When 20th Century Fox announced they were to make a 'Daredevil' movie, I was ridiculously overexcited. Matt Murdock had long been a favourite superhero of mine; I'd first discovered him through his associations with my all-time favourite Black Widow and what really endeared me towards 'The Man Without Fear' was the fact that, unlike a lot of Supers in those days, you actually saw Daredevil bleed, or go to the ER, or just generally look like he'd actually, y'know, been in a fight. And unlike a lot of his fellow Marvel Supers, apart from his enhanced senses, there actually wasn't anything 'super' about him. Thor's a Norse God, Cap's a Super Soldier...Matt Murdock is just some guy from a working class background who was blinded by toxic waste and as a result, like a lot of blind people, found the rest of his senses adapted. (Although his were slightly more elevated, but this is comic books so who needs reality, right?) Not a lot of people knew who Daredevil was - even people who don't like comic books have heard of Batman, for example - so I was thrilled to learn my guy was finally going to get his moment in the sun. Maybe then I wouldn't have to constantly explain to people who he was and why I was reading it; people would go see the film, like they did with X-Men, and not only would comic movies be A Thing again but Matt Murdock would finally get his share of the glory.
Oh, the irony...
When the film finally came out in 2003, I was 21. It just so happened that release day was one of my day's off from uni, so I went to the very first showing on the day of release. At 11.30am there was me and six guys who were, without being unkind, the living embodiment of the Male Geek stereotype (seriously. There was one guy who I'm pretty sure was the Inspiration for Captain Sweatpants in The Big Bang Theory); we sat in that screen waiting for the off and you could just feel the expectation.
Well. One guy walked out halfway through with a loud comment of "this is shit!" The rest of us, while in agreement, stuck it out to the bitter end. I have never been so disappointed in my life. I could have cried. My beloved Matt was a laughing stock; to this day, 'Daredevil' is used as a punchline about comic book movies, an example of "what not to do". And needless to say DD did not get the kind of recognition I thought he deserved, because after that crapfest people would look at my reading material, snort derisively and say, "oh yeah, that was that shitty Ben Affleck movie, wasn't it?"
I haven't seen the film since. I couldn't bear to, it was too painful; having spent most of the cinema screening alternately frustrated, upset and really, really angry it just didn't seem worth the blood pressure risk. But time is a healer, or so they say and so when I saw the film was on again last night (thanks E4), I decided to wipe all trace of 21 Year Old Me's bitter vitriolic disappointment from my mind and watch it again. Just in case. After all, plenty of films that were regarded as utter travesties when first released have gone onto become cult classics; who's to say 'Daredevil' can't join that select band? And so I recorded it and watched it again this afternoon, with an open mind and an open notebook to jot my thoughts down, and this is what I discovered...
It wasn't - surprisingly - as terrible as I remembered.
Oh sure, the flaws are there, and some of them are pretty hefty flaws at that. Like the script, for example. (Which is, after all, a fairly substantial part of a film). The plot itself isn't too bad; it pretty much does what it needs to for an 'origin story' movie, giving you the background to how Matt Murdock becomes Daredevil; setting up the friendship between Matt and Foggy Nelson, which was such an integral part of the stories; establishing the equally important relationship between Matt/Daredevil and reporter Ben Ulrich; and brings in two of Daredevil's key villains in the form of Bullseye and Kingpin. Bringing in Elktra was equally useful, given the relationship she and Daredevil have had over the years; all in all, although some bits of it felt a bit rushed, like the 'romance' between Elektra and Matt, it isn't technically that terrible. Unfortunately, the script itself is. It's the cheesiest of cheese-fests, and for a 'comic book' movie that's saying something. Some of the lines in it made me want to vomit (Elektra telling Matt at the ball that she wanted to look pretty for him), and others made me laugh out loud. I know most comic book movies aren't meant to be Shakespeare and while some, like 'Guardians of the Galaxy' are meant to be funny, 'Daredevil' doesn't seem to know if it's an action film or a comedy yet tries to be completely po-faced all the way through. And it doesn't work. Strike One.
