Daredevil

Starring: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Colin Farrell, Michael Clarke Duncan    Written and Directed by: Mark Steven Johnson

The Story:  Daredevil is one of those superheroes that I never really got into during my comic book phase. I'd see his comic books on the rack in the local newsstand and never picked one up. He seemed kind of boring compared to more colorful heroes like Iron Man and the Fantastic Four. the only thing I knew about the character was that he was blind but could function better than a sighted person because of his heightened senses and special "Radar Sense". In the 80's when Frank Miller took over writing and drawing the comic Daredevil became a little more interesting, at least to me. Miller revised DD's past by introducing Elektra, and Stick. Stick isn't in the movie, but Elektra is. Too bad. Stick's contribution to Daredevil lore is pretty important. If I recall the old comic books correctly, Stick was a kind of blind martial arts sensei that helped Matt Murdock handle his hyper senses and taught him to fight. Any Comic Fans out there feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on that.

Anyway, I'm betting that people that aren't comic book readers have probably never heard of Daredevil except for the movie. The flick is pretty faithful to Daredevil's comic book origins. As a young boy in New York's Hell's Kitchen, Matt Murdock is often picked on. Even though he faces bullies everyday, his father, a washed up boxer called Jack "The Devil" Murdock, doesn't want matt to fight. He tells the boy to study and make something of himself. Matt obviously idolizes his father (mom is nowhere to be seen) but his world is shattered when he discovers that Jack works for a local mob boss. Running away from the distasteful scene, Matt narrowly avoids being hit by a forklift on the docks, but takes a face full of toxic waste when a drum containing the noxious fluid is ruptured. The chemicals took his sight but replaced them with heightened senses and a special "Radar Sense".  An important note here is that in the comic book Daredevil's Radar Sense was depicted as a sort of Extra sensory perception, but in the movie it seems to work on sound waves. Jack Murdock  feeling guilt over his son's accident resumes his boxing career and quickly becomes a contender. But when he refuses to take a dive, the mob has him killed.

This is pretty much how it happened in the comic book, also. In the comic book though we see Matt explain that his Dad didn't want him to ever use violence to solve problems. So Matt, as a grown up lawyer, creates the Alter-Ego of Daredevil to do his fighting. In the movie Daredevil just kind of happens. We first see Matt as the crimson clad crime fighter when he goes after a low level thug named Quesada. Mr. Quesada managed to escape conviction due to a slick lawyer, but later fails to escape Daredevil. I actually liked the part where DD beats up a bar full of criminals because it reminded me of the first Daredevil comic book I did read. I can't remember much about it except that DD was in a room full of crooks. They surround him and one of the thugs comments that "He's only one guy! This'll be easy!" and Daredevil replies "Nope. Its gonna be hard!", then he throws his billy club into the rooms only light. The bad guys can't see and Daredevil proceeds to break his foot off in numerous asses.

As a lawyer, Matt defends only people he believes are innocent, despite the protestations of his partner, Franklin "Foggy" Nelson. Matt even refuses to represent businessman Wilson Fisk because of Fisk's shady reputation. Unknown to Matt at that point though, Fisk is really the Kingpin of Crime. The Kingpin controls most of the criminal activity in New York, and one of his associates is Nikolas Natchios, father of Elektra Natchios. Elektra and Matt are somewhat of a couple, though I really didn't feel any chemistry between the couple. (They met at a coffee shop and had a faux karate match in a playground....yeah, you read that right). Nikolas wants out of the Kingpin's organization so Fisk hires Bull's-eye, a homicidal hit man to eliminate him. Bull's-eye has the uncanny ability to turn anything he throws into a lethal projectile. Be it a paper clip, a peanut or a plastic straw Bull's- eye can kill with it. When Matt discovers that Natchios may be in danger he becomes Daredevil and follows his limousine. He arrives on the scene in time to confront Bull's-eye, but the wily killer manages to kill Natchios in front of Elektra with DD's billy club. Elektra thinks Daredevil is responsible and swears revenge. That's not Daredevil's only problem, either. Bull's-eye wants to bring him down because Daredevil "made him miss" and Bull's-eye never misses. There's also a subplot with a news reporter named Urich that discovers Daredevil's secret identity, but doesn't disclose it.

Elektra confronts Daredevil on a rooftop and nearly kills him. but just before she delivers the lethal blow she unmasks him and discovers that he is really Matt Murdock. Matt explains that he didn't kill her father, Bull's-eye did, but just then Bull's-eye arrives. temporarily incapacitated, DD can only watch helplessly as Bull's-eye kills Elektra. Wounded, the scarlet crime fighter takes refuge in a church but Bull's-eye shows up right behind him to finish the job. Daredevil musters his strength and beats Bull's-eye by throwing him out of a window badly injuring him. But not before the hit man tells him that Fisk is the Kingpin and the Kingpin wants him dead. Daredevil heads to Fisk's office to confront him. Now in the comics, the Kingpin was a big fat white guy and actually was created as a villain for Spider-Man. But like most of the popular Marvel comics villains the kingpin mixed it up with a lot of other heroes. (Think about Dr. Doom....he's the main foe of the Fantastic Four but Doom has fought just about EVERYONE in the Marvel Universe) The Kingpin ended up being the main foe for Daredevil back in the 80's and to be honest, I think he's better as a Daredevil villain. Spider-Man is more interesting when he fights oddball villains like the Vulture or Doctor Octopus. In the movie though the Kingpin is a big tubby Black guy. (Michael Clark-Duncan). it think Duncan made a decent kingpin, though. the Kingpin almost defeats Daredevil and does unmask him, but Daredevil comes out of the fight on top after breaking Fisk's kneecaps. the police are now aware of the Kingpin's real identity and on the way to arrest him. Daredevil leaves the injured Fisk telling him he doesn't care if he blabs about his secret identity. Once the inmates in prison learn that the kingpin was beaten by a blind man his life won't be worth a plugged nickel.

