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Daredevil Reviewed! [spoilers and so forth]
- Thread starter Mathew_Freeman
- Start date
Villano
First Post
I just saw the movie yesterday. If you read the 2 DD Reviews thread, you may have noticed that I was more than a bit worried due to the casting of Affleck, the trailer, the costumes, and some clips I've seen.
THUD!
That was the sound of my jaw hitting the floor. This movie was good. Damn good. Watching this, I felt the same way I did during the original Batman and X-Men.
But, before I get to my thoughts on the film, here's what I thought of the coming attractions:
Willard. A remake of the crazy guy with his army of rats film. They had me up until the cat gets killed. It starts comedic, then turns into this long, drawn out scene in which the cat tries to get away. It's totally unnecessary.
It gets worse with the shot of the woman pulling down her pants to go to the toilet. Why is this in the trailer?
I completely hated it by the time they got to the moment with the elevator full of rats. It would be a cool scene in vampire movie, but looks stupid here.
I had no idea if it's supposed to be horror or comedy. Not a good sign.
I'm guessing this film will be this year's Planet Of The Apes (i.e., a remake from hell).
X-Men 2. Holy crap! Will this break the rule of "sequels are always worse than the first film"? It certainly looks this way.
I can't wait to see what Colossus looks like.
League Of Extrordinary Gentlemen. Bad trailer. If I wasn't familiar with the comic, I'd have no idea what the movie was about. Why not introduce the characters? It's simple and would probably get the audience interested.
And LXG? Is this a blatent attempt to leech off the X-Man hype?
The phone booth movie turned me off for some reason. I couldn't put my finger on it until I saw that Schummacher directed it. I swear I'm developing a 6th sense warning me of his films.
Now, on to the film...
One of the best superhero movies I've seen.
Okay, that sounds like faint praise (I mean, how many good superhero movies are there?), but it isn't intended as such. It's a pretty damn solid film as action movies go.
You want proof of how good this film is? Ben Affleck is good in it! That's something I never thought I'd see.
In fact, the entire cast was great! Foggy was dead-on perfect, Garner was able to pull of drama as well as action, and Duncan handled the Kingpin well. Everyone in every small part was excellent.
I was also particularly gladdened to see David Keith (not to be confused with Keith David, the voice of Goliath in Gargoyles) as Matt's dad in the flashbacks. Keith's an underrated actor, and a favorite of mine.
What I find most amazing about this film is that it broke the tried and true movie rule; the middle wasn't slow. Stuff happened. Interesting stuff.
It's interesting to note that the DD/Elektra fight I'd seen a clip of (and hated) was very different from what was on the screen. The slow, romantic hip-hop music was out, it wasn't edited as chaotically, and the camera was pulled back enough to see what was going on.
And, of course, the portrayal of the radar sense was imaginatively done.
Oh, and no "Supercalifragilistic" song from the trailers!
On the down side:
Affleck was good, but that's it. I can think of a thousand other actors who would have been great in the part.
The movie fell into "movie logic" concerning Bullseye. As an assassin, he's far from subtle. He drives his motorcycle standing up? He kills a man in a busy pub? Kills a bodyguard? If Kingpin wants a low profile, why hire this lunatic?
Still not thrilled with the costumes.
The courtroom scene. If Murdock is a defense attorney, why is he prosecuting a rape case? If it was a civil case, why was he found "not guilty" (they would find for the plaintiff or defendant). And if Quesada was so poor that Kingpin was paying his lawyer bills, then how much were you planning on getting out of him in a lawsuit?
And here's something that really bugged me. Elektra gets her right hand pierced. I was totally taken aback by this. I didn't see it coming at all.
However, she not only can fight with it, but twirl her sai! What?! Her hand is pierced! It only draws more attention to itself when the same thing happens to Bullseye and he screams about how his hands are ruined.
