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Paul Greenwood reviews
- Cert:
- Running time: 100 minutes
- Year: 2003
- Released: 14th February 2003
- Widescreen Ratio: 2.35:1
- Rating: 9/10
Director:
- Mark Steven Johnson
(Daredevil, Simon Birch)
Cast:
- Matt Murdock/Daredevil: Ben Affleck
Elektra Natchios: Jennifer Garner
The Kingpin: Michael Clarke Duncan
Bullseye: Colin Farrell
Franklin ‘Foggy’ Nelson: Jon Favreau
Ben Urich: Joe Pantoliano
Jack Murdock: David Keith
Young Matt Murdock: Scott Terra
Nikolaos Natchios: Erick Avari
Daredevilis a character I had little more than a passing knowledge ofbefore seeing this film. I knew he was a comic book hero and I knew he wasblind, and that was about it. A lot of the pre-release talk from fans hadcentred on the faithfulness or otherwise of the adaptation, so I was kindof glad that I was going in to it fresh with no preconceived opinions.
And fresh the film is – a villain who isn’t a madman bent on worlddomination, a hero who is (at first) more vigilante assassin than crusader,a love interest that isn’t tacked on or superfluous, and a distinctly darkand adult tone throughout. Add the icing of slick, bone crunching actionsequences and first rate performances, and the holy trinity of The Spider,The Bat and The Kryptonian have had a serious challenge laid down to them.
As is usually the case in such films, we need a bit of introduction and thegenesis of the hero. WhereSpidermanand Supermantook a good leisurelyhour for this purpose, Daredevil’s relatively brisk running time allows usno such luxury. This doesn’t mean the intro feels rushed or that anythingimportant is missed, as we meet twelve year old Matt Murdock, bullied andbeaten in his rough New York neighbourhood. He lives with his father, apast-it boxer and sometime union thumb breaker, who wants Matt to get aneducation and have a better life. When Matt one day sees his fathermuscling a guy, he runs away, leading to the accident that blinds him – acollision with some toxic waste.
By a conceit that was maybe slightly easier for comic readers in the 60sto swallow than 21st century cinema audiences, the loss of his sightheightened young Matt’s other senses to superhuman levels, allowing him touse them like a kind of radar that meant his blindness was no handicap atall. His motivation for vengeance comes when his father is killed forrefusing to throw a fight.
Fast forward to the adult Murdock, and his search for justice has lead tohim becoming a lawyer by day, and scumbag slaughtering Daredevil by night,in a city ruled by crime lord, The Kingpin. Throw in the beautiful Elektra,daughter of The Kingpin’s billionaire business partner, and psychotichitman Bullseye, then sit back and enjoy the fireworks. As mentioned, theaction is very good, but the focus is very firmly on character and thedilemma faced by DD of wanting to serve justice, but being uncomfortablewith meting it out so viciously himself.
Ben Affleck hits all the right notes with his portrayal of a dark knight who isevery bit as complex as Batman. Jennifer Garner is sensational and Michael ClarkeDuncan is an awesome presence. But Colin Farrell‘s Bullseye just about steals theshow – allowed to keep his Irish accent, he’s absolutely hilarious and hasa whale of a time killing people with paper clips, pencils and peanuts.Although the majority passed me by, if in-jokes are your thing then Idaresay you’ll find much to enjoy, as evidenced by the two guys behind mewho would laugh loud and long at the mere mention of a name or appearanceof a face.
The only minor letdowns were a couple of slightly dodgy Blade 2 style CGImoments (although nowhere near as bad as some of the effects in Spiderman)and some fairly blatant sequel baiting. These points aside, the Year of theComic really couldn’t have gotten off to a better start.
Review copyright © Paul Greenwood, 2003.E-mail Paul Greenwood
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.