Daredevil wasn't a bad movie...in fact I really enjoyed it. But I can see why it didn't do as well in theaters as hoped. Daredevil just isn't that well known of a superhero. He's got his share of fans, but he's not that popular outside of that arena of fans. Compare him to Spider-Man, or Batman. People who don't read comics would recognize a picture of either one of them. Show them a picture of Daredevil and they'll think he's some S&M fetish guy. Marvel has been having a decent degree of success with their superhero movies lately though. Hulk, well, I liked it, but Hulk bombed. The X-Men and X-Men II were pretty freaking good. Spider-Man was a hit, but then Spidey is Marvel's best known superhero. It just makes me wonder why they chose Daredevil as a movie project....I guess they wanted something that kind of competed with Batman. If that's the case they should have picked Moon Knight.

Best Lines:  “I'm the good guy.” -Matt/ Daredevil.

Are you kidding me?

1.) I can't remember where I read it, but it had read that some fans were upset about Daredevil "killing" Quesada. actually, Daredevil didn't kill Quesada. He just didn't do anything to save him. it could be honestly said that DD was incapacitated at the moment, but I won't even go there....here's why...who cares? Lets see, Quesada was a dangerous thug, and he fell in front of that subway train trying to kill Daredevil. hero or not, Daredevil isn't Superman. He can't stop a speeding locomotive with his bare hands. And heck, neither can you....would you risk your life to save him?

2.) Its never been a big deal in the comic book, but just because Matt can effectively "see" with his "Radar Sense" how'd he learn all of the acrobatics? I only mention this because there's a difference in the perception of things you read in a comic book and things you see in a movie. In a comic book I can easily accept incredible stunts...but in a live action movie, well, you have to justify it in some way. Daredevil leaps off of a building falling fast and then lands on a scaffolding and leaps again. maybe....heck, just MAYBE such a stunt is possible. But there are probably acrobats that devote their entire lives to their trade that can't do those stunts. How does Daredevil do it? (I know its only a movie about a comic book hero.....I'm just picking minor nits)

3.) The biggest problem for me in this movie is Matt's use of his powers. He does things in front of people that may lead them to believe he's not blind. the little "I like you" match with Elektra was the cherry on top of the disbelief sundae. Come the [unwrite] on! Matt has a kung fu match with Elektra in broad daylight in front of a crowd of people (They're all kids, but that doesn't matter much) and yet no one wonders about it? If I saw a blind dude doing freaking John Woo stunts in a playground I'd be on CNN right now blabbing about it! Doesn't Matt have any concern over his secret identity?

4.) There has always been a slight comic book geek dispute about Frank Miller trying to make Daredevil more like Batman. (At least way back when I was a comic book geek). I don't think having Bull's-eye thrown out of a window, much like the Joker fell to his death in Batman helped.

5.) Daredevil gets his ass kicked a lot in this movie. Quesada almost got the drop on him, Elektra beat him both times they fought, and Bull's-eye put a whooping on him too. Sure, he defeated the Kingpin at the end of the movie, but he took some lumps doing it. Somehow I imagined DD being a little more dangerous in a fight than he seems in this flick.

Nudity and Sex: None

Huh?:

Where does Daredevil get his equipment? Spider-Man made his own costume and in the comic books created his web shooters. (in the movie his web spinning is a part of his powers) Batman is a rich businessman so I can imagine he gets his stuff through discreet channels. Hulk ain't got jack but really stretchable pants. But Daredevil? Even if you just accept that he made his own costume, how'd he get the fancy spring loaded canes? That's not just something you order from a catalog!

Hey! wasn't the Kingpin a big fat white guy? In this movie he's a big black guy! (I won't call him fat because I don't want to EVER fight Michael Clarke Duncan.)

Loud noises cause Matt/ Daredevil pain. But he lives in New York. do the math. New York is loud. Last time it was in New York it was loud enough to cause me pain and it don't have hyper senses!

Is there any maintenance needed on a sensory deprivation tank? Just wanna know. if there is...and I can imagine there is...how does Matt keep it a secret that he sleeps in one? again,, Batman or another hero with a lot of financial bling-bling could pull it off....but Daredevil? For comic book logic I can take it though, but they're pushing it.

The Final Judgment: If you're not a big fan of Daredevil or comic book heroes in general you'll still get some enjoyment out of Daredevil. You don't have to have a lot of advanced knowledge of the character to understand what's going on. The Infernal Court recommends it to anyone looking for an action movie.