Daredevil (2003)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Mark Steven Johnson

Writer (WGA):

Mark Steven Johnson (screenplay)

Release Date:

14 February 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Fantasy | Thriller

Tagline:

A Guardian Devil.

Plot:

A man blinded by toxic waste which also enhanced his remaining senses fights crime as an acrobatic martial arts superhero.

Plot Keywords:

Daredevil | New York City | Lawyer | Justice | Vigilante

Awards:

4 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Ben Affleck	...	Matt Murdock / Daredevil
Jennifer Garner	...	Elektra Natchios
Colin Farrell	...	Bullseye
Michael Clarke Duncan	...	Wilson Fisk / The Kingpin
Jon Favreau	...	Franklin 'Foggy' Nelson
Scott Terra	...	Young Matt
Ellen Pompeo	...	Karen Page
Joe Pantoliano	...	Ben Urich
Leland Orser	...	Wesley Owen Welch
Lennie Loftin	...	Nick Manolis
Erick Avari	...	Nikolas Natchios
Derrick O'Connor	...	Father Everett
Paul Ben-Victor	...	Jose Quesada
David Keith	...	Jack Murdock
Frankie J. Allison	...	Abusive Father (as Frankie Jay Allison)

Also Known As:

Daredevil: A Daring New Vision (USA) (director's cut (DVD title))

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for action/violence and some sensuality.

Runtime:

103 min | USA:133 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Greek | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #39586) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:14 (theatrical rating) | Netherlands:12 | India:UA | USA:R (director's cut) | Germany:16 (also director's cut) | Brazil:12 | USA:TV-14 (edited tv version) | Malaysia:U (2008 director's cut DVD release) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M (director's cut) | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Canada:14A | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:12 (cut) | Hong Kong:IIB | Malaysia:(Banned) | Mexico:B | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 (director's cut) | Singapore:NC-16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | Greece:K-13

Filming Locations:

Biltmore Hotel - 506 S. Grand Avenue, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Marvel Enterprises

Trivia:

"Guy with Pen in Head" is played by Frank Miller, who was instrumental in the Death of Elektra storyline in the Daredevil Comics. He appears in the scene where Bullseye takes a motorcycle, prior to killing Natchios. This is stated in the Director's Commentary.

Goofs:

Continuity: When we first see adult Matt in his "sleep capsule", he has the wound he sustained while fighting Quesada. Later, when he is folding the money, the wound is gone. Later, after fighting and killing Quesada, he goes to "bed" and the wound is back.

Quotes:

[Elektra follows Matt on a dark street]
Matt Murdock: [stops] Does this mean you want a rematch?
Elektra: [smiling] I knew I'd find you. How did you know I wasn't a mugger?
Matt Murdock: Muggers don't usually wear rose oil or high heels... at least, this far from Chelsea.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)

Soundtrack:

My Immortal

Another GREAT Marvel Comics Movie!!

As the release date of Daredevil approached, I became more and more skeptical of Ben Affleck's ability to actually pull-off a super-hero movie. After seeing it last night though, I no longer doubt this ability, nor do I doubt anybody else's abilities in the all-star cast.

The fighting scenes were excellently done. The presentation of Daredevil's superhuman senses was even better than I imagined. Jennifer Garner is one of the hottest actresses who can kick anyone's ass. Michael Clarke Duncan's gave a great performance as the Kingpin. Collin Farrell is one of my new favorite villain's in Bullseye. Everything about this movie is just as dark as it is truly beautiful.

There were two major elements about the movie that made me give it a score of 8 instead of 10 though. First, when Daredevil kills that rapist in the subway, the problem is that in the comic books, Daredevil has never maintained a "criminals must die" mentality. He has actually gotten into fights with other superheroes over this belief, so when this happened in the movie, I was a little miffed. Somebody has brought it to my attention that Daredevil actually killed his first criminal on his first outing in his hero persona, but my only response to that would be the fact that the incident in the subway station was presented as not being Daredevil's "first time".

Second, the god-awful soundtrack is touted around scene after scene in the movie. The main problems with this is that: a.) The music really, REALLY sucks; and b.) The music dates the movie. Watching the movie 10 years from now when our culture's preferences in music have changed will make us more critical of this movie in the long run. Nobody is going to remember these songs or the people who sang them in ten years, and I wish that they were not there to begin with.

Other than that, I can't understand why there are so many people who didn't like this movie. If you liked Spider-man, you'll like this movie even better because, simply put, Daredevil is a better movie. The plot is well-written, the characters are as likeable as they are believable, and the special-effects/fight scenes are top-notch. It really is great that the Marvel superheroes are getting treated so well in the film industry.