It reminds me of bad wrestling. "Ring psychology" is the term for a logical build up in the ring. It's something a lot of modern wrestlers lack the ability to do.
I'm no longer a wrestling fan (WWE is complete crap anymore, and TNA has Vince Russo, a moron, writing their shows), but it does remind me of something I saw a few years ago.
Dean Malenko was wrestling Rikishi. Malenko is very skilled and old school in performance (i.e., has ring psychology), while Rikishi isn't either.
During their match, Malenko worked over Rikishi's leg. Over and over again, he locked on moves and kicked it. Every attack focused on that leg.
Since one of Rikishi's finishing moves is something he does while jumping off the ropes, you would expect that all that damage his leg took would come into play and he wouldn't be able to climb the ropes, let alone jump off them, causing him to lose to the cheating bad guy or force Rikishi to win by some other means.
Nope. Not only does he jump off, landing on that some leg to no ill effect, but, after the match, he stops limping and starts to dance around.
In both the cases of the wrestler and Elecktra, it diminishes what went before.
I also hope that the harder edge of the movie doesn't filter back into the comics. When comics try to go "adult" they tend to fail miserably. DD will end up turning into a drug addict who fights crime beause he's a masochist who gets off sexually from his abuse.
Still, all the negatives I mentioned didn't detract from my enjoyment of the overall film. I'm definitely picking this up on dvd (hopefully, they won't pull an X-Men and release it on dvd followed by an even better one with more extras months later).
THUD!
That was the sound of my jaw hitting the floor. This movie was good. Damn good. Watching this, I felt the same way I did during the original Batman and X-Men.
But, before I get to my thoughts on the film, here's what I thought of the coming attractions:
Willard. A remake of the crazy guy with his army of rats film. They had me up until the cat gets killed. It starts comedic, then turns into this long, drawn out scene in which the cat tries to get away. It's totally unnecessary.
It gets worse with the shot of the woman pulling down her pants to go to the toilet. Why is this in the trailer?
I completely hated it by the time they got to the moment with the elevator full of rats. It would be a cool scene in vampire movie, but looks stupid here.
I had no idea if it's supposed to be horror or comedy. Not a good sign.
I'm guessing this film will be this year's Planet Of The Apes (i.e., a remake from hell).
X-Men 2. Holy crap! Will this break the rule of "sequels are always worse than the first film"? It certainly looks this way.
I can't wait to see what Colossus looks like.
League Of Extrordinary Gentlemen. Bad trailer. If I wasn't familiar with the comic, I'd have no idea what the movie was about. Why not introduce the characters? It's simple and would probably get the audience interested.
And LXG? Is this a blatent attempt to leech off the X-Man hype?
The phone booth movie turned me off for some reason. I couldn't put my finger on it until I saw that Schummacher directed it. I swear I'm developing a 6th sense warning me of his films.
Now, on to the film...
One of the best superhero movies I've seen.
Okay, that sounds like faint praise (I mean, how many good superhero movies are there?), but it isn't intended as such. It's a pretty damn solid film as action movies go.
You want proof of how good this film is? Ben Affleck is good in it! That's something I never thought I'd see.
In fact, the entire cast was great! Foggy was dead-on perfect, Garner was able to pull of drama as well as action, and Duncan handled the Kingpin well. Everyone in every small part was excellent.
I was also particularly gladdened to see David Keith (not to be confused with Keith David, the voice of Goliath in Gargoyles) as Matt's dad in the flashbacks. Keith's an underrated actor, and a favorite of mine.
What I find most amazing about this film is that it broke the tried and true movie rule; the middle wasn't slow. Stuff happened. Interesting stuff.
It's interesting to note that the DD/Elektra fight I'd seen a clip of (and hated) was very different from what was on the screen. The slow, romantic hip-hop music was out, it wasn't edited as chaotically, and the camera was pulled back enough to see what was going on.
And, of course, the portrayal of the radar sense was imaginatively done.
