Rating: Summary: Good Movie---Not so good Super Hero Review: I was so exicted to see this movie...and when it came to it, all in all the movie was excellent. The only real problem i had, was the casting of Ben Affleck as DareDevil. I didn't think that he made such a good "super hero". I'm not sure who i would have cast for this role. But again, all in all the movie is great. Just not very good casting down on the main character part. Go and check out the movie...it's a "fast" flowing film...worth the ticket!! :)
Rating: Summary: "Another dude in red tights?" Review: Yes, he is another dude in red tights. And that is a shame. This movie will be endlessly compared to spider-man just because it features a man in tight spandex. ... Daredevil is at least five times better than Spider-man, and there are very few similarities between the two other than the color of their costume. ... Forget about spider-man, block out thoughts of every other superhero movie and watch this film, a very close adaptation of the comic books, with good acting, a good storyline, well choreographed and interesting action scenes (unlike the other red wonder's little diddy) and an enjoyable, satisfying finale. If you look at it that way, it won't disappoint.
Rating: Summary: Another entertaining Marvel super-hero movie Review: Marvel is just swimming in money,especially Stan Lee. From the Blade movies to Spider-man. Now, here we are with Daredevil. When I go to the theaters, I saw tons of people in line and a bunch of SOLD OUT signs on the showtimes, so I kind of figured the movie would be a box-office,sold out hit, and it was. When I first heard that Ben Afleck was casted as Matt Murdock(DD),I kind of had my doubts about it. I do like Ben Afleck, but I just couldn't see him as a blind man, super-hero, jumping from building to building kicking the [stuffing] out of villains. But, as I was watching the movie, my view on Afleck changed. I can now see him as Daredevil. Anyways, the movie is about a man named Matt Murdock, who when he was a boy, got a chemical accident sprayed into his eyes, causing him to go blind, but enhancing his 4 other senses, to make them a radar. So, of course, he's got to grasp his abilities, learn them, and harness them. After we see him as a boy, we then see Matt Murdock fighting crime in Hell's Kitchen as Daredevil. The villains in the movie, were not in the movie that much and you couldn't really get the feel for them. Elektra barely had any screen time to show off her skills, and Bullseye's fights and razzle,dazzle sharp throwing skills were really short. I really didn't care that Kingpin was black. But, he was the villain with the shortest screen time. I was very surprised in this, because Kingpin is big time in the comics! Casting Micheal Clarke Duncan as Kingpin, didn't bother me at all, because, who else are you gonna get? He's the only huge actor that fits body structure and strength of the Kingpin. Overall, I thought Daredevil was a pretty good, comic book movie. The actings was o.k. and the story line stuck with the movie.After seeing the end and the scene during the credits, I could already tell that Daredevil 2 will be coming out. Let' just hope with all the other comic book hero movies like X-Men 2,The Hulk,Amazing Spider-Man,and the rumored Fantastic 4 and Iron Man, that if they make another Daredevil, that it wont be flushed out and boring because of all the super-hero movies.
Rating: Summary: Daredevil - The Movie without fear Review: Before seeing the movie on opening night, I read all of the preceding reviews and came to the conclusion that people all have differing values for any number of different reasons. Thus, my review cannot be, should not be, won't be, the final word. I'm 53, grew up reading Daredevil comics, another person half my age who read the comics, or didn't, will have a different take on it. Regardless of being a fan way back then, the movie should stand on its own, whether you know who Daredevil is or not. Thus, his origin is given near the beginning in an extended flashback. By the time that is finished there is only about an hour left to the movie and really not enough time to get into anything in depth, and yet the director let some scenes just drag on. Matt Murdock, the blind attorney, seems to have no problem showing off his extraordinary skills to just about anyone whom he wants to impress, and nobody seems to give it more than a momentary surpise. Well, this is a fantasy, I suppose. Yeah, I can buy into Spiderman; but I'm having trouble buying into Daredevil. Btw, Matt can do all these fantastic things, but can't seem to ever get his hair brushed neatly, go figure. Alright, the movie. Great acting comes thru. Colin Farrell: despite having a weird talent, performs magnificently! He is truly going to have a great future. Jennifer Garner: great to look at, but for the same reason I stopped watching "Alias," I was not happy with her here. Not much of an actress, and the fight scenes with her appear as phony as they do on "Alias." Sorry, I was hoping for better on the big screen. The Kingpin: I don't really care if he is white or black, red or yellow. The man can act, but can the director direct? Take that as a negative. I agree with an earlier reviewer that an early fight scene takes place in such a dark room you can't see a thing. Of course a sensitive blind man has an advantage in the dark, but why waste our time viewing if we can't see a thing happening. An overextended scene at that. Also, while I'm willing to suspend reality a bit, if a certain person appears near death with a lot of blood loss, how is he all of a sudden able to put it all back together again and fight like nothing has happened to him? Come on! Adrenaline, I don't think so. Just a poor story line, along with a poorly directed film. My advice. If you have to see it, do so before 6PM, or wait for video/cable. This movie is really an insult to the movie going public. If the producer thought this movie was going to be a "Summer Blockbuster" he would have released it then. By releasing it now, without any competition in the same genre, he has a better chance of succeeding. Daredevil would have been washed away in a summer release, and for good reason.
