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Title |
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Daredevil |
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Reviewer |
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daniel |
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Genre |
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Action / Sci-Fi |
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Certificate |
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12 |
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Producer |
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Mark Steven Johnson |
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Rating |
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Review |
Daredevil is the third in a seemingly endless line of films being released that are based on Marvel Comic books. The films preceding Daredevil’s release (X-Men and Spiderman) made up in special effects and corny one-liners what they lacked in subtlety and depth of characters. I’m not even sure the word “plot” should be mentioned in the context of this type of film, suffice it to say: these films require the mental capacity of an anaesthetized slug.
In contrast to the aforementioned films, Daredevil recognises its clichéd genre and while not exactly turning itself into a self-parody, the film admits to its cheese-infested heritage and revels in it.
Colin Farrell is superb as the mentally deranged “Bullseye” who kills people by throwing an assortment of everyday items at them: from paperclips to pencils. Michael Clarke Duncan is also excellently cast as the massive “Kingpin,” coincidentally the man that killed Matt Murdoch’s (Daredevil) father. Both actors are aware of the shallow nature of their characters and the visually stunning action scenes are interspersed with both witty and cringe worthy one liners, delivered with the tenacity that makes Farrell such a hot tip for the future and the superiority that Clarke Duncan’s size affords him.
Ben Affleck has not really fulfilled an action role before, and certainly not a lead role. However, he is effective in portraying the difference between unkempt, scruffy blind “Hell’s Kitchen” lawyer to “avenger of the night.”
The story behind Daredevil and therefore the explanation of how Murdoch received these supernatural powers is tenuously based on science and quickly flitted over. In a nutshell: kid Daredevil is blinded by toxic waste but is super strong and super fast! The cynics among you will not be able to stretch your imaginations enough to conceive that Daredevil can “see” through sound waves. However, the action rides along at a merry pace and it is apparent fairly on that Daredevil will attempt to avenge his father’s death at the hands of Kingpin and that no doubt Bullseye will have to be defeated along the way.
The love interest between Matt Murdoch and Elektra (Jennifer Garner) is brief yet intense and when Daredevil is framed for the murder of her father; the film reaches its emotional peak.
Overall the film fulfils its Marvel stereotype of being all action and no brains, yet it realizes its shortcomings and makes up for them with plenty of humour and stylised, slow motion action with a slick cast.
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