Rating: 
Summary: Superhero movies are dishes best served dark and violent
Review: Spider Man was too cheery, and X-Men was dim but not dark. Finally, an angst-ridden superhero who isn't someone a bad guy can honestly call "do-gooder." Daredevil, full of beatings, pencils and paper clips being turned into lethal projectiles, and death, is the right kind of superhero movie. It may be leaning on the edge of R, (the theatrical release was PG-13) but it's still a good movie, despite the fact that Ben Affleck is not an action star.
Matt Murdock (Ben Affleck, only smirking once) is a pro bono attorney who was blinded by chemical goop when running away from his father, who was strong-arming for the Mob. The goop allowed him to "see" by hearing, and he can see the surface of things when he taps them with his cane or rain falls on them. When his father is murdered because he refuses to lose in a crooked boxing match, Murdock dons the red leather costume at night and becomes a vigilante, seeking justice not found in the courtroom. His "justice" is really more like revenge, as his Catholic priest in confession points out.
Murdock's pro bono ways do not appeal to his law partner, (Jon Favreau, always a hoot) who has no clue of Murdock's secret identity. They are discussing Daredevil in a cafe when Murdock "sees" Electra (Jennifer Garner), a live wire whose father, a Greek ambassador (Eric Avari, from Mr. Deeds) has ties to the Kingpin (Michael Clarke Duncan, not as imposing as he should be), the head of crime in Hell's Kitchen. As soon as Murdock and Electra have a relationship going, Electra's father wants to end his illegitimate ways. The Kingpin hires Bullseye (Colin Farrell, using his native accent), an Irish assassin who can turn anything (pencils, peanuts, paper clips) into a deadly missile, to off Electra's dad. Farrell (was he in 4 movies this year?) is absolutely hilarious, and if Johnny Depp had not barely bested him in Pirates of the Caribbean, Farrell could have nabbed the Craziest Portrayal of the Year Oscar (if they had one). Anyway, back to the review. Bullseye conveniently stages the murder so it would appear as if Daredevil was responsible. Electra, wiithout knowing that her loved one is Daredevil, goes out to hunt down the vigilante to avenge her father. Meanwhile, a brooding Daredevil continually tells himself, "I'm not the bad guy," while a newspaper hack (Joe Pantoliano, just as underrated as Orlando Bloom is overrated) figures out who the real Daredevil is. There follows three fight scenes (Daredevil vs. Kingpin, Daredevil vs. Bullseye, Electra vs. Daredevil/Bullseye), all of which could have been spaced out if they'd made the movie longer and deeper. The Kingpin fight has very little realism to it. The Bullseye fight is just Batman again. If they had a 3 and 1/2 star rating on this website, I'd use it. This movie is not disappointing, but it's just a little too dark. That, and some much-needed changes in casting (Matt Damon as Daredevil, for one) give this movie a 4. This is not a movie for anyone under 10 and it isn't really for the PG-13 crowd either. If your child has seen the Matrix and was not bothered, then you should still think twice. Which brings me to the Matrix. While there have been bad spoofs (Charlie's Angels, The One) and good movies that only had similar qualities (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), The Matrix is still unmatched in fight scenes. (Yes, Ang Lee, your fight scenes were great but had their thunder stolen.) How does Daredevil compare? Well, things that happened regularly in the Matrix were left unexplained here (being blind does not enable you to jump fity feet at a time). The fight scenes were unoriginal but they looked good (I know it was a copy of the scenes from Matrix and SpiderMan, but that glass-throwing scene was pretty cool), and Bullseye drives a motorcycle like no one's business (until Matrix Reloaded, anyway). My advice: Watch it, unless you want your visualization of Reloaded completely undisturbed by any other movie with that kind of fighting. Of course, that would mean you hadn't seen half the movies between 1999 and 2003, so that's unlikely.
Rating: 
Summary: So... empty
Review: Wow was this.. empty. It seemed like a lot of the movie had been cut because the transitions from one plot aspect to the next seemed choppy- too abrupt. One minute Electra wouldn't give Matt her name, the next minute they were kissing, the next minute they were doing the sex. This movie was just so vapid- especially compared to Spiderman which took pains to develop the characters and bring out their humanity, building an action movie that was also emotional. Daredevil was just missing something essential and epitomized Hollywood blockbuster film at its worst. The only thing I can say is the bat-style sonar effects were well done. Oh, and of course the Stan Lee cameo always tickles me.
