Daredevil (2003)

2 Stars (out of 4)

A Star Is Horned

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Note: I never wrote up a proper Daredevil review in 2003, but instead I wrote the followingchatty little diatribe for a live radio review.

Mark Steven Johnson's Daredevil lands right in the middle with a dull thud; it's not bad so much as it is disposable and forgettable. For every good scene, like the one in which Daredevil "sees" Elektra's face through the raindrops, there are at least two bad ones, like Matt Murdock endlessly listening to a break-up on his answering machine, or his chintzy, zip-up costume, or the amateurish, hand-held fight scenes. Ben Affleck may look a little like the Daredevil comic book character, but he can't manage to truly embody Daredevil, the way that Michael Keaton was Batman or Hugh Jackman was Wolverine. He's too bland. And as played by Jennifer Garner, Elektra -- who is supposed to be a bit more distant and exotic -- just seems like any old L.A. girl. Michael Clarke Duncan has very little to do as the Kingpin except laugh and say, "well, well, well" from time to time. Only Colin Farrell as the psychotic Bullseye really does anything interesting. And maybe Joe Pantoliano as a New York Post reporter. Mark Steven Johnson's previous feature was the horrible Simon Birch. He should be allowed one more movie before being forced to find some other line of work.