Then there's the acting. Jaysus. Now I like Ben Affleck; he's been in some of my favourite films, and usually he's eminently watchable unless you're talking about 'Gigli', but I just didn't buy him as either Matt Murdock or Daredevil. Again, kind of a major problem for a film in which he's playing the hero/antihero. (That being said, I don't buy Charlie 'Stardust' Cox either, so I have a horrible feeling the upcoming Netflix series isn't going to do much for my beleaguered DD's reputation either). There were points when I actually laughed out loud, especially in the scenes where Affleck is required to do is 'blind acting' and just sort of stares vaguely into the middle distance somewhere. This is the guy who was so awesome in all those Kevin Smith comedies, or in 'Good Will Hunting' and 'Shakespeare in Love'?!! This is the guy who directed and starred so brilliantly in 'The Town' and ''Argo'?!! Holy Crap on a Cracker, dude, what happened?!! And it's not just Affleck, either. There seemed little to no point in having Jennifer Garner in the movie; it pains me to say it, but the girl who whupped ass in 'Alias' was not present in this movie. They could have maybe made the film better if they hadn't bothered with the whole 'Elektra' subplot...and that in turn would have spared all of us the terrible 'Elektra' movie which followed on from 'Daredevil'. And what the hell was Colin Farrell thinking?!! Now I bloody love Colin Farrell; I think he's a tremendous actor who has, no doubt thanks to some of his more, um, interesting choices of film (like 'Daredevil') been badly underrated. His performance in 'Tigerland', for example, is incredible, but in this? Fuck-a-duck, it's like the worst example of pantomime villainy ever!! He's not even trying!! Then again, who am I to judge - maybe it was an easy pay day for him? But considering in the original stories Bullseye is one of the most psychotic and frankly unnerving villains there is; in the film, however, he just becomes a laughing stock.
Thank god for the smaller supporting roles, then, starting with the late lamented and sorely missed Michael Clarke Duncan as Kingpin. Now I will hold my hands up and say when this bit of casting was announced I was one of those who immediately revolted. Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin, is not black in the comic books. Now ordinarily I would say "well, does it matter?" but this is Comic Books - can you imagine if they cast a black Batman?! But actually it was a genius, genius bit of casting; not only was MCD a phenomenal actor but he brings just the right amount of gravitas, underlying menace and sheer physical presence to the role that it doesn't matter whether he's black, white or a Purple People Eater: he was Kingpin. Jon Favreau and Joe Pantoliano as Foggy Nelson and Ben Ulrich respectively are also great in smaller, perhaps underused, supporting roles, and Scott Terra as the young Matt Murdock is also very good. But when the film is supposed to hang on your main characters and you actually don't believe in them, all the great supporting players in the world can't rescue it. Strike Two.
Then we come to the fights. There are (surprisingly) more fights than I remembered in the movie, but dear God! For an action movie which is supposed to be based on a series of comic books the fights in this are laughable!! The initial 'fight' between Elektra and Matt when they first meet is both pointless and stupid and they don't get much better from there. The final Big Showdown between Bullseye and Daredevil in the church has some fairly decent parts, but overall even that is pretty appalling. The potential was there for something really spectacular but it just becomes both predictable and, frankly, uninteresting. Strike Three.
Then we hit a bonus Strike: the costume. Now I know it's a 'comic book movie' and, with the best will in the world, comic book creators and the artists they use to bring the characters to life don't tend to be especially realistic. Superman wears his lycra pants over his lycra onesie, for goodness sake, and there seems to be some sort of special discount for superheroes at the PVC and leather outfitters. (If you're female, of course, then you just wear similar stuff but either skimpier, tighter or both). And I also appreciate that, for a costume designer who has to try and translate what's on the page into something they can actually get an actor into, it must be a nightmare; they changed Elektra's costume for the movie and I have to say I'm glad they did because her original red outfit would just have been ridiculous. But Daredevil's costume in this is just...lord. Bring out the gimp. Seriously, I was expecting someone to say that at some point and it wouldn't have felt out of place. I'd actually forgotten how terrible it was. Daredevil doesn't have the flashiest costume or anything, but that was just...yeuch.
