As is usually the case in such films, we need a bit of introduction and the
genesis of the hero. Where
Spiderman
and
Superman
took a good leisurely
hour for this purpose, Daredevil's relatively brisk running time allows us
no such luxury. This doesn't mean the intro feels rushed or that anything
important is missed, as we meet twelve year old Matt Murdock, bullied and
beaten in his rough New York neighbourhood. He lives with his father, a
past-it boxer and sometime union thumb breaker, who wants Matt to get an
education and have a better life. When Matt one day sees his father
muscling a guy, he runs away, leading to the accident that blinds him - a
collision with some toxic waste.
By a conceit that was maybe slightly easier for comic readers in the 60s
to swallow than 21st century cinema audiences, the loss of his sight
heightened young Matt's other senses to superhuman levels, allowing him to
use them like a kind of radar that meant his blindness was no handicap at
all. His motivation for vengeance comes when his father is killed for
refusing to throw a fight.
Fast forward to the adult Murdock, and his search for justice has lead to
him becoming a lawyer by day, and scumbag slaughtering Daredevil by night,
in a city ruled by crime lord, The Kingpin. Throw in the beautiful Elektra,
daughter of The Kingpin's billionaire business partner, and psychotic
hitman Bullseye, then sit back and enjoy the fireworks. As mentioned, the
action is very good, but the focus is very firmly on character and the
dilemma faced by DD of wanting to serve justice, but being uncomfortable
with meting it out so viciously himself.
Ben Affleck hits all the right notes with his portrayal of a dark knight who is
every bit as complex as Batman. Jennifer Garner is sensational and Michael Clarke
Duncan is an awesome presence. But Colin Farrell's Bullseye just about steals the
show - allowed to keep his Irish accent, he's absolutely hilarious and has
a whale of a time killing people with paper clips, pencils and peanuts.
Although the majority passed me by, if in-jokes are your thing then I
daresay you'll find much to enjoy, as evidenced by the two guys behind me
who would laugh loud and long at the mere mention of a name or appearance
of a face.
The only minor letdowns were a couple of slightly dodgy Blade 2 style CGI
moments (although nowhere near as bad as some of the effects in Spiderman)
and some fairly blatant sequel baiting. These points aside, the Year of the
Comic really couldn't have gotten off to a better start.
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