Rating:
Summary: A Major Letdown, but Bullseye is Unbelievable!
Review: Daredevil came out at a time when all the recent comic book movies had been decently good - X-men and Spiderman were both somewhat new, and it had been a long time since Batman & Robin. Alas, this movie falls far short of most other Marvel films.Parts of this movie will just have you scratching your head. For example, shortly after Matt (Affleck) and Elektra (Garner) meet, they somehow start fighting. Why? As Matt says, "Does every guy have to go through all this just to find out your name?" The dialogue is poor, the story lame, the plot devices almost unbelievably cheesey, and the fight scenes ridiculous. That said, Colin Farrell is one of the best and baddest villains ever as the maniacal Bullseye. Farrell steals almost every scene he's in by portraying a fascinating balance of fear, awe, and laughs. The movie is *almost* worth seeing just for the sheer genius he infused in his part. Oh, one other thing - Jennifer Garner really needs to put some clothes on in this film. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of comic book romance. But she reveals so much physically and has so little depth as a a character that it's distracting, almost to the point where it feels like she's being prostituted for the sake of making guys watch the film. To be effective, she should have been more more than just a sex object. Anyway, see Daredevil if you love comic book movies, or are in the mood to see a really awesome bad guy. Otherwise, don't waste your time.
Rating: 
Summary: Not bad compared to HULK
Review: Matt Murdock lives in "Hell's Kitchen" a tough part of town where bullies of all kinds prey on the vulnerable. His father, a boxer, is killed for refusing to take a dive in a fixed fight. Matt, blind from an accident that also left him with his other senses super-enhanced, vows to become a righter of wrongs and a force for justice. But is he a force for justice or a murderous vigilante? When he loses a case in court, allowing a rapist to go free, Daredevil doesn't just go after him; he slaughters a whole roomfull of bad guys. At least, they must be bad guys, even though we don't really see them do anything bad except for looking tough and fighting for their lives. Even Daredevil himself is not entirely sure that he is one of the good guys. Murdock meets Elektra, whose fragrance is so tantalizing that he follows her out of a coffee shop. They end up taking each other on in a fight in a playground that serves the same function for them that dance numbers did for Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers -- it's their way to size each other up, and it's their foreplay. At one point, he says, "Are you holding back?" she says, "Yes," and he says, "Don't." Clearly, they were made for each other. But there are complications, mostly the work of a crime kingpin named...Kingpin and his hired Irish assassin, Bullseye (Colin Farrell, for once using his original accent). There are misunderstandings, choices, and lessons, but mostly there are fights.
Rating:
Summary: bring on the director's cut
Review: I found Daredevil the movie to be shocking. It evokes the essence of the comic extremely well and isn't bad at all. Forget it's reputation and enjoy this for what it is: a diverting and comic book actioner. I loved the cast and they all played their roles very well. I agree that Elektra isn't as dark as she could be and Daredevil is a bit darker here, but in his excellent review John Hardy already explained all that. If you haven't seen this movie you should. I hope the comments on here about a coming director's cut of Daredevil are true. I'm eager to see it.
Rating:
Summary: Darker Matt, Lighter Elektra
Review: I was there when the Daredevil series hit the Elektra saga and the excitement that Miller & Janson had already brought to the moribund series was incredible. The mature story arcs with adult themes and actual character deaths were handled in a way not seen before in mainstream comics and put that group of artistic works over the top. Daredevil the movie borrows liberally from that timeframe, after developing the lengthy back story of Matt Murdock's 'blinding and awakening'. I frankly didn't mind Affleck as Matt Murdock. He certainly played him a lot more tortured than I remember from the Miller era. Duncan as Wilson Fisk aka the Kingpin, also interesting but manageable. Colin Farrell as Bullseye and Jennifer Garner as Elektra round out the cast nicely. The final death scene of Elektra is hauntingly familiar to fans of the comics, Bullseye uses the same dialogue leading up to 'but me, I'm magic..' and who can forget that impaling on the sai with the tip extended through the body but not the clothes, making a small tent. Yikes. Garner doesn't bring the darkness inherent in Elektra out, but she actually did a pretty good job if you don't bring any preconceptions into the theatre. I actually thought it was a pretty good film within in the confines of what it attempts to do.
Rating: 
Summary: Tragic!