Oh, and no "Supercalifragilistic" song from the trailers!
On the down side:
Affleck was good, but that's it. I can think of a thousand other actors who would have been great in the part.
The movie fell into "movie logic" concerning Bullseye. As an assassin, he's far from subtle. He drives his motorcycle standing up? He kills a man in a busy pub? Kills a bodyguard? If Kingpin wants a low profile, why hire this lunatic?
Still not thrilled with the costumes.
The courtroom scene. If Murdock is a defense attorney, why is he prosecuting a rape case? If it was a civil case, why was he found "not guilty" (they would find for the plaintiff or defendant). And if Quesada was so poor that Kingpin was paying his lawyer bills, then how much were you planning on getting out of him in a lawsuit?
And here's something that really bugged me. Elektra gets her right hand pierced. I was totally taken aback by this. I didn't see it coming at all.
However, she not only can fight with it, but twirl her sai! What?! Her hand is pierced! It only draws more attention to itself when the same thing happens to Bullseye and he screams about how his hands are ruined.
It reminds me of bad wrestling. "Ring psychology" is the term for a logical build up in the ring. It's something a lot of modern wrestlers lack the ability to do.
I'm no longer a wrestling fan (WWE is complete crap anymore, and TNA has Vince Russo, a moron, writing their shows), but it does remind me of something I saw a few years ago.
Dean Malenko was wrestling Rikishi. Malenko is very skilled and old school in performance (i.e., has ring psychology), while Rikishi isn't either.
During their match, Malenko worked over Rikishi's leg. Over and over again, he locked on moves and kicked it. Every attack focused on that leg.
Since one of Rikishi's finishing moves is something he does while jumping off the ropes, you would expect that all that damage his leg took would come into play and he wouldn't be able to climb the ropes, let alone jump off them, causing him to lose to the cheating bad guy or force Rikishi to win by some other means.
Nope. Not only does he jump off, landing on that some leg to no ill effect, but, after the match, he stops limping and starts to dance around.
In both the cases of the wrestler and Elecktra, it diminishes what went before.
I also hope that the harder edge of the movie doesn't filter back into the comics. When comics try to go "adult" they tend to fail miserably. DD will end up turning into a drug addict who fights crime beause he's a masochist who gets off sexually from his abuse.
Still, all the negatives I mentioned didn't detract from my enjoyment of the overall film. I'm definitely picking this up on dvd (hopefully, they won't pull an X-Men and release it on dvd followed by an even better one with more extras months later).
Kenpo Wolf
First Post
Villano said:
What do you mean by 'months' later? It was nearly two and a half years between the X Men dvd releases. As for the subject of a double DD dvd release, thats what they're going to do according to Mark Steven Johnson, the man behind the movie, in a thread over at The Superhero Hype boards. Here is the link to that topic
Edit
Direct Quote from the man himself, taken from that thread
Daredevil Update
Hey guys! First off, I'm thrilled to hear that you liked the movie. This movie was made for Daredevil fans first and foremost. The only opinions I care about are yours and the artists and writers who put DD on the map. I never anticipated any critics or outsiders to really get it. Daredevil has always been a more obscure character. A darker and more conflicted hero. So the fact that we did so great at the box office is only a bonus as far as I'm concerned. For me, the real reward was bringing DD to life.
Here's the latest on the DVD...
We were planning on having the theatrical release with a Director's cut (a branching version) in the same set. The problem we ran into is that there is so much information on the disc (massive amounts of behind the scenes, art, interviews with DD creators Miller, Lee, Smith, etc.) that there just wasn't enough room for both. So there will be 2 separate versions. The first is the theatrical release (2 disc) which is out in June. The second is the Director's cut which I am currently cutting. I don't know the release date yet--guessing Christmas? Anyhow, it's a half hour longer and quite a bit different than the theatrical release. It will be interesting to compare the two. They are quite different.
