Review - Daredevil (2003)

        Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, you guys have seen me review both DC and Marvel movies in the past, not to mention last February, during 90's Throwback Month, I reviewed The Matrix. Now, I'd like to talk about a Marvel movie from 2003 that I would describe as being Spider-Man meets The Matrix. I am, of course, talking about the Mark Steven Johnson directed superhero action film Daredevil. Based on the Marvel superhero created by Stan Lee and Bill Everett, Daredevil centers on Matt Murdock, a lawyer from the Hell's Kitchen part of New York City, who was blinded as a child, but the accident sharpened his other four senses to superhuman sharpness. While the movie was pretty much smeared by the general public in its theatrical release, does it deserve such a level of hatred even today? Let's find out as we take a look at Daredevil. Please note that I'll be discussing the R-rated director's cut, not the PG-13 theatrical cut.

       So we start off the movie with Matt, who lives in a Hell's Kitchen apartment with his father, struggling boxer Jack "The Devil" Murdock. Jack, however, doesn't want his son to be a fighter, wanting him instead to be a lawyer or a doctor. The next day, Matt goes to the docks to meet his dad, and show him a straight-A report card, only for Matt to learn that his dad hasn't worked at the docks in months. It turns out that Jack has been working as an enforcer for mob boss Fallon, who is also a boxing manager. Upon seeing his dad sticking up an innocent man, a heartbroken Matt runs off, only to find himself sprayed in the face by toxic chemicals, blinding him in the process. However, his other four senses are sharpened to superhuman perfection, and his sense of hearing gives him a "radar sense," allowing him to "see." While Matt learns to adapt to his new condition, Jack trains to be a better boxer, and wins matches left and right. Eventually, Jack is confronted by Fallon, who tells him to throw his match against another boxer, but wins the match for Matt. Jack is then killed for winning, leaving Matt on his own. 

          Cut to years later, a now adult Matt works in Hell's Kitchen as a lawyer, co-running the law firm of Nelson and Murdock with his law partner and best friend Foggy Nelson. After losing a court case, defending a woman who was an assault victim, Matt then suits up that night in an all-red leather outfit as the masked crime fighter Daredevil, and takes down his client's assailant by knocking him onto a subway track. Matt returns to his apartment to rest for the night. The next morning, Matt and Foggy are in a coffee shop, discussing the need for paying clients vs. innocent clients who have little to no money. It is at this moment that a woman walks in and gains Matt's attention. Matt goes over to her to introduce himself, but she leaves shortly after. After a quick spar in a nearby playground, she introduces herself as Elektra Natchios, daughter of Nikolas Natchios. 

         Matt, after rejoining with Foggy, goes to meet the latest client of Nelson and Murdock: a man named Dante Jackson. Dante stands accused of the murder of a woman named Lisa Tazio. Dante claims he didn't kill her, and Matt believes him. As the Tazio murder trial goes on, Wilson Fisk aka The Kingpin sets up Nikolas Natchios to take the fall, and hires Irish hitman Bullseye to come to New York and kill Natchios. Matt and Elektra, meanwhile, really hit it off, and she sends an invitation for him to attend an upcoming gala event that her father is holding. It is at the event where Matt and Foggy meet reporter Ben Urich, who was at the Tazio murder trial, and has written newspaper stories about Daredevil. After Matt dances with Elektra, her father takes Elektra, informing her that they need to leave. Matt follows suit, and gears up as Daredevil. Matt then confronts Bullseye and fights him, but is unable to stop Bullseye from killing Nikolas. Elektra then shoots at Matt, blaming Daredevil for her father's death. 

        At the funeral, Matt tries to console Elektra, but fails. Urich, meanwhile, informs Matt that Dante is innocent, and that the cop who testified, McKensie, was lying. Matt, upon confronting McKensie, realizes that McKensie has a pacemaker, which made his heartbeat sound as if he was telling the truth. Yeah remember Matt's radar sense? Well, he uses it to hear a person's heartbeat, and can detect if they are lying. Back at Nelson and Murdock, Foggy tries to go over the case, and is pointed to a missed clue by their assistant, Karen Page. This clue, which was upside down the whole time, pointed to Wesley Owen Welch, Fisk's main henchman. Foggy calls Urich with the information, who then takes it to his contact on the NYPD, who confronts Wesley and confirms that Fisk is the Kingpin the police have been looking for. Elektra, meanwhile, prepares to take down Daredevil, while Matt prepares to go after Bullseye. Elektra fights Matt, nearly killing him, and then unmasking him to her horror of what she did. Elektra then goes to fight Bullseye, who kills her with her own weapon. Matt then fights Bullseye, who spills the beans about Fisk being the Kingpin. Matt then goes after Fisk, who killed Matt's father years ago. After a fight between the two, Matt takes down Fisk, and leaves him for the police to arrest, knowing his identity is safe, as if word gets out that Fisk was beaten in combat by a blind man, Fisk will appear as weak. 

         Dante is free, cleared of all charges against him for Lisa Tazio's murder, Fisk and Wesley are behind bars, and Urich decides not to publish a story revealing Matt's identity as Daredevil, leaving Matt to continue to defend Hell's Kitchen from criminals. 

         Okay so Daredevil, as I said, wasn't well received upon release of the theatrical cut, which removes the entire Dante Jackson subplot from the movie, leaving behind a revenge story of Matt wanting to avenge the death of his father, and Elektra wanting to avenge the death of her father. However, the added thirty minutes with the director's cut makes the film a whole hell of a lot better. Trust me, that added subplot was definitely needed, as it made the overall film a much better viewing experience. If you've only ever watched the theatrical cut of Daredevil, I encourage you to take a look at the director's cut. I think you'll enjoy that version of the movie more. I know I did. 

        The cast of this movie was pretty good, as well. Ben Affleck as Matt, Jennifer Garner as Elektra, Colin Farrell as Bullseye, Joe Pantoliano as Urich, Jon Favreau as Foggy, Ellen Pompeo as Karen Page, and Michael Clarke Duncan as Wilson Fisk, not to mention David Keith as Matt's father Jack, and Coolio as Dante Jackson. Plus cameos by Stan Lee, Frank Miller, and Kevin Smith. Dude, this is one of the best cast Marvel movies of the early 2000's. The visual style is definitely dark, like I said: Spider-Man meets The Matrix. However, I think that, given the nature of the character, the dark tone works well here. Now, I don't normally talk about movie soundtracks, but this movie had some of the best nu-metal bands of the era contribute to the soundtrack for this movie. Seether, Evanescence, Drowning Pool, Nickelback, Moby, Hoobastank, Autopilot Off. These guys were legit back in the early 2000's. 

       Overall, Daredevil is a product of trying to be two kinds of movies at once. Trying to be both a superhero movie like Spider-Man and simultaneously trying to be an action movie in the style of The Matrix, the movie definitely suffered from studio meddling at the hands of 20th Century Fox. However, the director's cut, as I said, is much better, and I'm glad to own it on Blu-ray. I'm going to give the director's cut of Daredevil a 4/5 rating, and a rating of 1.75/5 for the theatrical cut. Now, there is another adaptation of the character of Daredevil that was produced by Netflix, and I highly recommend it, it's a great series. Hopefully, we'll see him on the big screen again a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but we'll leave that up to the good folks at Marvel Studios. This is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you guys next time.