Daredevil
(Fox Region One 2-Disc Set)
(2003)
review by Head Cheeze

One of the best and most overlooked films of this year has to be Mark Steven Johnson's dark and brooding Daredevil. I reviewed this flick a while back and my opinions haven't changed a lick. If anything, after watching the film again on DVD, I like it even more. Presented in an absolutely monsterous 2-Disc set by Fox, Daredevil positively shines in home release, and hopefully it will get the recognition it deserves. To avoid basically repeating myself, here's my original review of the film, to be followed by a new look at the DVD.

Begin Old Review!

As a young boy Matt Murdock (Affleck) was in an accident involving chemical waste that robbed him of his eyesight, but replaced it with super keen hearing, agility, and strength. Murdock is a lawyer by day, but by night he is the Daredevil; judge, jury, and, sometimes, executioner. Murdock meets a lovely woman named Elektra (Garner), the daughter of a billionaire who is in league with the evil crimelord, Wilson Fisk, aka; The Kingpin (Duncan). When Elektra's father expresses a desire to leave the crime syndicate, Kingpin arranges his demise with the aid of a psychotic assassin named Bullseye (Farrel), who uses Daredevil's signature cane to do the deed. Elektra, a skilled martial artist, seeks vengeance against the Daredevil, while Kingpin and Bullseye have their own plans for them both.

If the plot sounds simple it's because it is. This film is as faithful an adaptation of the Daredevil mythos as Sam Raimi's Spiderman was to it's source. For fans of the comic series, this film mirrors the Frank Miller (aka: The Best) years, not only in story, but in mood as well. This film is as dark and gritty as the New York in Miller's hard-boiled comics, with most of the action taking place on dark gothic rooftops and grimey alleyways. The fight scenes are fantastically executed, with a lot of neat comic book panel style angles and impressive camera and barely noticeable CGI work. The film could have easily been a solid 4 Skull outing based on action alone, but what really makes Daredevil such a great treat is it's focus on characterization. We see Matt Murdock go through his daily ritual of placing carefully folded pieces of paper money into his wallet, taking pain relievers to combat the pain of having such heightened senses, and debating legal ethics with his loyal friend and partner Foggy Nelson (Favreau). These are elements of the comic book that I didn't expect to see in the film, and they went a long way toward fleshing out Murdock and his alter-ego, much like the care and detail that Raimi applied to the Peter Parker character in Spiderman. However, just as he is in the comic, Daredevil is a dark and conflicted character (devoutly religious, self-tortured, and not above killing the bad guy if there's no way around it!) and in capturing that essence I feel that screenwriters Brian Helgeland and Bill Everett have written a near perfect comic-book adaptation that tops even the mighty Spiderman. Daredevil also packs a whole lot of punch into it's lean 103 minute running time by presenting things in such a way that they are at once wholly realized yet brief and effective in moving the story forward. There aren't any moments in the film that don't need to be there (something that can't be said for many films in this genre), and when it ends it's more of a rush than a relief.

While Daredevil lacks the epic appeal of his more famous four-colour brethren, I think it's the unassuming nature of the character that makes the film such a pleasant surprise. Affleck, Garner, and Duncan all turn in wonderfully subtle performances, clearing the way for the absolutely mesmerizing Farrell to fully embody all that is Bullseye. Farrell looks like he's having an absolute blast, and his enthusiasm is contagious enought to make you smile even when he's doing the unthinkable to our heroes. Farrell would easily steal the show were it not for John Favreau's dead-on take on Foggy Nelson. Favreau is an example of truly inspired casting, providing most of the film's comic relief, but also serving as a solid emotional crutch for Murdock, showing genuine tenderness toward his friend when the chips are down. Of course, none of this would matter if the film were not in capable hands, and Mark Steven Johnson proves more than up to the task. Daredevil could have so easily been another emotionally vacant yet visually stimulating superhero flick, but Johnson is careful to alternate each big action sequence with an equally human moment, thus giving us a truly multi-dimensional hero and a well rounded film that, in my opinion, stands as the new benchmark for all comics-to-film adaptations to follow.

End Old Review!