Thank you all for the support and kind words!
End Quote
Last edited:
Villano
First Post
Kenpo Wolf said:
Hey, years are made up in months, aren't they?
Still don't like the "rerelease with a little extra" ploy since it's just a marketing gimmick. I mean, it comes out just in time for X-Men 2? Coincience?
When 3 comes out, they'll probably release a box set of 1 & 2 "With New Extras Not Seen On Either Disc!".
At least the DD people are giving us a heads up about it.
EDIT: Very minor side note: The X-Men dvd came out 2 years ago, the film 2 1/2.
Very Big side note: No Hulk trailer when I saw DD. I wonder if they are tinkering with it? On other film groups I belong to, people were also less than impressed with the way the Hulk looked in CGI. "The Incredible Gumby" was the phrase tossed around.
Last edited:
Mistwell
Crusty Old Meatwad
Just saw DD. Thought it was great. Loved all the inside jokes. I noticed the following:
Stan Lee as the man stopped at the corner by Murdock.
Frank Miller as the man with the pen in his head.
The name of the rapist was Joe Quesada.
The name of the boxer was John Romita.
The names of prior boxers included Bendis and Miller.
The name of Smith's character was Kirby (and Smith himself is kinda an inside joke).
Any others I missed?
Stan Lee as the man stopped at the corner by Murdock.
Frank Miller as the man with the pen in his head.
The name of the rapist was Joe Quesada.
The name of the boxer was John Romita.
The names of prior boxers included Bendis and Miller.
The name of Smith's character was Kirby (and Smith himself is kinda an inside joke).
Any others I missed?
whew resurrected from page 15!
Well, I just saw Daredevil on DVD and I was bored by it.
I can't really point to anything in particular that bored me. I am not sure if it was Ben(how do I keep getting work)Affleck's piss poor acting. Everytime I looked at him I didn't get the feeling of all of the inner thoughts of daredevil, I got the feeling that Ben kept thinking"this is so cool i'm getting paid to be a superhero!". I don't know if it was all the continuous comic book writers cameos and name dropping. I don't know if it was all the atrocious wirework or if it was the equally repellant CG. The fight scenes were also quite boring. The villain of Bullseye struck me as more humorous than evil. I didn't think that Daredevil had superhuman strength to be able to leap all over the place as if he was spiderman. I guess I was wrong.
Bullseye threw hundreds of shards of glass at DD and he dodged them all, so how come DD couldn't dodge the collection plate he threw at him.
Where did the cops keep coming from? The priest might have called the cops to the church, but where did they come from for the rooftop battle. It's not like they were firing off weapons on the roof. They were having a hand to hand and well sais battle, in the dark, on a roof. Who would have seen it? Let alone heard it. My impression of the police in NY is that it is hard enough to get them to investigate gun fire let alone people running around on a roof."What's that mam, people on the roof of a building, running around! We'll have the helicopter and a swat team there in minutes, mam. You hold tight!"
Why did they change the ethnicity of the Kingpin? It doesn't really matter, but he should have at least been hugely fat.
Don't get me wrong I've seen worse, but this bored me. Of all the marvel movies out there this one ranks at the bottom. At least I wasn't bored by the 70's Captain America movie. Even the 80's Punisher movie didn't bore me and those two movies were atrocious.
Things I liked:
radar sense
....er um I guess that's it radar sense.
sorry about that. I had to vent. All of the current crop of superhero movies have been so good, I guess I felt really let down by this one.
Well, I just saw Daredevil on DVD and I was bored by it.
I can't really point to anything in particular that bored me. I am not sure if it was Ben(how do I keep getting work)Affleck's piss poor acting. Everytime I looked at him I didn't get the feeling of all of the inner thoughts of daredevil, I got the feeling that Ben kept thinking"this is so cool i'm getting paid to be a superhero!". I don't know if it was all the continuous comic book writers cameos and name dropping. I don't know if it was all the atrocious wirework or if it was the equally repellant CG. The fight scenes were also quite boring. The villain of Bullseye struck me as more humorous than evil. I didn't think that Daredevil had superhuman strength to be able to leap all over the place as if he was spiderman. I guess I was wrong.