All that being said, however - and believe me, "all that" does in fact reflect my overall impression of the film being utter shite - there were a few gleams of light which I'd genuinely forgotten about. The acting of Michael Clarke Duncan, Jon Favreau and Joe Pantoliano was excellent, and the flashbacks to Matt's childhood with Scott Terra playing Matt were excellent. The scene where he wakes up in the hospital blind and discovers his hearing has stepped in to make up the difference...he was excellent. And, actually, the visual effects weren't completely terrible either. The bit on the rooftop where Matt "sees" Elektra in the rain is pretty cheesy and naff, but the SFX where they show Matt being blinded and some of the other bits were pretty good. The opening shot of Daredevil draped over the cross atop the church is a nod to the excellent artwork of Alex Maleev, whose work on Daredevil with the brilliant Brian Michael Bendis remains one of my favourite takes on the character. I'd totally forgotten that moment, and what it represented, and so it was a real joy to see.
But the real gems were really hidden: spotting legendary 'Daredevil' comic writer Frank Miller (who is, of course, A Legend in the comic book world in his own right) had a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo as the biker who gets his bike nicked by Bullseye, ending up with a pen through his forehead. And the real joy for me, one I had either missed in my original "what-the-hell-have-they-done?!" rantings or had just genuinely forgotten about, was the insertion of some of the 'Daredevil' comic legends into the film. Actor Kevin Smith (Silent Bob himself), for example, plays a forensic assistant named Kirby - a nod to the Marvel Legen that was Jack Kirby, co-creator with Stan Lee of many of the publishers famous characters. Stan Lee himself continues the tradition he started in the first X-Men film with a cameo, playing a guy reading a newspaper whom the young Matt Murdock stops walking out into traffic. And, most brilliantly of all, in the flashback scene to Matt's childhood we learn who some of his boxer father's opponents were during his comeback: Romita, Miller, Mack and Bendis are all some of the great writers (John Romita Senior and Junior, Frank Miller, David Mack and Brian Michael Bendis respectively) who have worked on Daredevil over the years. I actually shrieked at that point; for a DD fangirl, it was pure win.
Sadly, not even that could save 'Daredevil' from being a letdown all over again. It wasn't as terrible as I remembered, certainly, but it will never stand up as one of the great comic book movies and it seems Matt Murdock is destined to never get the mainstream recognition I feel he he deserves. I won't say my hatred of this movie is as vitriolic as it was the first time I saw it - it was a reasonable enough way to spend a couple of hours on a chilly Sunday afternoon - but I definitely won't be rushing out to buy it. Not even the directors cut, which apparently has 30 extra minutes but does nothing to sort out the major problems, and has a big focus on yet another new character played by Coolio. Absence did not, in this case, make the heart grow fonder; 'Daredevil' is still a disappointment especially, now my initial fury has subsided and I was able to watch it more dispassionately, when you can see there are enough seeds in there for it to have been really, really good...and therein lies my frustration and my disappointment. There are good bits, things which could have made a really great movie, but they were crowbarred aside for other, less good and more rushed, things, which is ultimately where 'Daredevil' fails. It's such a shame. It's such a waste. And it's so bloody, bloody frustrating...
It wasn't - surprisingly - as terrible as I remembered.
