“Daredevil,” the newest in a rash of recent superhero films pushed out by Hollywood, shines in the artsy computer-generated ‘radar sense’ scenes when the blind Daredevil ‘sees’ the world through reflected sound and dream-like images become a beautiful suggestion of reality.
The worst part is everything else.
Heartthrob Ben Affleck stars as yet another Marvel Comics hero, although he comes across more like a modern-day tragic Shakespearean figure than a brooding comic book superhero.
For example, after his first ‘big’ fight scene of the film, our hero returns to his apartment to pop a few Vicodin and receive a “Dear John” phone call before confessing to his friendly neighborhood priest all of his ‘sins’ of justice.
Behold the rock star glory of superhero life.
“Daredevil” is based on the popular Marvel Comics character of the same name. It focuses on the story of Matt Mudock (Affleck), a nerdy boy from Hell’s Kitchen in the Big Apple who loses his sight in a crazy accident as a child.
Thankfully Mudock has compensated for this loss by having advanced senses of hearing, touch, taste and smell. He also uses these newly honed senses to train himself into a martial-arts master.
The accident also provided him with a nifty mental radar sense that comes in handy when he’s off fighting the bad guys and bouncing from rooftop to rooftop.
After the local crime boss kills his boxer father for not taking a dive, Mudock decides to take up the courageous fight for good. The young Mudock swears revenge in typical comic book fashion: “I would seek justice, one way or another.”
Flash forward several years and we find the grownup Mudock balancing his life fighting wrongdoers all day everyday via his lawyer job by day and vigilante justice-seeker by night.
“Daredevil” is chock-full of scene after scene of classic comic book moments, yet still falls a bit short. Affleck lacks the honest tragic ‘feel’ of Batman and the fun yet vulnerable intellectual curiosity of Spiderman.
Jennifer Garner (of “Alias”) co-stars as the affluent, beautiful and butt-kicking Elektra Natchios. She and Mudock enter into a crazy whirlwind relationship that, in true tragic comic book fashion, can only end poorly.
The film also stars Michael Clarke Duncan (“The Green Mile,” “Planet of the Apes”) as the crime boss king pin (aptly named Kingpin). He plays the part of a viscious killer to the hilt, but still falls flat in the anticlimactic final fight scene with the Daredevil.
The fight scenes are fantastical and well choreographed but somehow lack the action we’ve become accustomed to in superhero films. The scenes manage to retain the comic book feel of physics-defying aerobatic jumps and logic-defying moves, but still remain only mediocre.
Jon Favreau co-stars as Mudock’s wise-cracking law partner and the closest thing to a sidekick Daredevil has. Colin Farrell is the Kingpin’s crazed hit man Bullseye who never misses until he meets up with the Daredevil.
The writer/director of “Daredevil,” Mark Steven Johnson (“Simon Birch”), does a decent job of adapting the comic hero to the screen, but lacks the imaginative drive of other recent adaptations (see Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” or Tim Burton’s original “Batman” for true comic to screen inspiration).
Watch for a special cameo by writer/director/actor extraordinaire and comic book geek Kevin Smith (“Clerks,” “Chasing Amy,” “Dogma”) – the knowing look on his face alone is worth the cost of the ticket.
Fans of the comic book will probably find more literary flaws in the film, but as a 90 minute foray into the land where superheroes reign over New York City, it will pass as somewhat entertaining eye candy.
In the current wintertime movie slump, “Daredevil” will provide a bit of warmth to your action-craving heart, at least until “X-Men 2” or “Matrix Reloaded” hit the screens later this year.
“Daredevil” opened last Friday and is rated PG-13 for action/violence and some sensuality.
