX). They must locate and reach Collins in time before the forces of evil from across the galaxy get to him. Throughout most of this draft it's comic relief as Collins struggles to understand the source of this glowing mark, as he crash tests his powers. I didn't find most of this stuff humorous. Liefeld doesn't know how to write cheap laughs. Collins also hangs out with the obligatory love interest, who may not appear to be...well, what she appears to be (think TRINITY!). The Morpheous gang (oh sorry I mean Disciples) end up reaching Mike and teach him the limits of his new powers. What they also mention is that when Collins recieved his poweres, he also recieved the mission that every person who gets the Mark must complete: he's the center of an epic struggle for universal domination, in which New York will become the landmark for an epic battle between good and evil at the edge of the new millenium.

The villain is yet again the same commanding bad ass (think AGENT SMITH) that always wants to pop a superpower cap in Collins ass. He NEEDS the Mark, for what reasons arent really explaind. He's the leader of the forces of darkness that want to Rule...well, you know. There's chase scenes, kung fu fight scenes and more chase scenes involving superpowers that sound like they can explode a budget past $100 million. The Big Kahuna climax ends up in New York City, as Good vs. Evil face off. Buildings explode. City blocks are leveled. This fight scene is like Agent Smith vs. Neo's fight scene, only that it's more ridiculous. Think the special effects in SPAWN were overdone and overkill? You ain't seen nuthin' yet. In the end, Collins saves the day, the girl, the world and the new millenium (it's this point in the draft where I was expecting Collins to break out in Smith's song, "Willenium").

Superhero stories are a dime a dozen these days in Hollywood. The key to making a hit superhero movie and a great one is to relate and invest in the main character. Feel what he's feeling, and his different emotions from being a normal guy to a superhero (hopefully M Night Shylamanan's UNBREAKABLE will do this justice). Superheroes are supposed to be sympathetic and heroic. THE MARK has none of this. The Mike Collins character is written like every other Will Smith character: he talks jive and is a wise ass. It's as if Liefeld wrote him as Smith's character already been established from ID4, MiB, and WWW. But when he gets his superpowers I was hoping for a complete 180 degree turn in his character. This guy has THE MARK. He never wanted this 'save the world' mission. He never asked for it. He wants to return the Mark, even if it means to the villains. But he can't...because if he takes it off, he'll die. People are chasing him, trying to kill him. He's supposed to be angered, confused and scared...but he just throws one liners and Will Smith Humor as he's being chased. Remember when the alien's chasing him in ID4? Is he scared? No, he's throwing jokes in the face of death. Well there are a lot more scenes like that in THE MARK. And if it's no surprise, Collins decides to keep The Mark at the end of the script, knowing that he must protect the earth from evil. It also surprised me that Liefeld wanted John Malokivch to play the main villian when the project was released....no matter how great an actor/villain Malkovich can portray, he can't top (or isn't written well enough) Hugo Weaving's Agent Smith. And Liefeld also said that he wanted to cast Jennifer Lopez in the role of the female lead (no, she's not gonna top Carrie Ann Moss' Trinity).

And if the concept sounds too familiar....it is. THE MARK is basically THE MATRIX. Mike Collins is Will Smith's "Neo", except maybe not as dumb. The story is the same: the average joe finding out something's wrong with his world, seeing the light, getting superpowers, learning good from evil, fighting the villain and saving the world. Oh yes, throw in a little ENEMY OF THE STATE, when he's on the run from hunters, a little ID4 when he's being chased by alien creatures, a little bit of MiB where he tries out his new powers (no, there's no 'why do i get a noisy cricket' humor in here, but there is 'That''s What I'm Talkin 'Bout' humor in these scenes). This draft was written by Rob Liefeld. A lot of people don't think too highly of Liefeld, claiming that he has no artistic talent and all of his ideas are ripped off of great concepts. I haven't read Liefeld's works but I am aware what everyone's chatting about now. I'm also aware that Big Willie helped write the script and superpowers with Liefeld. Will is producer on this project, too so expect THE MARK song if the movie reaches the silver screen. But this draft of THE MARK is basically a mediocre mix of THE MATRIX and ID4. I went in expecting little, and that's what I got.

Which brings me to the fact that Liefeld may be rewriting this script...with a new concept and a new title: MARK OF POWER (what a strikingly original title). He's now setting the story in World War II, and Hitler will still be on the prowl for The Mark. Instead of THE MATRIX, the style and tone will be like INDIANA JONES. And since no director or screenwriter can replicate the Indy films (THE MUMMY tried and failed), I can see where THE MARK is going if it sticks with this new concept: Big Willie Weekend will repeat Wild Wild West's dismal opening weekend business. As of now THE MARK has an annoying hero, a weak villain and a familiar story. Liefeld wants to turn this into a trilogy. I say go back to Screenwriting Class (if he even has gone there)....or hire a better writer.

---The Third King