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46%
Overall Rating
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Ranked #716
...out of 14,068 movies
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Fate deals young orphan Matt Murdock a strange hand when he is doused with hazardous waste. The accident leaves Matt blind but also gives him a heightened "radar sense" that allows him to "see" far better than any man. Years later Murdock has grown into a man and becomes a respected criminal attorney. But after he's done his "day job" Matt takes on a secret identity as "The Man Without Fear," Daredevil, the masked avenger that patrols the neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen and New York City to combat the injustice that he cannot tackle in the courtroom.
--IMDb
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Daredevil is one of the greatest movies of all time. Let the flame war begin.
Starring Ben Affleck as Daredevil, Jennifer Garner as Elektra, Colin Farrell as Bullseye, and Michael Clarke Duncan as the Kingpin, this movie has everything one could ever ask for out of a piece of cinema. It has action, suspense, drama, romance, comedy, and other genres my thesaurus cannot even begin to contain.
This movie is the story of Matt Murdock, son of washed up prize fighter Jack "The Devil" Murdock. The two live alone in a ratty apartment with empty beer bottles serving as decoration. Matt's father promises him that he's not working for the mob, but the truth comes out and leads to an accident where Matt is splashed in the eyes with hazardous chemicals. He wakes up in the hospital with patches over his eyes but finds his hearing is now so acute that he can "see" traffic drive by outside his room. That Jack was indirectly the cause of his son's blindness causes him to renounce the mob and return to the squared circle. "The Devil" starts racking up wins, but it isn't long before he's called on by the mob to throw a fight in order to "do what's best for your boy, Jack." He lets himself get knocked to the mat but finds himself unable to stay there while his son is cheering for him. "The Devil" wins the fight and, shortly thereafter, is beaten to death. The loss of his father drives the Matt to pursue a law degree to fight injustice during the day and assume the mantle of Daredevil to take care of those outside the reach of the law. This puts both sides of his persona into conflict with Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin of Crime, and his hired assassin, Bullseye.
Nearly every actor and actress in this film gives an excellent performance. Ben Affleck delivers his lines with a reserved deadpan that matches up well with his character that has given up nearly everything to keep his city safe. Duncan actually surprised me with his performance. Going into the movie, I was irritated they had deviated from the source material by changing the race of this character, but, after seeing his portrayal, I realize that Michael Clarke Duncan IS the Kingpin; no other actor would have fit the role as well. (We'll save for another time the discussion of how everyone but whites got shafted/Shafted in getting decent characters in the comics of earlier decades.) Despite these and other unmentioned actors, the movie is absolutely stolen by the acting prowess of Colin Farrell. He brings levels of depth and sadism to the role that cannot be written into a script. From the frustration of when Bullseye missed with a shuriken ("I missed...I never miss!") to the triumph of when he figured out Daredevil's weakness ("Let's bring on the noise--let's bring on the pain.") to the overall awesomeness of his last scene in the movie proper (No quote for you!), Colin Farrell as Bullseye brings more goodness to this movie than Tim Story could bring in a dozen attempts at making a decent Fantastic Four movie.
The script itself is excellent. It uses very little time to introduce the characters and get onto the main story (actually, I never timed how long the "intro" is. Regardless, it flies by). Almost every character gets a moment to shine, and the film is filled to the brim with quotable quotes (which are distinctly different than visible visuals, which the movie also has). The only problem I noticed was a few plot points do not get fully explained. If this is a problem for you, check out the Director's Cut version; you'll understand more, but you'll also be disappointed. The scenes that were cut are gone for a reason: they either went on far too long or were just plain stupid (please, please, no one ever cast Coolio in a movie again...don't worry though, he doesn't show up in the theatrical version that I am reviewing here). The Director's Cut gets docked 2-3 points for being an unnecessary waste of $20 (though it is cheaper now than when I bought it).
Overall, I can't praise this movie enough. It is excellent and exists on multiple layers that only yield their treasures after multiple viewings. Not everyone will rate this as high as I do, but their are very few that will not enjoy this movie. I give it a 10/10.
