Little things say so much.
There comes a point in every superhero romance that’s always the
same. Superhero and his lust object of the moment are spending some
much-needed quality time together, when, HOLY PLOT DEVICE!! A
random voice cries out for “HELP!” somewhere in the city. From
there, you know the drill. Hero begrudgingly leaves lust object to
save the day, while lust object has no idea that her beau is
actually the man in the mask rescuing her city from destruction on
a nightly basis. Ten times out of 10, right? Make that nine.
“Daredevil” lives in my memory as the only movie where the hero
hears the stereotypical cry for help and opts to ignore it so he
can instead get jiggy with his new girlfriend.
It’s the little touches of grit that make this movie such a
delight.
The heroes and villains of “Daredevil” don’t just bounce back
from every mean bout of fighting. These characters get hit with
things, and those things hurt them. They don’t just get hurt, they
bleed. A lot. (They endure an awful lot of mental and physical pain
for a PG-13 movie!) And when the bleeding’s done, they either move
on to bleed some more or, quite simply, die. This no-nonsense
approach to violence and its repercussions adds punch to the film
and was so frank in its logic that I leaned over to a nearby friend
and gleefully whispered, “This movie has the delightful tendency to
not mess around.”
For all you kids out there unfamiliar with Stan Lee’s beloved
comic of the same name (I’m one, too, don’t be ashamed), here are
the basics. Young Matt Murdock has the typical comic book
misfortune of coming into contact with some form of radioactive
material which gives him some sort of superhuman abilities; in this
case the sludge robs him of his sight but heightens his other
senses to the extreme, leaving him with a sort of “radar sense” as
he puts it. Matt’s father is a lowly “coulda-been-a-contender”
boxer who is iced by local toughs when he refuses to throw a fight.
Matt “sees” his father plugged and devotes his life to making the
streets safer, becoming a crusading lawyer who only takes cases of
those he believes to be innocent. The scales of justice don’t
always tip Murdock’s way, so he uses his abilities to combat crime
by night under the guise of Daredevil. Roaming the alleys and
rooftops at night, he dispenses his own brand of justice, which is
really little more than thinly veiled vengeance-hunting.
In his daylight endeavors Murdock is backed by “Foggy” Nelson
(an immensely likable Jon Favreau), a fellow lawyer who seems to
resent Murdock’s successes but knows that being the blind man’s
“right hand” is better than being nothing at all. At night Murdock
inches his way closer and closer to discovering the identity of the
Kingpin of Crime, who is really gargantuan businessman Wilson Fisk
(Michael Clarke Duncan), while newspaper bloodhound Ben Urich (Joe
Pantoliano) gets closer and closer to exposing the true identity of
Daredevil. Oh my! Things get more complex for Matt when he falls
for the formidable Elektra Natchios (Jennifer Garner), whose father
is being marked for death by the Kingpin’s top assassin Bullseye (a
scenery-munching Colin Farrell), a psychotic for whom murder is an
art form and matter of pride.
Matt Murdock is a complex character, and Ben Affleck attacks the
role with charm and conviction. An actor whose work is often
overshadowed by his personal life and negative press, Affleck is
capable of churning out excellent performances from time to time
(did anyone see “Changing Lanes”? … *crickets chirp* … no? …
*crickets chirp again*… well, I saw it!!). This is one of
Affleck’s better efforts, full of grinning swagger and tortured
anger. He’s a good hero, a good anti-hero, and even a good romantic
leading man. Most importantly for a superhero film, Affleck is
believable and makes you want to take the journey with him, no
matter to what dark depths it may take you.
The supporting cast is strong as well. Jennifer Garner may well
be the only actress in Hollywood these days who could so
effectively pull off Elektra. She’s very good, whether called upon
to steam things up or just plain kick some ass. Favreau is
genuinely funny and has a great rapport with Affleck, and
Pantoliano gives Urich authenticity and a key sense of decency.
Michael Clarke Duncan keeps things deceptively low-key as the
Kingpin, but you can tell that he’s only a few steps away from
crushing everyone else’s skulls if given the chance. Colin Farrell
has a field day as Bullseye, perhaps the most gleefully amoral
villain to hit the screen in several years.
The script (Brian Helgeland’s earthy touch is evident), Mark
Steven Johnson’s direction, and the performances are all fine, but
the movie still has a few problems that interrupt the fun every now
and then. The editing is choppy at inopportune times, and the
song-driven soundtrack makes certain scenes feel like nothing more
than expensive music videos. While the story does zip forward
effectively and logically, the final battle between Murdock and
Kingpin feels anticlimatic compared to what has come before it.
With a brisk running time, “Daredevil” feels both slight and
over-stuffed, with storylines and characters that might have been
saved for the inevitable sequel getting taken care of in the first
outing. I also couldn’t help but wonder how much grittier the film
could have gotten had it shot for an R rating, but I do realize
that an R would have cut its box office receipts in half, and, hey,
I want this movie to make as much as it can, because, critical
gripes aside, I enjoyed the heck out of it and can’t wait for a
sequel!
So, needless to say, the Marvel universe gets another good
screen treatment with “Daredevil,” a film which consistently
entertains you and makes you go “Wow!” in your theater seat.
Perhaps more importantly, though, it gets the anticipation pulsing
for more Marvel mania this summer. I don’t know if you’re like me,
but is June too long to wait for Ang Lee’s “Hulk”? I think so, but
don’t despair. “Daredevil” will tide you over and then some. This
movie is a keeper.