In the mid ’90s, superhero movies started to fade in terms of quality. DC Comics based movies such as “Steel” & “Batman and Robin” almost made movie goers walk away from the genre. Thanks to Wesley Snipes’ “Blade,” encourging movie goers to see superhero movies again, movie studios like 20th Century Fox (pre-Disney purchase) bought the film rights to produce “X-Men.” Sony obtained the right to adapt “Spider-Man.” M. Night Shyamlan’s non-Marvel/DC movie “Unbreakable” gained a cult following. All four movies paved a wave for other superhero movies including Ang Lee’s “Hulk,” “The Punisher,” “Fantastic Four,” “Ghost Rider” & Iron Man.” The latter launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe or MCU for short.
As Fox was developing “X2: X-Men United,” they were also working on another Marvel superhero, “Daredevil” starring Ben Affleck. During production, Fox forced Mark Steven Johnson to trim 30 minutes of material ensuring a PG-13 rating so kids can see it.
Released in 2003, (same year Teen Titans aired on Cartoon Network) the Theatrical Cut earned mixed reviews from critics, fans and movie goers alike. Despite divisive reactions, it generated enough revenue at the box office. A year later, a Director’s Cut came out on DVD with 30 minutes of never-before-seen footage. In 2005, Jennifer Garner reprised her role as Elektra in a spin-off. Unlike The Man Without Fear, it was critical and box office failure. In 2015, a television series based on Daredevil starring Charlie Cox, earned praise. A significant improvement of the 2003 film. In 2022, all Marvel related shows on Netflix were transferred to Disney Plus.
Mr. Cox will reprise his role as the character in a revival series titled, “Daredevil: Born Again.” It’ll stream in March, 2025. Before Daredevil comes back on the small screen, I wanna share my thoughts on his big screen debut. By the way, Jennifer Garner will reprise her role as an alternate version of Elektra in the highly anticipated “Deadpool and Wolverine.”
This review contains SPOILERS.
Good & Evil Qualities
Good: Ben Affleck did a solid job for his performance as the titular character.
Other Cast Members such as Jennifer Garner, Michael Clarke Duncan & Jon Favreau all did a good job for their respective performances. You can tell Colin’s having a good time playing a psychotic villain. He’s channeling Willem Dafoe as Green Goblin.
- Fun Fact 1: Jon went on to direct Iron Man and its sequel. He also played Tony Stark’s bodyguard and pal, Happy Hogan.
- Fun Fact 2: Ben broke up with Jennifer “J-Lo”Lopez after they appeared in “Gigli.” He later married Ms. Garner. They have three kids. Sadly, they divorced. Ben later remarried J-Lo. Rumor has it, he and Ms. Lopez separated.
- Fun Fact 3: Stan Lee originally envisioned Wilson Fisk/Kingpin as black crime boss. He rejected the idea fearing racist implications. So, he changed Kingpin’s race to white. Michael Clarke Duncan was a fan of Marvel. He told producers he’s aware of the history surrounding the character. A rare feat that didn’t promote forced diversity. Regardless of race, he did a good job playing an intimating crime boss. It’s a darn shame he died.
- Fun Fact 4: Jose Quesada is named after comic book writer and artist, Joe Quesada.
- Fun Fact 5: Kevin Smith plays a forensics specialist named, Jack Kirby. Named after Stan’s fellow collaborator.
Graeme Revell (The Crow, The Chronicles of Riddick series, Sin City) orchestrated the soundtrack.
A recreation of a panel from “Guardian Devil” with Daredevil holding a cross while he sneaks his way to a church. Kevin Smith wrote the aforementioned graphic novel. He’s good friends with Affleck.
One scene with Bullseye killing a dude with a pencil. This predates Joker’s magic trick from “The Dark Knight.” John Wick also jammed a pencil on a random guy in “John Wick: Chapter 2.”
Director’s Cut improves aspects of the film originally envisioned by Mark before Fox forced him to trim 30 minutes of material.
- Matt & Foggy meet a drug addict (played by the late Coolio) arrested for murdering an informant posing as a hooker. The perp plays an important role tied to Kingpin’s criminal activities.
- Matt & Foggy do some detective work investigating the drug addict’s place for clues.
- More emphasis on Matt torn between his Catholicism and apprehending scum and villainy.
- Less romance between Matt & Elektra.
- Fight Scenes are brutal.
- Funny Moments such as Matt sarcastically says he was in a “Fight Club.” Foggy stated he hasn’t seen the film. At an airport, Bullseye removes a few things like a paperclip from his mouth.
- Matt interrogates McKenzie by recklessly driving his Mercedes.
- Kingpin’s in bars and Bullseye’s recovering at a prison hospital. He kills a fly with a syringe.
Robert Iler (A.J. Soprano) makes a brief appearance as a bully. Seeing Matt hit him with his cane is satisfying. That’s what A.J. gets for being the worst character on “The Sopranos.”
The late Mark Margolis (Hector from Breaking Bad) makes a brief appearance as Jake Murdock’s loan shark.
Stan Lee, Frank Miller & Kevin Smith make cameo appearances.
Evil: Mark Steven Johnson made a couple hiccups in the Theatrical Cut. There are a few things below.
Unlike the comics and MCU show, Matt never got his training from Stick. A blind man with great fighting skills. He later appeared in Elektra’s spin-off.
Matt acts like a buffoon sparing with Elektra in front of a crowd of kids in a playground. You can’t use your powers in public. You gotta keep things anonymous like the Men in Black preventing alien activity from co-existing to the public.
Cinematography often contains Dutch Angles. Camera’s titled as in “Battlefield Earth.”
After defeating Bullseye. Daredevil quips lame one-liner. “Bullseye.” Here’s a better one-liner from Chris Tucker. “Damn!” “He ain’t gonna be in Rush Hour 3!”
When Daredevil nearly killed a thug in front of a little boy, he said, “I’m not the bad guy, kid.” Remember that scene with him letting Quesada die from an oncoming train? About that, Daredevil’s a hypocrite.
An awkward match dissolve when a religious figure on a glass transition to Matt waking up with his mouth open gawking like “Napoleon Dynamite.”
The Final Verdict: C, FOr CLUTTERED
Daredevil: Director’s Cut is a slight improvement of the Theatrical Cut. There’s still a couple hiccups of scenes retained from the latter cut. I consider the Director’s Cut a disappointment. Not on the same level of new and improved Director’s Cuts like “Blade Runner,” “Kingdom of Heaven,” & Zack Snyder’s “Justice League.” I’m happy Marvel Studios got Daredevil back on track with his show. He’s one of my favorite Marvel heroes besides Deadpool, Rocket Raccoon, Punisher and my all-time favorite, Wolverine.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 