Picked up the X-Men 1.5 DVD this weekend, and within, I found a coupon good for one free ticket to Daredevil (or X2, but I'm hardly that patient). So I sauntered over to the cinema for a viewing... seemed like a great way to kill a couple of hours before a night shift at the paper. I honestly didn't know what to expect from the film. Sneak peeks left me conflicted. Sometimes I was unimpressed; sometimes I was intrigued.
Ultimately, I have to say this was a shade better than the big-screen version of Spider-Man, though my overall assessment was similar. It's a fun action picture with just enough character-driven elements to sustain my interest.
Here, Matt Murdock, blinded in an accident at the age of 12, discovers his amazing sensory abilities not long before his father is killed for casting off his criminal past and associates. The event embitters the boy, and he dedicates himself to exacting justice... one way or another, either as a lawyer or as a savage vigilante. He's closed off to the world... until he meets Elektra Natchios, who opens his heart. Unfortunately for him, her father is one of the Kingpin's associates, and that deadly connection -- and the hiring of a deranged assassin named Bullseye -- threatens everything Murdock has suddenly come to hold dear.
In many ways, the movie is true to its comic-book roots, but it wisely knows when to cast off the mold and do its own thing. If anything, knowledge of the comics and the people who created the original source material is a hindrance. References to Daredevil creators jar the comic-book fan out of the story. It's nice that the filmmakers acknowledge some creators, but in a way, those tributes interfere with the storytelling a little.
Affleck has been the focus of plenty of scorn as of late, and many felt he didn't have the acting chops to pull off such an over-the-top role. They were wrong. Affleck's performance here easily outshines the rest of the cast. He conveys just how haunted the character is, and he looks the part as the hero. He seems larger than life, an immense specimen of manliness eclipsed only by Duncan's towering, imposing physique.
I don't watch Alias... just can't get into the show. But suddenly, I'm a Jennifer Garner fan. She is essentially eye candy in this film, but her martial-arts scenes are fluid and graceful while still conveying a sense of desperate rage when necessary. Farrell's role is a rather empty one -- Bullseye is little more than an over-the-top sadist -- but his screen presence is undeniable.
Duncan stands out as an excellent bit of casting. His role is a limited one, sadly, but what little screen time he does have, he uses to great effect. He conveys the Kingpin's intelligence and cold nature quite well, and by the end of the movie, one really gets a sense of how enraged and obsessed he has become when it comes to the red-suited hero. As Franklin "Foggy" Nelson, Favreau's role is limited to nothing more than being the butt of the film's jokes; I'm not sure if he's even called Foggy in the movie. He is comic relief and nothing more, which is too bad but understandble.
I'm torn when it comes to the special effects. They're often clunky and confusing. The same awkward computer-generated acrobatics in Spider-Man are to be found in this movie as well, and during those brief scenes, the audience is taken out of the story and the action. The fight scene in Rosie's Bar was frustrating as well, as a strobe-light effect hides the action. On the other hand, the representation of the title character's powers -- and especially his radar sense -- was breathtaking and often quite beautiful.
The greatest strength of the film, though -- and something that Johnson and Affleck pull off better than perhaps any comic-book version of the character -- is the communication of how tortured Matt Murdock is. He's in agony not only as a result of his powers, but he's plagued by the violence, by his inability to connect emotionally with another human being. The sensory-deprivation tank idea was genius, as it not only adds a further visual gothic element to the film, but serves as a symbol of the barriers built up around the title character, some of which are of his own design.
