John Crichton
First Post
I'll start this off by saying that I liked the original cut of Daredevil. It wasn't a great movie but I did enjoy it. That said, it did feel rushed and really didn't portray the character very well. I'm not a longtime fan of the comic, but I am familiar with the character. I admit that I didn't start reading DD until Kevin Smith's run. I feel that gives me just enough qualification to make a comparison.
The director's cut is a far superior film. 1.5 hours was not enough to stuff in Matt Murdock's background plus 2 major villains, a love interest and let the audience understand the character. To summarize my gripes with the original:
- Not enough Kingpin. Seemed tacked on and rushed. Especially the final fight.
- Electra and Bullseye seemed to have nearly as much screen time as DD. That was a mistake considering how much they tried to cram in.
- Not enough lawyer moments. There wasn't enough time to contrast the 'everyday' Matt versus his alter-ego and show the frustrations of the character and essentially his drive to work the system and then dispense justice when that failed. This directly relates to...
- Matt's religious confliction. Yeah, there were churches, a fight in a church and a priest in the original film but that gives the audience very little insight into the character and leaves too much to assumption.
- The film wasn't dark or gritty enough. Too clean.
- Fight scenes were average.
I'm happy to say that nearly all of the above problems were fixed or at the very least addressed and touched up. 30+ minutes of added footage and the R rating made this version much better and really felt like the director was able to tell the story he wanted to. Note that I have yet to watch the commentary so this may be contradicted on the DVD.
The longer run time (this cut is over 2 hours) decreases the focus of the love story which is for the better. The Electra scenes should have been a few chapters of the story rather than a share of the lead. The notable additions are more of the young Matt background and an entire arc where Matt and Foggy take on a case defending a character (played by Coolio) who's story involves putting the Kingpin behind bars. None of these additional scenes seem tacked-on or there for being there's sake. It all flows nicely and make the movie seem complete as opposed to the rush-job of the original.
I'd dissect the added material a bit more but it would simply be recalling scenes at this point. To summarize, there are a few more jokes and extended scenes that add to the plot and more importantly the main character. The fight scenes are still a bit too jittery for my liking but there were a few extra scenes spliced in that made them work a bit better. And the added swearing was a plus where appropriate.
By no means does this cut make it a great movie (or put it on par with X-men 2 or Spiderman 2) but it does increase my respect for it and I suspect will do the same for others who liked the original. This is the version that should have been in the theaters but it's quite obvious that the studio wanted a PG-13 movie for the masses rather than telling a proper Daredevil tale.
This DVD is a worthy addition to my comicbook movie collection and I would recommend it for anyone who vaguely liked the original or enjoys the comic.
Anyone else seen this version? Comments?
The director's cut is a far superior film. 1.5 hours was not enough to stuff in Matt Murdock's background plus 2 major villains, a love interest and let the audience understand the character. To summarize my gripes with the original:
- Not enough Kingpin. Seemed tacked on and rushed. Especially the final fight.
- Electra and Bullseye seemed to have nearly as much screen time as DD. That was a mistake considering how much they tried to cram in.
- Not enough lawyer moments. There wasn't enough time to contrast the 'everyday' Matt versus his alter-ego and show the frustrations of the character and essentially his drive to work the system and then dispense justice when that failed. This directly relates to...
- Matt's religious confliction. Yeah, there were churches, a fight in a church and a priest in the original film but that gives the audience very little insight into the character and leaves too much to assumption.
- The film wasn't dark or gritty enough. Too clean.
- Fight scenes were average.
I'm happy to say that nearly all of the above problems were fixed or at the very least addressed and touched up. 30+ minutes of added footage and the R rating made this version much better and really felt like the director was able to tell the story he wanted to. Note that I have yet to watch the commentary so this may be contradicted on the DVD.
The longer run time (this cut is over 2 hours) decreases the focus of the love story which is for the better. The Electra scenes should have been a few chapters of the story rather than a share of the lead. The notable additions are more of the young Matt background and an entire arc where Matt and Foggy take on a case defending a character (played by Coolio) who's story involves putting the Kingpin behind bars. None of these additional scenes seem tacked-on or there for being there's sake. It all flows nicely and make the movie seem complete as opposed to the rush-job of the original.
I'd dissect the added material a bit more but it would simply be recalling scenes at this point. To summarize, there are a few more jokes and extended scenes that add to the plot and more importantly the main character. The fight scenes are still a bit too jittery for my liking but there were a few extra scenes spliced in that made them work a bit better. And the added swearing was a plus where appropriate.
By no means does this cut make it a great movie (or put it on par with X-men 2 or Spiderman 2) but it does increase my respect for it and I suspect will do the same for others who liked the original. This is the version that should have been in the theaters but it's quite obvious that the studio wanted a PG-13 movie for the masses rather than telling a proper Daredevil tale.
This DVD is a worthy addition to my comicbook movie collection and I would recommend it for anyone who vaguely liked the original or enjoys the comic.
Anyone else seen this version? Comments?
