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Blinded by toxic waste and orphaned at an early age, Matt Murdock is determined to bring justice to the weak and downtrodden in the deprived Hell’s Kitchen area of New York. By day, he fights for their rights as a lawyer and by night he dons the red leather garb of Daredevil, the Man Without Fear and dishes out vigilante vengeance to those who have escaped the long arm of the law.
As with last year’s superhero blockbuster "Spider-Man", the director has taken a little time to establish the main protagonist’s back-story, showing us what Murdock was like as a young boy, both before and after his accident. We are treated to an explanation of how his super powers work and there’s a nice montage of him learning to hone his skills. In much the same way as Batman, our hero is spurred on by his desire for vengeance after his father is killed by an unknown assassin. This gives the character a more sympathetic edge, as he is nothing less than brutal when doling out his brand of justice. It is also nice to see that he isn’t indestructible, as we can see from the cornucopia of scars on his back. He also cries out when he’s in pain, which is unusual for any big action
hero.
Ben Affleck is surprisingly effective as both Murdock and Daredevil, playing the former with a remarkable amount of control and never feeling the need to play on the character’s disability. He does, however revert to his smug frat-boy persona on occasion; smirking his way through the few dialogue heavy scenes in the film and coming across as extraordinarily sleazy in his love scenes with Elektra. As Daredevil, he has a distinctly nasty edge, never pausing for a wisecrack - but cutting to the chase and beating the villain to a bloody, if not lifeless pulp. He is a super anti-hero, darker than the bat, whose personal quest for vengeance renders him totally amoral. Methinks he needs to work on his anger management.
Colin Farrell piles on the ham as psychotic manchild assassin Bullseye, obviously relishing the chance to play a full-on bad guy. This bad boy can turn anything from a paperclip to a peanut into a deadly weapon. There is a certain amount of malevolent charm in about someone who enjoys his job so much that he kills for fun and taunts his victims before doing them in. And his accent is to die for (and it’s nice to hear a real Irish accent in a film for a change).
Jennifer Garner is given relatively little to do as Elektra, but this is usual with most women in comic book adaptations. She spends most of her time pouting and showing her cleavage in a series of increasingly low-cut outfits. But she also gets the chance to kick serious ass in her two fight scenes and she does a damned good job of it.
Michael Clarke Duncan brings his enormous bulk and booming voice to the role of Wilson Fisk, otherwise known as the Kingpin. He’s another character who stays in the background, but this is fitting for a shady crime boss. After all, he is pretending to be a legitimate business tycoon, when he isn’t having entire families killed off, of course. He acquits himself admirably when he engages in hand-to-hand combat with Daredevil. His size only adds to the believability of the crush blows he doles out.
The cast is rounded out by Erick Avari as Elektra’s dad, once more trundling out his rent-an-ethnic scthick and Joe Pantoliano, who is criminally underused as newspaper reporter Ben Urich. But his relationship with Murdock/Daredevil has been established for the inevitable sequel.
There are even a couple of cameos for the fanboys. The creator of Daredevil, Stan Lee has a walk-on part in one scene and Kevin Smith (director of "Clerks" and "Dogma") appears as a morgue attendant in another.
As with all superhero movies these days, "Daredevil" is laden with special effects. The fight scenes rely heavily on Hong Kong style wire work, allowing the actors to move beyond the limits of the human body, thus producing some really cool jumps and flips. CGI is used for the scenes where the stunts are even beyond the capabilities of a man on a wire, but you can see the joins. As in Spider-Man, the computer-generated daredevil moves more fluidly than a real human being ever could. Computer graphics are also used to demonstrate Murdocks "sight". It is realised in much the same way as the aliens’ vision in "Pitch Black", with images made up of tiny dots which cluster around solid objects, creating light and shade. A kind of pointillism for the 21st century. It is very effective and gives the impression that Murdock is seeing with sonar.
The soundtrack is dictated by the mood of the movie and ranges from (a little too much) heavy rock to appropriately sad songs.
So, is it any good? Erm, the short answer is "yes". With its flashy visuals and frenetic pace, you never have the chance to get bored and it seems a lot shorter than its two-hour running time. It somehow meshes the gothic sensibilities of the early Batman movies (troubled hero, night shoots, a city in trouble) with the pantomime excesses of Flash Gordon (side order of ham from Mr Farrell and some dodgy leather costumes) and comes out on top. And it’s a 15 certificate, so you don’t have to worry about your cinema-going experience being marred by a load of screaming kids. As long as it’s of the same quality, I could happily sit through a sequel.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Production Year: 2008 - Action/Adventure - Director: Christopher Nolan - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Maggie Gyllenhaal, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Action/Adventure - Director: The Wachowski Brothers - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Monica Bellucci, Jada Pinkett
Production Year: 1977 - Action/Adventure - Director: Clint Eastwood - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring:Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince, Bill McKinney
I loved this film and I loved your opinion V.well written! :o)
purebitch 21.02.2003 09:10
My boyfriend wants to see this, but I'm not sure if I would enjoy it! We are off to see final destination 2 this weekend, so I may get roped into watching this next weekend. Georgina.
SueMagee 21.02.2003 08:16
You probably will get to sit through a few sequels too!
Whether or not one likesDaredevilthe movie probably has a lot to do with whether or not ... more
one likesDaredevilthe comic book. To its credit (or, depending upon your perspective, its detriment),Daredevilis one of the most faithful comic-book adaptations to ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Whether or not one likesDaredevilthe movie probably has a lot to do with whether or not ... more
one likesDaredevilthe comic book. To its credit (or, depending upon your perspective, its detriment),Daredevilis one of the most faithful comic-book adaptations to ...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Ben Affleck is Matt Murdock a.k.a Daredevil. As a young boy he lost his sight in a ... more
chemical accident which left him with his other senses superhumanly enhanced (and some incredible acrobatic skills). Flash forward and Matt is working by day as a pro ...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Advantages: Good action, Jennifer Garner in tight leather, cool soundtrack Disadvantages: Jennifer Garner trying to act, Affleck's chin, some of the acting is a little bit cheesy!
![Daredevil - Single Disc Edition [2003] [DVD]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78500895.jpg "Daredevil - Single Disc Edition [2003] [DVD]")
![Daredevil (Special Edition) [DVD] [2003]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78490195.jpg "Daredevil (Special Edition) [DVD] [2003]")
Feb 20th, 2003
very helpful by (100%):
