Movie Review

Daredevil (PG-13)

Guylaine Cadorette

Photos| Movie Info

Hollywood.com Says
Attorney Matt Murdock is blind, but his other four senses function with superhuman acuteness. By day he is a lawyer representing the poor, but by night he is Daredevil--a relentless avenger of justice.

Story
At the tender age of 12, Matt Murdock (Ben Affleck), was splashed in the eyes with radioactive waste and lost his sight--but his other four senses developed with superhuman sharpness. He grew up to become a bleeding-heart lawyer, running a law practice with his best friend Foggy Nelson (Jon Favreau) and chasing beautiful women, including the bright and fearless Elektra Natchios (Jennifer Garner). By night he is the masked vigilante Daredevil, using his incredible senses and abilities to defend the downtrodden in New York City's Hell's Kitchen. Daredevil, the movie, stays true to all the elements that are pervasive in the Marvel Universe: drama, love, action, violence, revenge, a spiteful police department and, best of all, the probing reporter on a quest for the truth. Here, moviegoers will become familiar with events that become catalysts in Daredevil's crime-fighting career, including the death of his father (David Keith) at the hands of the mob and the victimization of those close to him. The villainous underworld figure Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. Kingpin (Michael Clarke Duncan), and his hired hand, the psychotic killer Bullseye (Colin Farrell), are also introduced as Daredevil's foes--and the battle between good and evil is born in this gritty urban borough.

Acting
Daredevil's appeal is that he does not possess any superpowers, which made Affleck (Sum of All Fears) a good choice to portray this rather vulnerable crime fighter. While he beefed up for the role, Affleck still retains that guy-next-door quality that makes both Murdock and Daredevil so relatable. His love interest in the film, Elektra, is played by Garner, better known as Sydney Bristow on ABC's Alias. Elecktra is as brawny as she is brainy and Garner is the perfect fit for the character: she's gorgeous in a non-Hollywood kind of way and convincing as skilled fighter. Playing Murdock's lifelong friend and partner Foggy, Favreau's (Made) role here is the most low-key of the bunch but he delivers some comic relief with some really funny lines. As far as villains go, no one could be better suited for the role of Kingpin than the larger-than-life Duncan (The Scorpion King). This massively muscled character had to be played by someone with a powerful presence and sophisticated intellect, making Duncan the ideal candidate. Rounding out the malefactors is Farrell (The Recruit), who churns out a powerful performance as the psychotic killer Bullseye, complete with the nervous twitches and shifty eyes.

Direction
The decision to place Mark Steven Johnson at the helm of Daredevil was a little surprising. His 1998 directorial debut, Simon Birch, and his screenwriting credits, Grumpy Old Men and the astoundingly bad Jack Frost, hardly seemed on a par with an action adventure feature like this. The fact that Johnson hasn't worked extensively with digital effects becomes apparent in some of the film's action sequences that include a CGI Daredevil running upside walls and taking giant leaps from rooftop to rooftop. The completely animated version of Daredevil doesn't behave naturally and lacks details, such as muscles, texture, highlights and shadows. But Daredevil didn't have a huge budget (compared to Spider-Man at least) and what it lacked in f/x it made up for with a gripping and gritty story line. Daredevil's mission is to rid Hell's Kitchen--not the universe--of as much crime as he can and his vendettas are personal--and grotesquely violent. More importantly, Johnson's screenplay stays true to the comic book characters and their attributes. Fans of the comic book will appreciate his truthful touches, such Bullseye's maniacal talents, which include being able to turn a paperclip into a deadly weapon, and Kingpin's ritualistic removal of his blazer before pounding the snot out of adversaries.

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