...the film's tone is so unrelentingly dark, its script so gloomy, and Affleck so determinedly vapid, the film falls flat.
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Look, up in the sky.
It's Larry Bird.
It's Lois Lane.
It's Spider-Geek!
No, it's just Daredevil. How disappointing.
Whether you'll like or dislike the 2003 blockbuster "Daredevil" will depend, I suppose, on how much you're into comic-book superheroes and how far you're willing to go to enjoy them. With Ben Affleck as the lead character, you may have to go quite a ways, indeed.
Of course, you also have to understand whom you're listening to. I'm the guy who didn't think the first live-action "X-Men" movie was very innovative or exciting, either, so what do I know. Besides, I don't think "Daredevil" is entirely bad; it's just mediocre, ordinary, a discomforting could-have-been.
Genre pictures follow formulas or they wouldn't be genre pix, and superhero epics are no different. The audience must be informed how the superhero came into being, how he (or she) acquired his costume, who his enemies are, how powerful they are, who his love interest is, etc. Sometimes a Tim Burton comes up with an interesting variation, like the dark atmosphere he created for the "Batman" series, or an M. Night Shyamalan does something really bizarre like chronicling exclusively the protagonist's emergence as a superhero in "Unbreakable." Even Sam Raimi, not always known for his subtlety, insured that "Spider-Man" had genuine heart, a sympathy and understanding sorely missing in "Daredevil," which follows formula with a cold vengeance.
A shame, too, because "Daredevil" should not have been a disappointment. It's got a great (if Burton-derived) look to it, a formidable pair of villains, a stouthearted heroine, and, on paper, an intriguing hero. But the film's tone is so unrelentingly dark, its script so gloomy, and Affleck so determinedly vapid, the film falls flat and leaves a viewer not only uninspired at the end but rather depressed.
Based on the Marvel comics cult character as written and directed for the screen by Mark Steven Johnson ("Simon Birch"), Daredevil is portrayed as a modern tragic hero, a great man afflicted by a tragic flaw. Unfortunately, just one of the film's shortcomings is that it never makes very clear what this tragic flaw is. The script simply alludes to Daredevil's troubled soul and tortured mind, presumably the results of the sheer quantity of death and corruption he sees around him he's unable to stop. In any case, the thought is a downer for the viewer as well as the superhero.
I liked the movie's appearance, though, a dim, murky atmosphere of nighttime cityscapes that begins with the film's opening shots as the camera pans around New York, up buildings and around corners, with flash cuts revealing snatches of violence and crime. Daredevil is perched on a church spire, high above it all, and moments later lies on the church floor narrating in flashback the events of his life as they flash before his apparently dying eyes.
Within this framework, we're told the superhero's gimmick: He's blind. This is revealed in perhaps the longest prologue to a storyline in any superhero movie short of "Unbreakable." Daredevil tells us that his name is Matt Murdock and that he grew up tough in the Hell's Kitchen section of the city. He also tells us that at a very early age he was accidentally blinded by a chemical spray and as a result his other four senses began functioning with superhuman sharpness, his sense of hearing becoming a sort of radar that enabled him to "see" with his ears (like a bat, I guess; holy eardrums, Batman).
Now, understand me, I'm not against a comic-book story reaching pretty far into the fantasy realm; that's what they're all about. But the story should at least make some attempt at creating a consistent and believable fantasy world, which "Daredevil" does not. The movie simply tells us that young Matt acquires superhuman powers, no questions asked. Are they a gift from God? Or a fluke of nature? Some fluke. The possibility of a Divine endowment is hinted at by Daredevil's daily returns to a church cathedral, ostensibly for renewal, soaking in a crypt to revitalize his powers. But such vague hints and innuendos are never developed or followed up and leave the viewer to make wild guesses in frustration.
Similarly, within what appears to be a short period of only a few months, young Matt has learned karate, judo, kung fu, and acrobatics well enough to best any hoods on the planet and is doing back flips and jumps from building to building that would make a "Matrix" or "Crouching Tiger" proud! Go figure.
When his dad, a boxer named Jack "The Devil" Murdock (David Keith), is murdered by hoodlums, young Matt dons his father's red cape and swears he will seek justice "one way or another." As an adult he becomes a caped crusader (albeit without the cape) and a prosecuting attorney; if he loses in court, he gets even by night.
Daredevil's one physical weakness is that he can't stand loud, shrill noises, which throw his radar off; it's like Superman's Kryptonite. Moreover, he's not a happy man. He's in pain all the time from so much crime fighting; he can't maintain a relationship with a girl; he works all day at the office and then all night on the rooftops. It gets to guy, you know?
One advantage to a supersensitive nose, however, is that he can sniff out a pretty woman at fifty yards in another room. And thus begins (finally) the film's main plot. Murdock meets his love interest in the story, Elecktra Natchios (Jennifer Garner), a lady almost as skilled in martial arts as he is and a woman whom he has literally to fight to find out her name. Talk about playing hard to get. Seems she's the daughter of a billionaire (Erick Avari), who's connected to a big-time hoodlum partner, Wilson Fisk (big Michael Clarke Duncan). For obscure reasons (something about breaking up the partnership), Fisk wants both the father and Electra killed and sends his number-one henchman, Bullseye (Colin Farrell), to do the job. Bullseye is very good at throwing things, using everything from darts to pencils to paper clips to murder his victims, and he never misses. Almost. Until he meets Daredevil. Which pisses him off so much he goes after the superhero on his own.
So, there you have it. After the film spends more than two-thirds of its time with introductions, the plot finally gels and Daredevil goes after old man Natchios's killers, while Bullseye goes after Daredevil. Yes, and wait for the closing credits to finish, too, because "it ain't over till it's over." This film has trouble getting started and then doesn't want to quit.
As I've said, "Daredevil" is a film of contradictions, a movie that could have been a lot better if it hadn't tried, perhaps, to be too ambitious. Colin Farrell's villain, for instance, is no ordinary comic heavy like Lex Luther or the Joker. He's mean and vicious, a sadistic butcher who will kill a man over a darts game or a flippant remark. Under Farrell he is actually the most interesting character in the movie, but like many of the film's other goings on he's so out of line with the lightweight nature of a comic-book fantasy, it's hard to believe the picture got a PG-13 rating.
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[release]10814[/release]