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#1:
Ginose
- added 10/08/2007, 04:20 AM
Flame wars has begun.
Shit sucked.
I
talk from a raging Marvel nerd point of view and a
film-junkie point of view. I got nothing out of
this movie.
The acting wasn't anything
special, you could have dropped Elecktra from the
entire film and be left with the same movie.
Affleck is just Affleck. He's never been a marvel
to watch in a film and I feel he never realy
tries. But, whatever. Bullseye has always been a
pathetic villan. Why they thought he'd sell this
movie is beyond me. Duncan as Kingpin was terrible
on one account: He looks like a good guy.
Everytime I see the man I think "The Green Mile",
he's just never been any good at playing a cynical
fellow, shame really.
The movie has a very
akward pacing, atleast 4 throw-away charecters and
a pathetic villian. Even by a comic-nerd's
standards, I'd say this is in the top five worst
comicbook movies ever.
1.8/10 for the mildly
amusing scene on the airplane and the honest
effort to make Elektra seem like a truly
interesting heroine... even if it did fail
miserably.
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#2:
Tristan
- added 10/08/2007, 10:01 AM
10/10?
Reviewer status = revoked.
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#3:
Chad
- added 10/08/2007, 10:15 AM
I tried to warn him that he was going to catch
hell for this review. Hate to say I told you so,
but... oh, screw it, I love to say I told you so.
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#4:
Griffinheart
- added 10/08/2007, 10:49 AM
I don't know why, but there is something about
this movie that speaks to me. Perhaps I'm seeing
beauty in its absence, but I love this movie. I'm
sure there for each person there is a movie that
he loves above all else. If not, let your inner
child out; it needs to breathe.
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#5:
bluemeanie
- added 10/08/2007, 10:57 AM
This has to be a joke, right? This is comedy?
This is humor? "Daredevil" is one of the worst
comic book movies ever made. Ben Affleck has the
personality and charm of a wet moth. Michael
Clarke Duncan as Kingpin is such a painful
miscast. And Jennifer Garner? Please. She
couldn't act her way out of a wool sock. I am
just assuming this 10/10 garbage is a joke -- some
sort of attention garnering ploy because
"Daredevil" is just dreadful. 2/10.
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#6:
Ginose
- added 10/08/2007, 02:21 PM
Inner-child? What is all this new-age
mumbo-jumbo?
But, seriously, my inner-child
kicked me for not turning this off half-way
through. My inner-child will stick to his
juvenille love of martial-arts, gore and kaiju...
and he will continue to run my life... that
prick...
Honestlly, I didn't watch this
movie with any preconcived notions. Understand
that Daredevil was always one of my favorite comic
heroes (infact I'd say he's in my top 5) but even
I've come to terms with the fact that there is
never any complete consitency in adapting a
comicbook to film, and I just don't look for that
anymore... I just want an entertaining movie,
"Daredevil" didn't even offer that! And just what
the fuck were they thinking when they made an
"Elektra" movie?
God help us when they
decide Deadpool needs a movie... My brains may be
on the floor...
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#7:
Crispy
- added 10/08/2007, 03:04 PM
I think Jason Statham would be a perfect Deadpool.
I have high hopes for a DP movie.
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#8:
Tristan
- added 10/08/2007, 03:14 PM
Jason Statham wouldn't be a perfect anything.
He's had the same part in every movie for the
last 8 years.
Fuck Jason Statham.
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#9:
TakuBiru
- added 10/08/2007, 03:36 PM
Too much dancing. 0.42/10.
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#10:
ThunderStruck5a
- added 10/08/2007, 03:38 PM
ive never wasted my time on this but i will say
1) duncan was a good villian in sin
city and will be in sin city 2 & 3 (if they ever
make them)
2) i think deadpool is such a
badass hero after playing the marvel ultimate
alliance game
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#11:
Ginose
- added 10/08/2007, 03:45 PM
Didn't care much for his voice in "Ultimate
Alliance*, but the charecter was there.
Read
his comics for further proof of his greatness.