So, as you probably gathered, I really, really liked this movie the first time out, so it was with a bit of aprehension that I popped the first disc into my player. I tend to be a bit kinder to a film the first time I see it. Usually, the second viewing is when I notice a chink in the armour, such as a bad effects sequence, poor dialogue, or just get plain bored. As much as I loved Spider-Man the first time out, with each subesquent viewing, I fell less in love with it. I mean, sure, I still LOVE the film, but I'm not IN LOVE with it, ya dig? After a few times through, the CGI becomes more apparent, the Green Goblin's Power Ranger get-up looks more ridiculous, and, frankly, Kirsten Dunst get's less hot. No worries about this with Daredevil. Jennifer Garner is, perhaps, the most perfect creature to walk this Earth. I could never get tired of seeing those pouting lips and painfully expressive eyes, or the way she hops around in leather pants and calls out to me..Do...Me...Head...Cheeze....

uh....where was I?

Oh, Daredevil. Yep, this film rocks the socks, and no less than three times later, it's every bit as fun, impressive, and spot-on faithful to it's origins as ever. Say what you want about Bennifer Lopez, he's still cool in my book, even if his fiance' is well on her way to becoming the next Martha Stuart. He's a great Matt Murdock, and, as the ladies will attest, he fills the suit pretty gosh-darned good. Yes, I did notice some of the dodgier bits of CGI, but I also noticed how much better the film looked overall, especially in this transfer. I'm getting to the point where I'm starting to hold judgement on a film's visual quality until I get it home in digital. In the theater, Daredevil was dark as hell, and while I loved the noir effect, I realize now it was just a shitty print! The film is still very dark, but the darkness is full of gothic detail that I just didn't see the first time around. Anyone whose seen this film in theaters will agree with me after viewing it. It's a thousand times better on DVD.

Disc One features the film in a pristine widescreen anamorphic transfer (it's also available in full screen for people who feel as though the "black bars" infringe on their personal "space".) The first disc also features a commentary by Johnson and producer Gary Foster, that's quite good and shows Johnson's true fan-boy colours. Disc one also features theatrical trailers and filmographies and all of the other doo-dads one would expect.

Disc Two is where things get crazed. Gaze upon this list, and bow before it's abundance;

6 multi-angle scene studies
"Beyond Hell's Kitchen: Making Daredevil" documentary with 
optional enhanced viewing mode
"The Men Without Fear: The Art of Daredevil" documentary
HBO First Look special
Daredevil #1 virtual comic book
"Shadow World": an in-depth llook at "Daredevil's sight"
Modeling sheet
Bios for your favorite heroes and villains
Kingpin featurette
3 music videos
Jennifer Garner screen test bio
Still gallery
Full-length screenplay
                                                

Split into two categories, Film or Comic, viewers can delve into virtually every aspect of the project and Daredevil mythos. The enhanced viewing mode option is similiar to that of the Matrix "white rabbit" mode, in which you can access data on certain "flagged" scenes housed elswhere on the discs. This feature is used in the film itself, as well as conversely in it's making of. I messed about with it for a bit, but I tend not to exploit these options simply because my attention span is already precariously low. I have no use for any of the nu-metal music videos, I'm sure a lot of folks will enjoy them. I ran through one (Evanesence's Bring Me to Life) simply because I heard the singer was really hot.

Things got really meaty for me with the longer featurettes. The Men Without Fear segment was absolutely superb, and featured long and thoroughly entertaining interviews with many of Daredevil's comic book creators, including Stan Lee, Frank Miller, John Romita's SR. and JR., and Joe Quesada. Watch this documentary immediately after Johnson's film and you'll see just how faithful this adaption is (right down to the comic book frame!).

Beyond Hell's Kitchen is a very comprehensive look at the making of the film, featuring loads of behind-the-scenes stuff, and interviews with virtually everyone involved. The HBO First Look doco is essentially a truncated version of a making-of, but features lots of material exclusive to this short. Tech heads will dig the Shadow World short, which focuses on the creation of Daredevil's rather unique vision, while Michael Clarke Duncan fans will enjoy his on-set tour and history lesson about the Kingpin character he portrays.

Rounding out the good stuff is a cool Marvel comics file on characters in the Daredevil universe, featuring vital stats on the horned one and his many friends and foes, a short video screen test of the lovely (drooooooooool) Garner, conceptual design stuff, CGI models, stills, and several DVD Rom extras for the hardcore. There's literally more stuff here than I may ever get to, but that's okay. I'll take that over "trailer and bios" frisbees any time.

Daredevil is a film that deserves a second chance and a second life on home video is just the ticket. Fox has seen clear to giving this deserving title one of the most feature packed releases I've seen. This one could be a contender for DVD of the year!!