Review: It is a crime that Ben Affleck has the ability to get good roles like this and Screw up what could have been a good movie if someone else had gotten the leading role. Ben Affleck tries to incorporate the magic of the Spider-man movie into this steaming pile of crap, but everything about it is awful. Jennifer Garner's character has no depth, Jon Favreau is annoying and does not make the film any better, and Affleck is not believable as a super-hero with great fighting skill. Cuba Gooding Jr. would have been GREAT as Daredevil and is a much better actor than Affleck ever was. Even Silent Bob would be a better Daredevil than Affleck. Don't bother wasting your time with this
Rating:
Summary: Well Done!
Review: I can't believe I'm writing this: I enjoyed this movie. I normally don't get into comic book plots about superheroes. The "Batman" and "Superman" movies convinced me to stay further away. As to the Incredible Hulk, if I want to see a giant green man I'll pick up a can of peas. So with great trepidation, wailing, and gnashing of teeth (all six of them) I sat down and watched this DVD. Knock me over with a feather. DAREDEVIL entertained the daylights out of me. From the predictable set-up of the story, to the rock 'em sock 'em action, to the great special effects, to the one-dimensional villains, this movie had me grinning like my cat after the goldfish disappeared. I like to think the film succeeded because I sensed a tongue-in-cheek satire of all the other superhero yarns that clutter the Marvel Comics playground. Looked to me like everyone involved with the production of this movie had a good time making it, primarily because no one took themselves too seriously. They just went with the flow, which is what the viewer should do; let the story suspend your stodgy sense of disbelief and take you for a ride with the blind, red leather crime fighter as he frolics and flies around Manhattan's skyscrapers. I can't believe I'm writing this, either. I actually liked Ben Affleck in this movie. (But not enough to suffer through "Pearl Harbor" again.) Colin Farrell and Michael Clarke Duncan are superb menacing, grimacing, bloodthirsty villains. And Jennifer Garner adds admirable buns of steel. Enhanced by a fantastic soundtrack, DAREDEVIL delivers a solid entertainment punch. Clark Kent would be jealous.
--D. Mikels
Rating:
Summary: purchased this and love it
Review: I rented this DVD on a whim and was pleasantly surprised. The negative criticisms of this movie are way off base. Good cast, plenty of action and it tugged my heart strings. Not a bad superhero movie at all!
Rating:
Summary: Not bad....
Review: I just watched this last night on the cable premiere, & was surprised because it wasn't exactly like I expected. First of all, like some have mentioned, it is very dark (maybe that's what I liked about it).... the background itself, & the subject matter. I'm not familiar with the comic book, so this is totally based on viewing the movie. It's certainly not as happy-go-lucky as Spiderman, so if you're expecting that, it might disappoint. There are some rather sad things that happen in the movie, but afterwards, I'm thinking, well, I did keep watching it.... & even though most people like & expect happy endings, the fact is that life is not full of them. You can actually feel the pain of the characters... so in that respect, I didn't mind so much that it didn't have a totally happy & predictable ending. The visual effects are cool of course, & the music is good too. As far as the acting, I don't think you have to be a huge Ben Affleck fan to appreciate it... I'm saying that cuz yah, I'm REALLY sick of the whole J-Lo thing, but don't let that keep you from seeing him act. He's not bad... I've only seen him in Kevin Smith movies like Dogma, so it was nice to see him do another character. And speaking of Dogma, it's interesting that Kevin Smith was involved in this... I'm sure that contributed to my appreciation for this film. I haven't even seen Garner & Farrell at work, & I think they both did a good job too. They made Garner look really lovely, & I thought her outfit she wore on the cover/fight was really cool. Farrell was a really good villain, & he fit the part almost too well. A few downsides: yah, the playground scene was kinda too Matrix-ish like someone said, but I think it can be overlooked. And like I said earlier, some of the events that are down right sad might be aggravating to some cuz sometimes they were a little drawn out...even I was thinking at times "geez, could his luck get any worse?" But it kinda reminds me of listening to depressing music, as I often do...if you don't mind the reality of it, it might actually make you feel better... or maybe I'm just weird like that. All in all, I actually agree with the reviewer rating here of 3 & 1/2 stars, but since I had to pick, I give it a 4... just going with the majority, & I'm in a good mood. If you like other super-hero/vigilante movies like Batman, Spiderman, & The Crow, you'll be able to appreciate this as well. I love fantasy/action movies like this, so I would definitely see this again. Cheers.
|