Oh sure, the flaws are there, and some of them are pretty hefty flaws at that. Like the script, for example. (Which is, after all, a fairly substantial part of a film). The plot itself isn't too bad; it pretty much does what it needs to for an 'origin story' movie, giving you the background to how Matt Murdock becomes Daredevil; setting up the friendship between Matt and Foggy Nelson, which was such an integral part of the stories; establishing the equally important relationship between Matt/Daredevil and reporter Ben Ulrich; and brings in two of Daredevil's key villains in the form of Bullseye and Kingpin. Bringing in Elktra was equally useful, given the relationship she and Daredevil have had over the years; all in all, although some bits of it felt a bit rushed, like the 'romance' between Elektra and Matt, it isn't technically that terrible. Unfortunately, the script itself is. It's the cheesiest of cheese-fests, and for a 'comic book' movie that's saying something. Some of the lines in it made me want to vomit (Elektra telling Matt at the ball that she wanted to look pretty for him), and others made me laugh out loud. I know most comic book movies aren't meant to be Shakespeare and while some, like 'Guardians of the Galaxy' are meant to be funny, 'Daredevil' doesn't seem to know if it's an action film or a comedy yet tries to be completely po-faced all the way through. And it doesn't work. Strike One.
Then there's the acting. Jaysus. Now I like Ben Affleck; he's been in some of my favourite films, and usually he's eminently watchable unless you're talking about 'Gigli', but I just didn't buy him as either Matt Murdock or Daredevil. Again, kind of a major problem for a film in which he's playing the hero/antihero. (That being said, I don't buy Charlie 'Stardust' Cox either, so I have a horrible feeling the upcoming Netflix series isn't going to do much for my beleaguered DD's reputation either). There were points when I actually laughed out loud, especially in the scenes where Affleck is required to do is 'blind acting' and just sort of stares vaguely into the middle distance somewhere. This is the guy who was so awesome in all those Kevin Smith comedies, or in 'Good Will Hunting' and 'Shakespeare in Love'?!! This is the guy who directed and starred so brilliantly in 'The Town' and ''Argo'?!! Holy Crap on a Cracker, dude, what happened?!! And it's not just Affleck, either. There seemed little to no point in having Jennifer Garner in the movie; it pains me to say it, but the girl who whupped ass in 'Alias' was not present in this movie. They could have maybe made the film better if they hadn't bothered with the whole 'Elektra' subplot...and that in turn would have spared all of us the terrible 'Elektra' movie which followed on from 'Daredevil'. And what the hell was Colin Farrell thinking?!! Now I bloody love Colin Farrell; I think he's a tremendous actor who has, no doubt thanks to some of his more, um, interesting choices of film (like 'Daredevil') been badly underrated. His performance in 'Tigerland', for example, is incredible, but in this? Fuck-a-duck, it's like the worst example of pantomime villainy ever!! He's not even trying!! Then again, who am I to judge - maybe it was an easy pay day for him? But considering in the original stories Bullseye is one of the most psychotic and frankly unnerving villains there is; in the film, however, he just becomes a laughing stock.
Thank god for the smaller supporting roles, then, starting with the late lamented and sorely missed Michael Clarke Duncan as Kingpin. Now I will hold my hands up and say when this bit of casting was announced I was one of those who immediately revolted. Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin, is not black in the comic books. Now ordinarily I would say "well, does it matter?" but this is Comic Books - can you imagine if they cast a black Batman?! But actually it was a genius, genius bit of casting; not only was MCD a phenomenal actor but he brings just the right amount of gravitas, underlying menace and sheer physical presence to the role that it doesn't matter whether he's black, white or a Purple People Eater: he was Kingpin. Jon Favreau and Joe Pantoliano as Foggy Nelson and Ben Ulrich respectively are also great in smaller, perhaps underused, supporting roles, and Scott Terra as the young Matt Murdock is also very good. But when the film is supposed to hang on your main characters and you actually don't believe in them, all the great supporting players in the world can't rescue it. Strike Two.
Then we come to the fights. There are (surprisingly) more fights than I remembered in the movie, but dear God! For an action movie which is supposed to be based on a series of comic books the fights in this are laughable!! The initial 'fight' between Elektra and Matt when they first meet is both pointless and stupid and they don't get much better from there. The final Big Showdown between Bullseye and Daredevil in the church has some fairly decent parts, but overall even that is pretty appalling. The potential was there for something really spectacular but it just becomes both predictable and, frankly, uninteresting. Strike Three.