Rating: Summary: Wonderful! Truly a High Point in Comic Book Adaptations. Review: The early 2003 film season sees its first high-profile release in "Daredevil," the cinematic adaptation of Marvel Comics classic comic book character. The recent successes of Brian Singer's "X-Men" (2000) film and Sam Raimi's Spider-Man (2002) film have made the super hero genre vogue once more as "Daredevil" is but the first of a wave of comic book films scheduled for release in the next two years. Yet, with the memory of Joel Schumacher's "Batman" films still fresh in the minds of filmgoers, there is an understandable trepidation directed toward any new men-in-tights film. Long-time Marvel Comics fans in particular may be suffering from an additional series of anxiety attacks if they remember the low budget "Captain America" (1991) and "Punisher" (1989) films from years past and the banished Roger Corman-produced Fantastic Four film (1994) which can currently be found only through non-mainstream channels. Some questionable casting choices announced last year also raised some concerns. Jennifer Garner as Elektra? Could her performance be strong enough to overcome the distraction created by the fact that she looks nothing like the Elektra inhabiting the comic book page? Ben Affleck as Matt Murdock/Daredevil? Could he project the necessary heroic presence that comic book readers since 1964 have become accustomed to seeing in the Man Without Fear? For those of you unfamiliar with the Daredevil character, attorney Matt Murdock is the crimson-clothed vigilante. When he was a young boy, he was blinded by radioactive material. Although he lost his sight, his other remaining senses were enhanced multifold. Of particular note was a special "radar sense" that he possessed which enabled him to "see" his surroundings. He used this radar sense along with a specially designed billy-club, and his own top-conditioned body to fight crime and catch the criminals he could not put away through his civilian legal endeavors. Admittedly, the preview trailers for the film appeared encouraging with each new trailer being better than the previous one. Early buzz from preview audiences was positive and the endorsement of the film by filmmaker-comic book writer Kevin Smith certainly didn't hurt. Yet, a final verdict could not be rendered until the film itself was released and seen in its entirety. After seeing the film on opening day, I can safely say that any fears over its quality have proved unfounded. "Daredevil" is great. Director and screenplay writer Mark Steven Johnson wisely mined the strongest source material for the character in its 38-year publication history - the Frank Miller Daredevil/Elektra/Kingpin/Bullseye issues of the early 1980's. Writer-artist Miller introduced a new grittiness to the character in a grand story-arc that firmly established Daredevil's crusade to take back the streets from the Kingpin. In the comic book storyline, Daredevil starts to make progress in disrupting the Kingpin's operations on the street level but his former lover, Elektra, falls from grace and sides with the Kingpin. This enrages Bullseye who has now been replaced as the Kingpin's top assassin. Bullseye escapes from prison and kills Elektra to regain his former position and then sets his sights on Daredevil to avenge the humiliation he suffered when Daredevil saved his life in an earlier confrontation. When the dust settles, the Kingpin is defeated after Daredevil forces him to choose between his wife and his criminal empire, Elektra is dead, and Bullseye is paralyzed. Many comic book fans still regard these issues as the high point of the Daredevil run and anyone interested in sampling these issues for the first time should check out the recent "Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller" reprint collections. Expectedly, the "Daredevil" film does not adapt everything from the comic book storyline to the screen. This is a necessary evil of the adaptation process where compromises and abridging are the norm. What did make it to screen, however, is a faithful-in-sprit translation of the source material. There are a number of changes which I will not detail but the epic scope of the Miller works have been kept intact as best as possible. Affleck does an admirable job at portraying Matt Murdock, capturing all of the angst, conflict, and guilt that the character experiences because of the conflicts of his civilian and super-hero identities. Garner is the surprise of the film as she immediately makes you forget about any objections over her casting. While she does not possess the classical Greek profile, she ably transforms into the deadly sai-wielding fighter that comic books fans are familiar with. Michael Clarke Duncan and Colin Farrell similarly do not resemble their print counterparts, but also distinguish themselves through their fine portrayals. Also Jon Favreau and Joe Pantoliano are great in bringing two of the most important characters in the Daredevil mythos to life - Foggy Nelson and Ben Urich. There are other references throughout the film to past and present Daredevil creators (including an extended cameo by Kevin Smith) that should put a smile on many faces. And of course, the customary Stan Lee appearance in a Marvel Comics film is also there. One final note - be sure to remain seated while the end credits are rolling - there's a coda to the film that shows up that you don't want to miss.
