Arts & Entertainment

Comic book superhero comes alive in 'Daredevil'

By Tara Wijnanda Mullee
The Daily Cougar

Daredevil wonit disappoint its most loyal fans, those who followed "The Man Without Fear" throughout his comic book adventures. The movie, written and directed by Mark Steven Johnson, comes to theaters Friday.

In this film based on the Marvel Comics character, Ben Affleck plays Matt Murdock, a blind lawyer from the New York City neighborhood of Hellis Kitchen. By night, Murdock is Daredevil, a vigilante who tracks down criminals. 

Murdockis superhuman abilities compensate for his lack of sight.

The massive Michael Clarke Duncan plays the part of the arch villain, Kingpin. Irish actor Colin Farrell, whose movie The Recruit is also now in theaters, is Daredevilis nemesis, Bullseye, a wild-eyed and reckless psychopath obsessed with his own perfect marksmanship.

By some standards, Kingpin and Bullseye are hollow characters. We learn nothing about their backgrounds or inner motivations. But the script makes up for the villainsi undeveloped characters by giving Murdock an inner moral conflict uncommon to most superheroes.

The special effects are a mixed bag. In the scene where we first see the world from Murdockis radar-like sense of sight, the effects are astounding, but Daredevilis computer-generated acrobatics are not always convincing. The cinematography, on the other hand, captures the dark and gritty Hellis Kitchen depicted in the comic. 

In stark contrast to the scenes with rats scurrying near Daredevilis feet as he runs through a back alley, the film also contains cheesy love scenes that will satisfy those whoid rather be watching a romantic comedy than an action flick on Valentineis Day. The movie does give us some good scenes between Affleck and his love interest, Elektra Natchios, played by Jennifer Garner of the ABC television show Alias. Daredevilis superhero poses in the movie are pulled straight out of the comic book. Fans will recognize one of the poses toward the end of the movie ? where Daredevil hurtles down the side of a building and twists in mid-air with his weapon twirling around him ? from the cover of issue No. 1 (volume 2).

Daredevilis co-creator, Stan Lee, makes a cameo in the film, as does Kevin Smith, who wrote for the Daredevil comic series and penned an early, unused draft of the movie script.

Some Daredevil fans have been grumbling about the choice of Affleck as Murdock, but his portrayal is true to the comic series, down to the scruffy hair and charming personality. Maybe it helped that Affleck has been reading the Daredevil comics since his childhood.

That doesnit mean people who havenit read the comic wonit enjoy the movie. Itis a fast-paced, well-executed film with more than enough action and a classic showdown between good and evil. 

Daredevil

20th Century Fox

Starring: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Colin Farrell

The verdict: It doesnit matter if you read the comic; this movie is fun to watch and well worth your $7.

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