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Daredevil (2003) 20th Century Fox 1 hr. 36 mins. Starring: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Michael Clarke Duncan, Colin Farrell, Jon Favreau, Joe Pantoliano, David Keith, Erick Avari, Coolio, Ellen Pompeo Directed by: Mark Steven Johnson Daredevil Rating: BOMB 
E-MAIL GINO PAGLIUCA I had the unfortunate faith of seeing one of my most beloved comic book super-heroes turned into a movie worthy of "Direct to Video". I don't know what I can put together intelligently here, as my nerves are running a mock. I spent over a year waiting for this, for this pile of stink. Bottom line the problem was due to it's director, a man that really let me down after all the junk he was saying about Daredevil being his "childhood comic book hero", and that he was the only man that could do this film "justice", yada yada. So even though I had been seeing all those ugly costume designs, even though I witnessed the launch of one of the ugliest Ad Campaigns ever, even though the soundtrack had some of the worst bands on it (and worst music), and even though the trailers never showed a decent look and feel, I was still ready to see a magnificent film. I believed in Mark Steven Johnson (Simon Birch) only to have that trust betrayed. Looking back I realize they had me racing right towards the edge of the cliff, and last night I plummeted to my demise. Daredevil was not conceived with one single solitary unique vision in mind. In fact let me get rid of showing my appreciation for the few things that were decent in the film, so I can get right back on track destroying this thing. Jon Favreau and Collin Farrel are the only 2 actors here that remain unaffected by bad direction, bad lighting, and bad cinematography. Also, cheers to the people that created Daredevil's sonic vision. It worked, but I just know it could have looked even better. There! Having said that let me get back to how the director simply didn't have an original thought in mind making this film. He has obviously seen films like Batman, and the Crow, and probably in his mind he thought that he could make something like that for Daredevil. From the choir music playing over his rooftop / church scenes, or those hilarious fight sequences, in particular the bar room scene with that strobe effect, Daredevil is pasted together like a collage made up of photocopies produced by a machine low on toner. This leads me right into it's muddy and very sloppy look that shifts throughout the film. It seems as though they took things as they came, not bothering to light anything properly or properly frame their shots. There are far too many scenes here to mention, you could point at the screen at almost any given moment and find your finger directed at one of those I am speaking of. The script. The dialogue made me think of the worst scenes in Spider-Man and Batman & Robin, one-liners and punchlines coming and going left, right and center. I cringed when I saw Ben Affleck speak those horrible lines, and yet he did what he could with zero direction to make them look good... but fails. A scene wear a rapist lies on the tracks of a C-Train, Daredevil forces out "That light you see at the end of the tunnel..." the sound of the train coming closer is making it hard for the bad guy to hear so Daredevil better get louder if he wants the guy to hear, so he does and finishes his sentence "That's not heaven... It's the C-train!". The words are just as bad in the hands of the supporting characters. Kingpin is depicted as an over-grown muppet, Elektra is cute, perhaps too cute, but it wouldn't have bothered me had this film been good, even decent. You see had this film been a cheesy well made film I could have at least accepted it on that level, but no, they went the whole nine-yards here. It is almost as though this director realized he couldn't make a film worth a damn and figured why make a mediocre film that will lead to more sequels, let me just destroy it as Schumacher did with Batman, then no one else can take a crack at DD. Well congratulations, you succeeded in doing just that! I am still leaving so much out... I mentioned the cinematography, the dialogue, the direction (AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!), the acting, the ripped off action, the bad bad bad music!... Where does this leave me? I don't have much to look forward to in comic book adaptations. I loved this character so much and this is what I got. I don't want to hear anyone telling me it was pretty good, or that Daredevil is not a known character so they had to make a stupid movie like this for everyone to accept him, because frankly all those are GIANT excuses. Daredevil is a rich and fascinating character, with years and years of beautiful, dramatic, romantic, action packed adventures that if done right would have had everyone in that theater cheering on the inside and out. In fact one right it would have no doubt have been one of the best films of the year, that is how much faith I have in this film (See my Top 10 list at the bottom). Look at a film like Unbreakable, that finally proved a hero need not have a crazy costume or super powers for you to believe in him, and it was a beautiful film to boot. Batman and Dick Tracy showed originality in bringing a comic book to the Big Screen while keeping the pop art brilliance of their best comic book designs. The Crow delivered as one of the best B-Movies I have ever seen and still stands out as one of my all time favorites, it's action, timing, acting, cinematography.. it all works consistently within the film. So don't tell me a good film couldn't have been made out of Daredevil. Picking apart every scene in this movie would be my ultimate therapy after the traumatic experience this movie has been, but I simply have no time to do this. I am glad I got this off my chest for the moment. Daredevil now lives on as one of the worst comic-book movies of all time somewhere between, The Phantom, Spawn, Punisher, Captain America and beyond. It really never belonged there, in fact I feel bad saying this but some of those films I just mentioned actually were better than this. Today is a sad day. My hero was defeated. Note: If you are fan of films by Steven Seagle, Van Damme, or DMX / Ja Rule, then don't bother talking back. I'm sure you had a great time watching this movie. Click here to comment on this review or post your own thoughts. Gino Pagliuca © TheWorldJournal.com |
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