Monday, February 17, 2003

Daredevil

In a Nutshell: It had its nice moments, but generally speaking, it was too dark, too violent, too bloody, and too unbelievable (even for a comic book film). Almost a throwback to the "old fashioned" coming book genre films that I don't like. Disappointing. :( And absolutely NOT a film for children, unless you don't mind borderline R-rating levels of violence and blood.

Quick Plot: Matt Murdock (Ben Affleck) is blinded as a child, but his other senses give him a hyperactive awareness of the world around him. A lawyer by day, he fights for those who need his help both in the courtroom and on the streets.

In Detail: DH and I are both still shaking our heads about this one. We had such high hopes for this movie. But, it was SOOOO dark and SOOOO violent, I just can't believe it. If you're expecting an X-Men or Spider-Man type film, you will be shocked. I thought the final Spider-Man fight scene was too violent, especially considering how many children would want to see it. (To me, X-Men is fine for kids, but understand I don't yet have kids of my own.) Now, take that last Spider-Man fight scene, and make that the violence level of the whole film. Now you have Daredevil. I understand that the filmmakers wanted things to be more "realistic," but it's a fantasy film by nature. I think they should have backed off somewhat (if not a lot). Even the moments where you laughed weren't really "funny ha-ha" moments; they were more like nervous tension release laughs. I did like the way he could "see." Very effective, both visually and technically, but that certainly couldn't make up for the rest of the film. Too much too obvious CG; always a pet peeve of mine. Now, most of you know that I have a very high threshold of "willing suspension of disbelief," but this movie went way beyond the line in a couple of places. Little things that just totally jerked you out of the reality of the film, which is always jarring. My best example: look at the construction of his mask and the placement of the horns. There is no way it could cast a shadow with horns on it unless he had his head tilted back until his nose pointed almost straight up, but it does. Too many little blatant issues like that. Just really disappointing.

Will I Buy It? Nope. I have no desire to see this film again.

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