**Daredevil is cheesy but trying to be serious while dripping in 2000s grunge. It isn’t a masterpiece, but it was a solid superhero film for its time.**
Daredevil (2003) falls prey to a lot of judgment from people who have spent over a decade with Marvel films and The Dark Knight trilogy, but rewind to a time when Blade, X-Men, and Tobey Macguire’s Spider-man were all you had for superhero films, and you might start to see Daredevil for what it was. It was a genuine product of its time - Seether and Evanescence heavily featured on the soundtrack, leather superhero suits, and ridiculous dialogue. Everything was so cheesy in superhero movies at the time - don’t forget that Catwoman came out just a year later. Daredevil tried to be more edgy and gritty than Spider-man at a time when most people still considered superhero movies as kids’ films. It had a lot going against it but still brought together a fantastic cast with Ben Affleck and Colin Farrell at a very popular time in their careers and Jennifer Garner while she was one of the biggest stars on TV. This movie even managed to spawn a spin-off film! Say what you want, but when I saw this movie in 7th grade, I thought Daredevil was one of the coolest superheroes I had ever seen, and even though years later I can see the movie more for what it is - it still holds a special place in my heart.
This film feels longer than just 100 minutes! Ben Affleck ("Matt Murdock") is the eponymous super-hero who is blinded by an accident with some toxic waste but as a result, has acute hearing and sensitivity to movement. He spends his days as a lawyer, his nights à-la "Spiderman" as a bit of a vigilante trying keep the streets of New York's infamous "Hell's Kitchen" clear of criminals. Lately, his sights have become firmly set on the "Kingpin" (Colin Farrell) - the biggest baddie of them all, but a man whom the courts cannot incarcerate. His masked mission now becomes to bring this man to justice. This is a quickly paced, and colourful extravaganza - plenty of action, the visual effects are good and a premiss just a little different. The dialogue is pretty banal, Farrell is dreadful - a ham if I ever I saw one, and the action scenes are just a little bit too repetitive and dull after a while. Affleck brings little charisma to the screen and the romance with Jennifer Garner ("Electric Nachos" - or something similar) was gloopy and dragged the pace down all too often before an ending that, well - is just daft. It's harmless fun but I don't think I would bother watching it again.
