Daredevil

Review by Clint Morris

After the success of X-Men, Blade and Spider-Man, Marvel comics went ballistic with ideas for their other comic heroes, who, they just understood, we’re begging for the cinematic treatment.

Believe it or not, many of them are still on the way, but to hold us over 'til then they’ve unleashed Daredevil, a film based on one of the lesser-known characters from the comic universe.

For the millions of uninitiated, “Daredevil” is a character that first originated in a 1964 comic of the same name.

He was a rather unusual superhero – namely because of his blindness. His other senses are so acute however, that the accident, which caused his sight to wane, might’ve been seen as somewhat of a calling rather than a curse.

By day Matt Murdock is a hotshot lawyer, by night he wears red tights and plays vigilante, determined to see villains suffer from a higher purpose other than revenge. But having witnessed the murder of his father before, revenge seems always a tempting option.

After years of trying to get a film version off the ground, Marvel finally struck a deal with Twentieth Century Fox and Director Mark Steven Johnson. Ben Affleck, a self-confessed fan of the cult comic, beat off several other contenders – including Matt Damon, Guy Pearce and Edward Norton – for the titular role.

Possibly knowing that just the character of “Daredevil” wouldn’t have been enough to keep viewers happy for an hour and a half, the film incorporates a few other faces from the Marvel stables.

Jennifer Garner plays love interest Elektra Natchios, a taught combatant whose criminal father has been targeted for death by the outsized mob boss, Kingpin (Michael Clarke Duncan).

And Colin Farrell stars as the Kingpin's bludgeon of pick, a redoubtable mercenary nicknamed Bullseye for his uncanny ability to toss objects with dangerous correctness.

For the most part, Daredevil is drivable viewing, but when compared to last year’s fantastic Spider-Man, even X-Men or Warner’s Batman franchise – it disappoints notably. It does play darker and bleaker than some of the other superheroes, and that’s all well and good, but much of the action, adventure and ultimate plot of the film is next to non-existent.

Running barely over an hour and a half – yes, it could have done with an extra hour and a half - the film fails to get inside the head and heart of it’s title character, lacks punch in its stencil and action sequences, and doesn’t have any "signature" sequences to speak of, much unlike the awe-inspiring Spider-Man.

Most of the action sequences are, in fact, flat, poorly edited, and over before they started. The ultimate confrontation between Kingpin and Daredevil is an absolute snooze.

Not surprisingly – considering the directors back catalogue of drama and comedy - Mark Steven Johnson’s film works best when our hero is out of costume. The scenes between Lawyer pals Matt Murdoch and Froggy Nelson (Jon Favreau) come off well, as does the romantic interlude between Elektra and Matt Murdoch.

In the lead roles, Affleck is barely manageable as Daredevil, giving a luke-warm performance inside and out of his suit.

Ditto to Michael Clarke Duncan, who looks the part of Kingpin but fails to act like an oafish super-villain should, and Jennifer Garner – though one of the better things in the movie – doesn’t get to explore her character, Elektra, as perhaps the viewer’s might’ve liked.

Salvaged is the always reliable Colin Farrell, giving a cartoonishly appropriate performance as the welcomed Bullseye.

One assumes Marvel was hoping for a little more than a retread of Batman Returns (1992), but what’s on the screen resembles very little more - though it’ll keep viewers busy for a spell.

3 out of 5

Daredevil
Australian release: Thursday March 20
Cast: Ben Affleck, Michael Clarke Duncan, Jennifer Garner, Colin Farrell, Jon Favreau, Scott Terra.
Director: Mark Steven Johnson.
Website: Click here

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