DAREDEVIL (2003)
Plot:
The latest Marvel Comics superhero to hit the big screen is Daredevil (Ben Affleck), a man blinded by a radioactive chemical accident as a young boy but left with superhuman senses and agile acrobatic ability. Like his Marvel compatriot Spider-Man, Daredevil attempts to lead a normal life by day as Matt Murdock, a Hell's Kitchen defense attorney. By night Matt becomes Daredevil, a brooding superhero fighting for justice in the dark and squalid New York streets overrun with vermin and criminal injustice. Wearing a red leather suit and mask, Daredevil leaps from high skyscrapers and tracks his enemies with his radar-like vision, punishing those who are guilty but who he cannot tackle in the courtroom. At the center of the city's villainous underbelly is Daredevil's nemesis Kingpin (Michael Clarke Duncan), and his psychotic, knife-wielding deputy-assassin Bullseye (Colin Farrell). Daredevil fights their powerful forces alone, until he meets Elektra Natchios (Jennifer Garner of ALIAS fame), a skilled martial artist and sexy superheroine who is after Bullseye and Kingpin for murdering her father. Sparks fly as the two heroes take on the underlords of crime together in this action-packed adventure fantasy that will surely delight fans of SPIDER-MAN, X-MEN, or BATMAN.
Cast/Crew:
Written by: Mark Steven Johnson (screenplay)
Directed by: Mark Steven Johnson
Starring:
Ben Affleck .... Matt Murdock/Daredevil
Jennifer Garner .... Elektra Natchios
Colin Farrell .... Bullseye
Michael Clarke Duncan .... The Kingpin/Wilson Fisk
Jon Favreau .... Franklin 'Foggy' Nelson
Scott Terra .... Young Matt Ellen
Pompeo .... Karen Page
Joe Pantoliano .... Ben Urich
Notes:
Vin Diesel was approached for the role of Bullseye, later given to Colin Farrell.
The titles in the beginning of the film for the major players are building windows, which become Braille, which then become Roman letters of the players' names. The minor players and production staff go from Braille to Roman.
The film was originally envisioned as an R-rated film with nudity and hard violence.
The woman on the answering machine is Claudine Farrell, Colin Farrell's sister. She was also in the pub scene when we first see Bullseye, and was Colin's assistant during the movie.
10 Feb 2003 - SciFi.com
Colin Farrell, who plays the villainous Bullseye in the upcoming Daredevil movie, told SCI FI Wire that the character was a refreshing change from his other roles in serious movies such as Tigerland and Minority Report. "It was fun to do, man," the Irish actor said in an interview while promoting Daredevil.
Farrell added, "I've always ... just tried to concern myself with the character and what's going on in the character's head and heart. But this time there was no major internal struggle going on. It wasn't someone that lost a father or found himself in a prisoner-of-war camp or was going through anything really except just the fun and enjoyment and pleasure that he derived from killing people. He was fairly black and white, Bullseye."
In the film adaptation of the Marvel Comics series, Farrell plays the bald assassin who helps the evil Kingpin (Michael Clarke Duncan). "It was just a case of checking in your subtlety at the door and having a f--king good time, you know?" Farrell said. "And [director] Mark [Steven Johnson] was great to be around, because he was always inspiring me to just push the envelope and go further and further. And I enjoyed it."
Farrell said that it helped to wear a flowing black leather coat and the imprint of a bullseye on his forehead. "The costume was a huge help," he said. "You put that sh-t on, they put a bullseye on your head, you're bald, you've got piercings, and you just start moving a little bit differently and swaggering like your sh-t doesn't stink. ... You growl a lot, and you feel like you're just ridiculous and just a caricature and over the top, so you just deal with that." Daredevil opens Feb. 14.
Reviews:
'Daredevil': No risk, no reward
By Mike Clark, USA TODAY
Writer/director Kevin Smith shows up briefly as a lab technician in the miserable Daredevil, and that's a pity. This is a movie that desperately needs the presence of Smith's trademark sidekicks Jay and Silent Bob, with Smith as Bob, ragging worse than ever on his old pal Ben Affleck.
Then again, there'll be plenty of ragging to go around once audiences get a dose of the dullest live-action comic strip on record, one that lacks even an interesting villain. The baddie it's stuck with is a behemoth named The Kingpin, played without a hint of idiosyncratic flair by Michael Clarke Duncan. The only fun comes from trying to guess how much fabric it would take to construct one of Duncan's spiffy suits. His jacket size must be something like a 160-long.
Blinded since childhood by toxic waste (it makes you wonder whether the movie could have the same effect), Affleck's Matt Murdock labors as an attorney. At night, when most scenes take place, he dons a hero's Daredevil mask and pretty much looks like a fool.
Daredevil ( out of four) Stars: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Michael Clarke Duncan, Colin Farrell, Jon Favreau, Joe Pantoliano Director: Mark Steven Johnson Distributor: 20th Century Fox Rating: PG-13 for action/violence, and sensuality Opens Friday nationwide
Love interest Elektra is played by Jennifer Garner. No matter how lockjawed her dialogue deliveries, her dimples still indent, which is even more impressive than Duncan's girth.
The two leads show their love for each other by engaging in Matrix-like punches, flights and flips, already a movie cliché before the second Matrix pic can even make it into theaters. One early fight sequence is so dark, fuzzy and impersonal that the participants look like video-game combatants, which might be the point, given the target audience.
There is none of the casting ingenuity, pacing, production design or subliminally stirring emotional dysfunction that made Spider-Man work, though writer/director Mark Steven Johnson does try to tack on a religious dimension. Even when key characters die, it doesn't make much difference in the great scheme of things, as if this picture were assembled skillfully enough to have a scheme of things.
Colin Farrell comes off best (certainly better than Duncan or Affleck) as a crazed hit man; at least the design on his forehead is unique.
Cast as Affleck's law partner is Jon Favreau, from cable's engaging Dinner for Five. Once the word starts getting around on this movie, the makers will be lucky if they manage to escape a period of dining at tables for one.
Trailers:
- Windows Media Player [HIGH]
- Windows Media player [LOW]
DVD info:
Encoding: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries. Read more about DVD formats.)
Format: Widescreen, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound
Rated: [PG-13]
Studio: Twentieth Century Fox Home Video
DVD Release Date: January 27, 2004
DVD Features:
Commentary by director/screenwriter Mark Steven Johnson and producer Gary Foster
Theatrical trailer(s)
Enhanced viewing mode
On-screen trivia track
Visually impaired track
The Movie:
"Beyond Hell's Kitchen: Making Daredevil" documentary with optional enhanced viewing mode
Jennifer Garner screen test
6 multi-angle scene studies
Kingpin featurette
HBO First Look special
"Moving Through Space: A Day with Tom Sullivan"
3 music videos: "Won't Back Down" by Fuel, "For You" by the Calling, "Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence
Still gallery
The Comic Book:
"Men Without Fear: Creating Daredevil" documentary
"Shadow World Tour": an in-depth look at "Daredevil's sight"
Modeling sheets
DVD-ROM: Daredevil #1 virtual comic book, history of the comic book, bios for your favorite heroes and villains, wallpapers, sensory quiz
Widescreen anamorphic format
Number
of discs: 2