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Considering The Budget . . . Daredevil: The Movie

Superheroes are all about guilt. See, when a child loses a loved one at a young age, it’s a traumatizing experience. The child takes responsibility for the trauma, and spends the rest of his/her life trying to make up for the guilt. This is generally represented as being protective and/or vengeful – “heroic.” I imagine this archetypical character shows up before 1933 (the first appearance of Superman), but for the purposes of this review, let’s just say it’s a superhero thing. It’s the reason that so many superhero stories seem so similar: Batman, Superman, Spiderman, ANT-MAN, and . . .Daredevil.

The comic book hero Daredevil was created by Stan Lee in 1964, 2 years after introducing the similarly limber and radioactive Spiderman. By day, Matt Murdock is a blind Hell’s Kitchen (NYC) underdog lawyer. By night (and often day) he dressed up in red and yellow tights and fought for the weak as pugilistic acrobat Daredevil, armed only with enhanced senses and a cane. Oooh. . . Scary. And because he was a blind guy jumping off roofs, he was “The Man Without Fear.”

Within a short time, the yellow was purged from his outfit. It would take 15 years, and writer/artist Frank Miller, to make him cool. Miller transformed this 2nd-rate comic book into the first kung-fu urban crime superhero comic. The New York of Daredevil became a contrast between the shiny towers of power and the filth the common man wallowed in below. Matt Murdock fought corporate and political corruption by day, and dressed in blood red and kicked ass by night (never day). He fought ninja assassins, mob enforcers, heroin dealers and his own guilt. He played psychological chess with criminals when he wasn’t beating their faces in. Frank Miller made this guy a badass. As well, he injected a moral center by linking the inherent superhero guilt factor with powerful Catholic imagery. And he got Matt Murdock laid. Daredevil was given a sexy ex-girlfriend who went crazy and became an assassin-for-hire. Elektra came back into his life as an enemy, and like many old girlfriends, played serious head games with our hero. Why? Because it was a weapon. Then, she was murdered. Then, Frank Miller left the characters – returning rarely over the following 20 years.

Frank Miller’s run on the comic is the story of the #1 film in America, “Daredevil.” More or less. The best parts of the Miller’s stories were culled, distilled and compressed into 103 minutes. Which, on one hand, is pretty impressive, and on the other, means the script stretches credibility to a painful length. Director Mark Steven Johnson & Screenwriter Brian Helgeland ("L.A. Confidential", "A Knight’s Tale") co-wrote said script, and it’s apparent there is love for the material. If given enough money, a much better movie could have been made. Considering his budget, he does an admirable job. Frank Miller might not have done any better himself (he wrote the script to "RoboCop 2", after all). I’m not sure Johnson’s much of a director, though. Viewing Daredevil, I couldn’t help but think of “The Crow”, a similarly urban, tragic and rainy comic book movie. Which may illustrate his lack of identity as a director.

As our hero, Ben Affleck is mediocre. The guy hasn’t the depth to convey the complexity that makes the character distinctive. He’s likable, but just not interesting. In the film, he is far more successful out of costume than in. The other actors are well cast. "Alias’" Jennifer Garner will be a big star very soon. She’s wholesomely beautiful, a decent actress, and trained to beat people up. As Elektra, she almost makes you believe the romantic angle that is the crux of the story. Just because she’s so damn cute. (She might be a talented actress, but she hasn’t had the chance to prove it yet.) Colin Farrell - the Irish actor that Hollywood has been shoving down America’s collective gullet for the last year – finally finds a role as an Irish guy in evil assassin Bullseye. He’s cool in a psychotic way. I’m still not convinced he’s good enough to deserve all the attention and money he’s been awarded. But here, he works. Jon Favreau adds comic relief and reminds why “Swingers” was so appealing. And Michael Clarke Duncan is a really big, scary guy. Which is what his role as mobster/billionaire Kingpin requires.

This is an action movie. Considering the source material, I wish it had more of a “crime drama” angle, but “The Matrix” and “Spiderman” put asses in the seats, so that’s the kind of movie this is. But, I admit, darker. The fight scenes vary in quality from rigidly choreographed to incoherent. I’ve read that Affleck had difficulty being graceful during filming, so perhaps that’s why his major scenes are either in slow motion or chopped up. The computer-generated acrobatics (of which there is MUCH) are rarely convincing. They’re passable, but obvious. Considering the budget, it’s acceptable.

Having said everything, the movie isn’t all that bad. Good popcorn fluff. It doesn’t hold up to much scrutiny, but it’s a good excuse to get out of the house in February. Financially, the film’s success is a windfall for comic book fans. It is a miracle that a character this obscure has carried a movie this successful. Unfortunately, it might be due to Ben Affleck’s rising star. As a comic book (and Daredevil) fan, I’m happy to see a movie of this character and story arc. However, a huge part of me wishes that this movie hadn’t been made – that they waited to tell this story. With the phenomenon of “Spiderman”, the anticipation for the second big-budget “X-Men” film, Ang Lee’s upcoming “Incredible Hulk” film and the many other comic book movies in development, we may be in the early stages of a comic book renaissance in Hollywood. Given a few more years, and a ton of money, in "Daredevil" we might have seen the superhero version of “The Godfather”.

IAN - FEB 26, 2003

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