Then we hit a bonus Strike: the costume. Now I know it's a 'comic book movie' and, with the best will in the world, comic book creators and the artists they use to bring the characters to life don't tend to be especially realistic. Superman wears his lycra pants over his lycra onesie, for goodness sake, and there seems to be some sort of special discount for superheroes at the PVC and leather outfitters. (If you're female, of course, then you just wear similar stuff but either skimpier, tighter or both). And I also appreciate that, for a costume designer who has to try and translate what's on the page into something they can actually get an actor into, it must be a nightmare; they changed Elektra's costume for the movie and I have to say I'm glad they did because her original red outfit would just have been ridiculous. But Daredevil's costume in this is just...lord. Bring out the gimp. Seriously, I was expecting someone to say that at some point and it wouldn't have felt out of place. I'd actually forgotten how terrible it was. Daredevil doesn't have the flashiest costume or anything, but that was just...yeuch.
All that being said, however - and believe me, "all that" does in fact reflect my overall impression of the film being utter shite - there were a few gleams of light which I'd genuinely forgotten about. The acting of Michael Clarke Duncan, Jon Favreau and Joe Pantoliano was excellent, and the flashbacks to Matt's childhood with Scott Terra playing Matt were excellent. The scene where he wakes up in the hospital blind and discovers his hearing has stepped in to make up the difference...he was excellent. And, actually, the visual effects weren't completely terrible either. The bit on the rooftop where Matt "sees" Elektra in the rain is pretty cheesy and naff, but the SFX where they show Matt being blinded and some of the other bits were pretty good. The opening shot of Daredevil draped over the cross atop the church is a nod to the excellent artwork of Alex Maleev, whose work on Daredevil with the brilliant Brian Michael Bendis remains one of my favourite takes on the character. I'd totally forgotten that moment, and what it represented, and so it was a real joy to see.
But the real gems were really hidden: spotting legendary 'Daredevil' comic writer Frank Miller (who is, of course, A Legend in the comic book world in his own right) had a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo as the biker who gets his bike nicked by Bullseye, ending up with a pen through his forehead. And the real joy for me, one I had either missed in my original "what-the-hell-have-they-done?!" rantings or had just genuinely forgotten about, was the insertion of some of the 'Daredevil' comic legends into the film. Actor Kevin Smith (Silent Bob himself), for example, plays a forensic assistant named Kirby - a nod to the Marvel Legen that was Jack Kirby, co-creator with Stan Lee of many of the publishers famous characters. Stan Lee himself continues the tradition he started in the first X-Men film with a cameo, playing a guy reading a newspaper whom the young Matt Murdock stops walking out into traffic. And, most brilliantly of all, in the flashback scene to Matt's childhood we learn who some of his boxer father's opponents were during his comeback: Romita, Miller, Mack and Bendis are all some of the great writers (John Romita Senior and Junior, Frank Miller, David Mack and Brian Michael Bendis respectively) who have worked on Daredevil over the years. I actually shrieked at that point; for a DD fangirl, it was pure win.
Sadly, not even that could save 'Daredevil' from being a letdown all over again. It wasn't as terrible as I remembered, certainly, but it will never stand up as one of the great comic book movies and it seems Matt Murdock is destined to never get the mainstream recognition I feel he he deserves. I won't say my hatred of this movie is as vitriolic as it was the first time I saw it - it was a reasonable enough way to spend a couple of hours on a chilly Sunday afternoon - but I definitely won't be rushing out to buy it. Not even the directors cut, which apparently has 30 extra minutes but does nothing to sort out the major problems, and has a big focus on yet another new character played by Coolio. Absence did not, in this case, make the heart grow fonder; 'Daredevil' is still a disappointment especially, now my initial fury has subsided and I was able to watch it more dispassionately, when you can see there are enough seeds in there for it to have been really, really good...and therein lies my frustration and my disappointment. There are good bits, things which could have made a really great movie, but they were crowbarred aside for other, less good and more rushed, things, which is ultimately where 'Daredevil' fails. It's such a shame. It's such a waste. And it's so bloody, bloody frustrating...
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