Rating: Summary: Good Chapter 1 to new franchise, so-so movie Review: This movie started off great. Beautiful style, cool visual effects and great development of back story to Daredevil. That was the best part unfortunately. The characters all had very cool introductions and looked amazing and then I just wanted them to do something. ANYTHING! The movie ends in a very unsatisfactory way. Of course we know there will be sequels to the sequels but show us something in the meantime to make us want to come back. The end leaves you feeling somewhere between a commercial break and a season finale but without any actual cliffhanger even, just an 'I'll be back' cliche equivalent. Very disappointing.
Rating: Summary: DD Dazzles! Review: Being a comic book fan, I was a bit skeptical on how good this movie will be. Boy, this movie does not let me down at all. The film is quite true to the comic itself while it will not let newcomers out in the dark. Daredevil is not your regular superhero, he does not hesitate when giving bad guys their due(whether it be killing them or severely breaking their body parts...). Even the villians are a bit more evil than your "regular" villans(lets just say an senior citizen gets killed by a peanut). Ben Affleck plays a convincing Matt Murdock(Daredevil). It was also enjoyable seeing one of my favorite Marvel character, Elektra, come to life on the big screen. The film itself basically starts off with Daredevil's origin and leads you to how Daredevil gets a sticky situation between Elektra, Bullseye and Kingpin. The fight scenes were expertly done(thanks to a Hong Kong crew). I was never disappointed in this film. I reccomend it highly!
Rating: Summary: Daredevil Review: I went into this movie not expecting much based on the previews, and came out of the theater thinking it was the third greatest comic book movie ever X-Men and the first Batman being the top two, but this one may tie in my book with Batman. This beats Spiderman which I feel wasn't as good as people made it sound. I liked it because it was not the typical comic book movie it was dark and had more of an R rating edge to it. The best performance would not be Ben Affleck, but Colin Ferell his part was shorter then I thought it would be but in a few scences you almost root for his character. Michael Clark Duncan is well fitted for the roll of Kingpin, Jennifer Gradner is sexy and dangerous as Electra, and Ben Affleck is not my pick for the roll but is ok as Daredevil. The special effects are no different from Spiderman for the most part of movie, but the fight with Kingpin at the end is one of the best special effects fights ever. If your a fan of the first two batman movies before their dwon fall with the two you should check this out, lets hope with the sequals it won't go the same route as Batman did.
Rating: Summary: You'd think it would be good Review: You'd think that with such an all-star lineup (Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Colin Farrell) they couldn't go wrong. You'd also think after the huge success of Spiderman that this movie would only end up in dead competition with it. Also, judging from the previews, the movie looks great. SO WRONG! I was laughing the entire time; the corniness was unbelieveable, the ending completely sucked.
Rating: Summary: Affleck leads DAREDEVIL's dark, edgy thrill-ride Review: After the hugh success of SPIDER-MAN, it was obvious to many film observers that superhero films were back in vogue in a major fashion. DAREDEVIL is the first film since SPIDER-MAN to test that theory and, while the film isn't perfect, it doesn't disappoint. This movie tells the story of Matt Murdock (Ben Affleck), who lost his sight when his eyes are exposed to toxic waste in childhood. However, his remaining senses are amplified to a superhuman degree. When his father is murdered by mob enforcers, Murdock decides to fight injustice in his own unique way. By day, he works as a lawyer while he metes his own dark brand of justice nightly as the red-garbed vigilante, Daredevil. Eventually, he meets and falls in love with the shipping heiress, Elektra (Jennifer Garner). However, both of them are drawn into tragedy when they become unwittingly involved in the schemes of the city's crime boss, the Kingpin (Michael Clarke Duncan) and his half-crazed assassin, Bullseye (Colin Farrell). At first glance, Affleck would be an unconventional choice for a superhero lead as he tends to play affable, yet somewhat bland, leading men-types, but he pulls it off quite well. You can believe that this is a man who is driven to fight crime while fighting his own inner demons. Also, with so many other characters competing for attention, Affleck succeeds in making and keeping the character as a major focus in the film. This is opposed to the Batman films where the hero was lost among the villians and supporting characters. Garner is both beautiful and lethal as his love-interest. Michael Clarke Duncan's Kingpin doesn't have an awful lot to do, but he does make the most of his appearances as the man-mountian behind the crime syndicate. Colin Farrell is probably the only actor in the film who camps things up a bit as Bullseye, but he succeeds in making him a character to be feared even when we chuckle at his quirks. Director and screenwriter Mark Steven Johnson obviously has a love for the material, having adapted it from the classic Frank Miller-written comics. He also keeps the film going at a good clip, keeping the film at just over 100 minutes. However, it would've been nice to see some character motivations more fleshed-out. The plotline where Joe Pantoliano's newspaper reporter is looking to expose Daredevil is practically glossed over and it would've been nice to see more of the Kingpin's motivations. But this is mere quibbling on my part. Johnson and his cast treat the material with respect and the film is never allowed to drag. Indeed, it succeeds where the last 2 Batman films failed in presenting its dark hero. While DAREDEVIL probably won't reach the heights achieved by SPIDER-MAN, it is still a worthy entry in the superhero derby. Definitely one to recommend.
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