Bullseye threw hundreds of shards of glass at DD and he dodged them all, so how come DD couldn't dodge the collection plate he threw at him.
Where did the cops keep coming from? The priest might have called the cops to the church, but where did they come from for the rooftop battle. It's not like they were firing off weapons on the roof. They were having a hand to hand and well sais battle, in the dark, on a roof. Who would have seen it? Let alone heard it. My impression of the police in NY is that it is hard enough to get them to investigate gun fire let alone people running around on a roof."What's that mam, people on the roof of a building, running around! We'll have the helicopter and a swat team there in minutes, mam. You hold tight!"
Why did they change the ethnicity of the Kingpin? It doesn't really matter, but he should have at least been hugely fat.
Don't get me wrong I've seen worse, but this bored me. Of all the marvel movies out there this one ranks at the bottom. At least I wasn't bored by the 70's Captain America movie. Even the 80's Punisher movie didn't bore me and those two movies were atrocious.
Things I liked:
radar sense
....er um I guess that's it radar sense.
sorry about that. I had to vent. All of the current crop of superhero movies have been so good, I guess I felt really let down by this one.
Dimwhit
Explorer
I just watched this last weekend. It was alright. I didn't hate it, didn't love it. I thought Jennifer Garner was great, though. I didn't watch the credits, so I missed whatever was there. But isn't Garner getting an Electra spin-off movie? (I didn't read all the posts, so sorry if someone mentioned this.) I think she is, so obviously Electra isn't dead. All in all, not too bad.
ArcOfCorinth
First Post
Alas, a perfect review can be found here: http://maddox.xmission.com/dare_devil.html
Beware, much profanity ahead.
Beware, much profanity ahead.
re
I didn't care for this film. The movie seemed to push the plot to fast without allowing the characters to truly develop. I guess it is a comic book movie, so the plot is going to be rather shaky in the first place.
I always felt Daredevil was more of a crusader than a vigilante. The few comics that I have read about him prior to when the Kingpin devastated his life made him seem like a character somewhere inbetween The Punisher and Captain America.
The fight scenes were fairly good, but that wirefighting, close up camera work is getting old. You see it in just about any action film nowadays and very few films do it all that well.
They still haven't created the ultimate superhero movie, but they are getting substantially better. So far, the X-men movies are my favorite superhero films, the original Batman, and the original Superman. I'm still hoping they do a Ghostrider film and that it doesn't suck.
I didn't care for this film. The movie seemed to push the plot to fast without allowing the characters to truly develop. I guess it is a comic book movie, so the plot is going to be rather shaky in the first place.
I always felt Daredevil was more of a crusader than a vigilante. The few comics that I have read about him prior to when the Kingpin devastated his life made him seem like a character somewhere inbetween The Punisher and Captain America.
The fight scenes were fairly good, but that wirefighting, close up camera work is getting old. You see it in just about any action film nowadays and very few films do it all that well.
They still haven't created the ultimate superhero movie, but they are getting substantially better. So far, the X-men movies are my favorite superhero films, the original Batman, and the original Superman. I'm still hoping they do a Ghostrider film and that it doesn't suck.
Kenpo Wolf
First Post
Re: re
I'm sorry some of you people did'nt like the movie. Being a DD fan from way back, I liked the movie despite a few minor flaws it had. As for a Ghost Rider film being made, it's in the works and is being directed by the same guy who directed DD
Celtavian said:
I'm sorry some of you people did'nt like the movie. Being a DD fan from way back, I liked the movie despite a few minor flaws it had. As for a Ghost Rider film being made, it's in the works and is being directed by the same guy who directed DD
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