When I first heard Daredevil was to make the transition to the silver screen I was skeptical that a faithful movie could ever be made. When I heard that Ben Affleck was to portray the blind hero, any hope I had for the movie disappeared (apart from Chasing Amy I’ve been unimpressed with just about everything I’ve seen him do).
So you can imagine my surprise when I left the cinema thinking ‘that wasn’t half bad’ and on reflection I think the Daredevil movie is in fact pretty darned good.
Without giving too much away, the film borrows heavily from Frank Millers take on the character (Miller even has a cameo), and if you are in any way familiar with those stories you’ll pretty much know what to expect.
Much of the action takes place at night and the dark imagery sets the tone for the movie. The New York Daredevil inhabits is a foreboding place, it ain’t called Hells Kitchen for nothing and we soon see Daredevil has no time for criminals, his one concern is justice.
I have only a few gripes about the movie, the main one being that Ben Affleck, while in his Matt Murdock mode, just didn’t cut it. He just looks like he's trying too hard, like the scene had been rehearsed and rehearsed until any spontaneity had been squeezed out of it. The fight scene in the park is almost laughable.
Did Electra not think it odd that this blind man, whom she had just met, wanted to fight her? And when he started jumping around did she not think ‘What the frick is goin’ on here?’. Any passer by just would have seen a woman beating up on a blind guy.
The fight scenes between Daredevil and Electra (at lease during the park scene) again seemed too well rehearsed. I now compare action movies with ‘The Matrix’. ‘The Matrix’ shows what is possible in a fight sequence, and if dumb ass dude Reeves can look convincing as a martial artist, just about everyone can. Except Ben Affleck that is, he looked like he has an ironing board tucked into the back of his trousers.
Jennifer Garner turns in a passable performance as Electra, although here again the filmmakers chose to deviate from the comic book version. In the comic Electra first met Matt Murdock at college and then came back into his life as the assassin Electra. In the movie Murdock chats her up in a coffee shop, and she’s not an assassin, just trained in self-defense.
Michael Clarke Duncan is enormous. He is big, really big by any standards. I had reservations about his casting as the Kingpin (again a change from the comic where he looks more like Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now), but M. C. Duncan simply is the Kingpin. He’s not a super villain, he has no super powers, he’s just a businessman who will stop at nothing to get what he wants.
Duncan almost underplays what could have been an over the top character, but that is in the nature of the Kingpin, not to draw attention to himself, keep the authorities at arms length.
However, what most people will be going on about is Colin Farrell as the Kingpins hired hit man Bullseye.
Bullseye is an arrogant, cocky assassin with little patience, also, he never misses, and when Daredevil evades an attack, the killer becomes obsessed with defeating him. Farrell brings a manic unpredictability to Bullseye, which is a delight to watch, you just don’t know what he’s going to do next.
One thing that did come across from Daredevil is that its director Mark Steven Johnson is passionate about the character, apparently he’s been trying to get this project off the ground for a decade and has finally realized his dream. 10 out of 10 for effort, 7 out of 10 for result.
So, will we see a return for the Crimson Avenger? My heart hopes this is the start of a successful franchise but I can’t help but think this will be that last we’ll see of Daredevil.
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I loved Colin Farrell, he made the film. I wish they had the guts to make it a bit longer to set the scene and allow you to get familiar with the characters. I had no empathy with them and it left me feelng a bit empty cos it all ended too quickly. I love these type of films. Smashing review.
clownfoot 04.06.2004 11:52
I turned it off after half-hour because it was so awful! Good review! Alboy
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 ...
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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 ...
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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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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Daredevil (DVD)
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]")
May 29th, 2004
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