Review of Daredevil (2003) by Harry W — 20 Mar 2016

Based on the comic book character who was once my favourite superhero, Daredevil was a supehero film I could never consider missing.

Daredevil was a film I enjoyed as a child, but as I have grown I've developed a higher standard for entertainment and learned of the limitations of Ben Affleck's acting skills in a leading role. However, amid all the flaws I picked up on I can still maintain that Daredevil was an entertaining film as a whole. Riding the heels of the superhero genre's comeback of the early 2000's, Daredevil is a production released after the standard was set as high as Sam Rami's Super-Man (2002). Given that Daredevil is another red-suited superhero given his powers due to a mutation received in his youth before becoming a vigilante for justice constantly pursued by investigators, it is extremely clear how much Daredevil is trying to reap in the success of Spider-Man's colossal box office success. The most notorious scene to compare is when Daredevil dodges antagonist Bullseye's projectiles with a series of flexible dodges in CGI-enhanced slow motion. However, Daredevil takes a darker path with its story that isn't too grim to isolate viewers in the mood for a straightforward blockbuster.

The quality of the story in Daredevil is rather mixed. Daredevil explains the origin of its titular superhero's powers through a series of flashbacks which all occur during the film's intro, ensuring that it does not get slowed down by its focus on including a back story. The pace moves by at a brisk rate without speeding too fast. However, the film does skip over Matt Murdock's actual transition into the titular superhero. We are given an understanding of why he became a superhero, but there is no shots of him training with his weapon of choice and grasping his vigilance. The story just jumps from him as a child to him as an established superhero, and though this prevents things from dragging on, it also leaves out a key part of Daredevil's characterization.

Once the intro is complete, Daredevil ends up following a very conventional route. Throughout all the betrayal and mistaken identity of Daredevil, there is little in the way of creativity. The path is a predictable one which may appeal to simple-minded viewers yet leaves those with a desire for innovation with a craving. It's respectable that Mark Steven Johnson manages to find genuine passion in the cliche love story plot point so that it is key to the story without being just a forgettable subplot, but he fails to capitalize on this as there is minimal character development throughout it all. Matt Murdock is a man whose blindness refuses to get in his way and Elektra Natchios is a trained martial artist burdened by the memories of her mother's death. These are essentially reduced to singular sentences that are uttered in passing without any emotional involvement. Between these and the numerous dramatized cliches is a collection of imagery set to provide the entertainment in the face of Daredevil's lacklustre narrative, and luckily enough the pace moves fast enough between story points to disregard a pretentious need to take things too seriously for their own good. To combat this risk, there are some campy moments in Daredevil used to give a sense of humour to the film, lightening the experience to make it more of a blockbuster-friendly feature. In the face of conventional plot points, the sporadic moments of laughter put more joy into the experience which opposes the melodrama nicely. Alas, the story is so underdeveloped that by the end of it all the film essentially begins exactly where it started which makes the entire story rather arbitrary in the long run.

Visually, Daredevil is mostly an entertaining film. The scenery makes use of the city streets very well to capture the violence of Hell's Kitchen which sets up a good universe for the film, and it is captured with cinematography which illuminates the spectacle of things. The Dutch tilt is a key technique used in many shots intended to be intense, and this really does give the film a comic book style. It may be used a little much at times, but as a whole it is effectively atmospheric. But the focus for discussion in imagery comes from the action scenes. The first major action scene occurs in a nightclub and mostly happens under an excess of shadow, illuminated occasionally by flashing lights or images of Daredevil's functioning radar. It's clear that there is some good choreography in this scene, but the manipulation of lighting and shadows is more likely to provide viewers with epileptic seizures than entertainment. The rest of the film is a bit bitter, mixing the use of choreography with visual effects. The latter is a far more dominant element which can prove slightly excessive at times, but it does enough to give Daredevil the appealing high-velocity stunts that convey the heroism of the titular character. Daredevil delivers a fair quantity of action scenes which keeps things entertaining, and most of the time the succeed in their stylish ambition.'.

And the soundtrack to Daredevil is very definitive of the early 2000's era and provides a sense of nostalgic value to the film. The original score is good for the atmosphere of the film, but the most powerful use of music comes from Elektra's training sequence where all her dark aggression is emphasized through the use of Evanescence' iconic song "Bring Me to Life".

And when it comes to cast, Daredevil doesn't have much of a problem.

Ben Affleck provides a fairly decent lead in Daredevil. The man has his issues finding perfection in the role which is made clear any time the word "Justice" appears in one of his sentences, but outside of that he captures the emotionally distant nature of a fearless vigilante with a lighthearted comic nature at times. There aren't many sequences where he has to push beyond his limits as an actor which allows him to work a rather monotonous line delivery into the character convincingly, while adding slightly more flair when it comes to his interactions with Jennifer Garner. I'm not a person who enjoys love stories, but once the passion between Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner develops it is undeniably strong. The two fell in love in real life and were married for a long time, and that kind of passion proves to be a strong benefit to Daredevil. Matt Murdock is a character who is reliant on Ben Affleck's physical acting more than anything, and he manages to convincingly portray a blind man and put up a decent fight during the action scenes where he doesn't need a stunt double. Ben Affleck manages to work with the screenplay in Daredevil to capture a simple and straightforward characterization of the titular superhero which serves as a fit for the general vision of the film,.

Jennifer Garner is also a strong presence. Jennifer Garner's natural attractiveness brings the sex appeal to the character of Elektra Natchios, but Mark Steven Johnson respects the character enough not to sexualize her into being a one-dimensional centrefold. She is a rather hard-edged woman most of the time while momentarily breaking away from it to depict her sentimental vulnerabilities and the full extent of her anger. Jennifer Garner manages to do all this with dedication, and her skilful flexibility combined with swift fighting skills makes her a strong femme fatale. Jennifer Garner puts up a strong fight in Daredevil.

Michael Clarke Duncan is a perfect fit for the role of Kingpin. With his tall stature and deep booming voice, Michael Clarke Duncan is born with the natural stature to be portraying a villain. Using this to his character's benefit, Michael Clarke Duncan commands the screen with tension by embracing the power of his character, providing a rich effort with his line delivery and a dark sense of sadism. Michael Clarke Duncan manages to capture both the genuine criminal nature of his character and the power of a comic book villain, effectively boosting the legitimacy of the narrative.

Jon Favreau's supporting effort capitalizes on his comic talents and proves to make things funny any time he is on screen, and his role is small enough so that his gimmicks never get tiring.

Colin Farrell's small period of screen time allows him to capture Bullseye with physical energy, tension and pride. And Joe Pantoliano provides a decent supporting effort despite his character being an obligatory cliche.

Daredevil may have be heavily reliant on formulaic conventions while lacking character development, but it has enough visual panache and strong performances to provide at least a guilty pleasure.