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#242 - Daredevil
Mark Steven Johnson, 2003
After being blinded by radioactive waste during childhood results in him being gifted with radically heightened senses, a lawyer decides to become a crime-fighting superhero.
Even though I'm not the biggest fan of superhero movies in general, I don't think being a big fan would make that much of a difference to one's enjoyment of Daredevil (or lack thereof). For one thing, it's terribly inconsistent in its treatment of its protagonist (Ben Affleck). After a lengthy flashback explaining how Daredevil acquired both his powers and his thirst for justice (including an especially improbable instance of exposure to radioactive waste that somehow blinds him and gives him super sonar yet only manages to hit him in the eyes), we are introduced to Daredevil as he fails to prosecute a stereotypical scumbag during his day job and then (after a rather nonsensical and badly-shot action sequence) allowing said scumbag to get run over by a train. That's without mentioning that the extremely ancillary romantic subplot between him and Elektra (Jennifer Garner) starts with a bit of stalking and a public fist-fight. This just serves to make Daredevil's constant internal struggle over whether or not he's a hero or a villain seem especially ridiculous - and that's without taking into account the presence of Affleck at a serious low point in his acting career.
Aside from Affleck, the cast still isn't good. Garner is a pretty bland action girl, while Michael Clarke Duncan adds his usual charisma to an otherwise generic crime boss villain with mediocre results. Colin Farrell, on the other hand, practically steals the show as Bullseye, the wacky assassin with an extremely unusual set of skills who makes for the film's few good moments. This is in spite of the fact that there is no logical reason why he's even involved in the movie's plot other than to give Daredevil an equally dangerous rival. As far as peripheral characters go, Joe Pantoliano deserves to be in a better movie as he plays the civilian who believes in the existence of Daredevil, while Jon Favreau makes for terrible comic relief as Daredevil's obnoxious, oblivious co-worker. Daredevil does a lot of things wrong. Bad performances are used on worse characters, the special effects and action are terrible even by 2003 standards, the soundtrack is loaded with nu-metal and post-grunge, and the script is poor enough to frequently undermines what little depth or interest it actually has. Time will tell if I decide to give the new Netflix series a chance, but I can't imagine it being much worse than this.
Mark Steven Johnson, 2003
After being blinded by radioactive waste during childhood results in him being gifted with radically heightened senses, a lawyer decides to become a crime-fighting superhero.
Even though I'm not the biggest fan of superhero movies in general, I don't think being a big fan would make that much of a difference to one's enjoyment of Daredevil (or lack thereof). For one thing, it's terribly inconsistent in its treatment of its protagonist (Ben Affleck). After a lengthy flashback explaining how Daredevil acquired both his powers and his thirst for justice (including an especially improbable instance of exposure to radioactive waste that somehow blinds him and gives him super sonar yet only manages to hit him in the eyes), we are introduced to Daredevil as he fails to prosecute a stereotypical scumbag during his day job and then (after a rather nonsensical and badly-shot action sequence) allowing said scumbag to get run over by a train. That's without mentioning that the extremely ancillary romantic subplot between him and Elektra (Jennifer Garner) starts with a bit of stalking and a public fist-fight. This just serves to make Daredevil's constant internal struggle over whether or not he's a hero or a villain seem especially ridiculous - and that's without taking into account the presence of Affleck at a serious low point in his acting career.
Aside from Affleck, the cast still isn't good. Garner is a pretty bland action girl, while Michael Clarke Duncan adds his usual charisma to an otherwise generic crime boss villain with mediocre results. Colin Farrell, on the other hand, practically steals the show as Bullseye, the wacky assassin with an extremely unusual set of skills who makes for the film's few good moments. This is in spite of the fact that there is no logical reason why he's even involved in the movie's plot other than to give Daredevil an equally dangerous rival. As far as peripheral characters go, Joe Pantoliano deserves to be in a better movie as he plays the civilian who believes in the existence of Daredevil, while Jon Favreau makes for terrible comic relief as Daredevil's obnoxious, oblivious co-worker. Daredevil does a lot of things wrong. Bad performances are used on worse characters, the special effects and action are terrible even by 2003 standards, the soundtrack is loaded with nu-metal and post-grunge, and the script is poor enough to frequently undermines what little depth or interest it actually has. Time will tell if I decide to give the new Netflix series a chance, but I can't imagine it being much worse than this.