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Member since:08.03.2001
Reviews:254
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Here we are in the place where magic happens. Hollywood hack-hicks Bubba and Earl discuss the possibilities of comic book adaptations:
Bubba: “Say Earl, what do you go think of makin’ a mewvie abouts one of them supy-heroes?”
Earl scratches his hairy ear.
Earl: “Weeeeell, I always liked Marmaduke…”
Bubba (incredulous): “Marmadook ain’t not no supy-hero!”
Earl: “Whats about that blind feller?”
Bubba gazes blankly into the Hollywood hills for a few minutes. A dog barks. This sparks him into action.
Bubba: “Shazam?”
Earl: “Nawww…Darey-Devil!”
Bubba and Earl gaze into each other’s eyes and come to a silent agreement. Then Earl farts and they laugh for three days. They then decide to employ the director of Simon bloody Birch to flesh out the dramatically interesting vision of Marvel Comics honcho Stan Lee into a dull mewvie starring Ben “Vacant Glare” Affleck.
Weep for the children and suffer ye the indignity that is – a-the Daredevil.
***THE PLOT***
Young Matt Murdoch is a bright kid on the wrong side of the tracks. His dad is a boxer but also provides the muscle in a protection racket, run by the mysterious crime lord, Kingpin. Just as he turns his life around, he gets all spilled over with radioactive waste.
This accident robs him of his sight but for some reason sharpens his other senses to (initially) mind-messing-with proportions. He learns to develop this gift and becomes super-agile due to the confidence he has in his “radar-sense”. Sadly, all the powers in the world cannot stop his
father being a hothead, and deliberately not throwing a boxer match in order to retain his son’s pride in him. This moment of integrity leads to a murderous conclusion, and young Murdoch is not best pleased.
All growed up, Murdoch has become a criminal lawyer – defending the innocent and the innocent only. Those criminals who escape his lawyery ways are hunted down by his superhero alter-ago – Daredevil – The Man Without Fear. Swinging through the city on a specially adapted billy-club, he avenges and revenges but is all too human.
His human side leads to fall for the elusive Elektra – who by proxy is wrapped up in the evil machinations of the Kingpin. Can Daredevil find the Kingpin? Can he stop the rogue assassin Bullseye from being naughty? And who is that woman who looks exactly like Elektra who is poncing around with pointy weapons?
***THAT’S A LOT OF PLOT***
Well, when you right it out like that, yeah. Somehow though, the movie is shallower than the amount of water you could collect in a hollowed-out ant.
The best thing about the entire movie is the short-ish sequence in which we meet young Matt – hence I harped on about it a lot above. It has emotional drive and a decent set-up. It’s not like you could go wrong with such a tale of morality and a father’s need to provide a positive role model to his child.
The movie actually goes downhill during the introduction sequence. Kudos to the director for trying a different approach to the traditional comic book movie stylings of (a) set up the character (b) introduce powers/origin (c) show them off, but you can only be clever-clever if you clever-clever remain. Opening on a bloodied Daredevil draped over a cross on a church spire is a great image – but irrelevant until the last 15 minutes or so of the movie.
The next sticking point that makes me cringe is the “radar-vision”. Director Mark-Steven Johnson employs a CGI device that shows us what Daredevil “sees”. It’s blue and x-ray looking. And a tad over-used. If a better actor (thank jeebers it wasn’t Vin Diesel as was once considered) had been used, and a more effective script (picky me, eh?) chosen, this could been done a lot better through SIMPLE ACTING. How impressive would it have been if Daredevil, faced with an enemy hiding behind a pillar in a tube station, had remained perfectly still, focusing like a samurai warrior on his surroundings and picking out the guy’s heartbeat through the din? Instead we get a violently loud soundtrack and lots of “arrgh it hurts” face pulling from ver Affleck before he pulls his sh*t together.
The film tries to pack in way too much story into its shortish running time, and as such any emotions that are meant to be felt between the leads seems unlikely and melodramatic. Some nice touches perforate the romance (at one point Murdoch uses the rain falling on Elektra’s face to “see” her – she doesn’t want him to, so raises an umbrella over her head – aw, that sounds crap now but in the movie it’s good – no, honest…). The relationship between these two was far more rich and interesting in the comics, which you should try and check out.
Affleck fails to convince as a hero – he’s a little too pretty-boy. And wasn’t Murdoch blond in the comics? Jennifer Garner does her best as Elektra (a spin-off is in the works) but struggles with crappy dialogue.
***POINTLESS HEADER***
So how bad are the bad guys? Baaaaad. Bullseye (Colin “will act in anything” Farrell) is a great character in the comics and comes across pretty well here. Though for some reason the writers seem completely unable to muster any threatening dialogue. Instead he grunts & growls like someone who forgot their lines. And his payoff lines “The devil is mine!” or “Bullseye, huh?” could have been written by a paperclip.
We then come to the Kingpin. Best known in the comics as being a tall, broad, pinstripe suited bald feller, the role is filled by Michael Clark Duncan. Take my hand boss, and admire how imposing the chap looks. Then realise Mr Jingles (thanx mattygroves!) could have performed better in this role. It’s not his fault! The script is a-rubbish!
Okay, I’d better stop holding the actors at fault and once again address the problem – the writer/director. He apparently loves the source material (or so he says OVER AND OVER in related interviews) – yet in this he has shown very little respect for the original creation. Daredevil using New York as his own thrill ride is sometimes impressive, but at other times a crappy CGI actor fills this role, and makes Shrek look realistic in comparison. There is a fight in a bar, which it edited together in a confusing manner to a loud rock song. The final showdown with Bullseye is almost laughable in its accidental (?) sexual imagery – two grown men in leather outfits ascending a giant organ…um! Worst still is the climatic Kingpin fight – in which Kingpin is defeated by a whack round the legs with a stick. Absolute dross.
There is a certain camp value to the movie, but it certainly doesn’t rank alongside X-Men or Spider-Man as a viable franchise. Even so, this is getting a sequel – proving once and for all that Hollywoodland is indeed under the control of a group of baying morons with the artistic integrity of a mouldy kitchen floor.
Must try harder.
----------------------------
LESSONS LEARNED:
o Mustard in tea emits no apparent aroma, even to those without a preternatural sense of smell o The way to a man’s heart is through beating him up o Being stabbed through the shoulder will only hurt for a bit, and will not impair motor functions in any way o Assassins hate old ladies, flies and olives o Gasoline spillages in exotic shapes are easily missed by trained detectives
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: 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
And all that being topped with the story of how the Daredevil got his superpowers being entirely different than in the comic series - just like with spidey. As a huge fan of Marvel (Spiderman being my fav chara), i spit on hollywood for this disgraceful rubbish. Good review though. greetz Smoke
Calypte 22.04.2004 21:36
I very nearly came this close - almost - to not minding Ben Affleck much after this film. Thankfully it passed!
Ryan74 22.04.2004 03:29
I've heard good and bad things about this film... but the trailer looks crap... so I think I will avoid this one...
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: Michael Clarke Duncan is superb as always Disadvantages: Probably the casting of Affleck, Im still not convinced and the scripts a bit poor
Andy.mack 26.10.2003 ·
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Review of Daredevil (DVD)
![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]")
Apr 21st, 2004
(May 19th, 2004)
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