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#12:
Edd
- added 10/10/2007, 07:21 PM
Griffenheart is by far the best film reviewer on
this site. He tells it like it is maaaaaaan.
Seriously though, I really liked this movie.
10/10.
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#13:
Mr. Mistoffelees
- added 10/11/2007, 04:34 PM
If Griffinheart is the best reviewer on this site,
then bluemeanie, MVMMDI and Tristan have me
fooled. This movie is full of B-rate actors for
the most part who simply are physically fitting of
the roles but otherwise have such "deadpan"
performance that I was hoping it would end soon.
Very little about this movie said "whole-hearted;"
they seemed to have taken today's bandwagon of
superhero movies and said "hey, I can do this
too." Unfortunately for most people, they were
wrong.
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#14:
Ginose
- added 10/11/2007, 04:44 PM
Sarcasm not your friend, Mr. Mistoffelees?
Yes, Edd agreed with Griff's review, but he
knows damn good and well who the big dogs are
around here, thus the "Seriously though".
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#15:
bluemeanie
- added 10/11/2007, 05:55 PM
My choice for Deadpool: Guy Pearce. He could
rock it. Absolutely.
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#16:
Griffinheart
- added 10/11/2007, 06:09 PM
I am certainly not the finest reviewer here. The
other reviewers have both a greater knowledge of
the silver screen and more room in their hearts
set aside for their love of the art form (I like
to picture a small, bearded man holding a tub of
popcorn living in the left ventricle). I toss
MyMMDI the occasional review to provide an
opinion for movies that don't yet have one. I
respect the other reviewers, except for Crispy
when he has a non-Muppet avatar, and hope they do
the same for me.
Long days and
pleasant nights.
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#17:
Crispy
- added 10/11/2007, 08:46 PM
I know you're not dissing Layne.
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#18:
Griffinheart
- added 10/11/2007, 09:46 PM
But I'm talkin' about Shaft!
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#19:
Mr. Mistoffelees
- added 10/12/2007, 12:27 PM
I apologize about the way I went about the last
comment. Yesterday wasn't a good day I guess, so
sarcasm wasn't breaching. However I am a fan both
of sarcasm and a Deadpool movie, he rocks the shit
in Ultimate Alliance.
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#20:
Kezia Vadimas
- added 07/15/2008, 07:02 PM
NO NO NO! Who the hell let Assfleck play
Daredevil? That person ought to be flame-broiled
slowly! Matt Murdock should have been played by a
man. I couldn't watch it all the way through and I
will never try to again, it gathers dust in my
crap pile.
Why aren't there negative
ratings on this site?
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#21:
Rik
- added 07/27/2008, 09:31 AM
I actually loved this movie, and you're right,
Colin Farrell is awesome. He is my newest
favourite actor.l
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#22:
Rik
- added 07/27/2008, 09:35 AM
Strangely enough, Jon Favreau had the best
character.
And yes, they should make
a Deadpool movie. He is such a character. Deadpool
and Cable is my favourite superhero tag team ever.
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#23:
Greg Follender
- added 10/18/2009, 11:56 PM
Not to beat a dead horse... but when I read the
shoutbox strand about Griffinheart's review of
this film... I HAD to check it out.
Sure enough... he gave this colossal shit-storm
a 10/10... thus proving the age-old adage that
states that a man can "have a wordsmith head
on his shoulders and even be able to turn a clever
phrase yet still have fuck-all taste in
film."
All silliness aside... I
do have to say that this film was such utter shite
that I actually had to watch it again immediately
to convince myself that I hadn't missed something
valid within the accursed thing. Somebody
actually thought this was a good idea at some
point... and that, in itself, is terrifying to
me.
You're a good man, Griffinheart... but
I've got to side with the majority here,
kiddo.
The costume designer is the
only fellow who needn't hang his head in shame...
and that douche-nozzle director should be forced
to compose Wendy's employee orientation filmstrips
for the rest of his career for punishment for this
film.
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#24:
Lucid Dreams
- added 05/25/2010, 01:41 AM
Words can not describe how horrible this movie is
and Ben Affleck, guess what, you are not an action
star. 2/10
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