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Movie Review by The Undertaker
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02.27.03
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I've been reading Dare Devil on and off for 15 years or so. DD's never been a household name as far as super heroes go, but the comic has always been interesting, with 1st rate action and storylines for the most part. He's had some tough times over the years, struggling with personal problems and tragedies as much as with villains and criminals. I mean come on, the guy's blind and has had a girlfriend who got sucked into doing porno's at one time, now that's hard luck folks. It's not easy keeping Hell's Kitchen safe or keeping a decent stock of those cool as hell costumes. The Man Without Fear was always preferable to me over Spider-man, Batman, and the man of steel because his plight seemed more realistic if that makes any sense. He possesses no real 'Super Powers' other than his radar enabling him to 'see' and some souped up senses and martial arts skills. Luckily, he's able to kick much ass and find a hot babe now and then between a law career and a vigilante by night gig. I guess it was with both happiness and a bit of dread that I went to see the film Dare Devil. I just feel it's a tough task to make a movie from a comic. It either has to be well done and work or it just comes off cartoony and flops. People that don't read comics are easiest to please with this kinda film, but fans have that idea of how things should be and how they should look going into the theater. Unlike a book, a comic has the character's look done already. You know what everyone should like and ' cause it's in every issue. I have to say I didn't exactly like the leathery looking costume at 1st, but by the end it bothered me less and I found myself more focused on the cool action scenes than the looks. The cast does a good job with their parts. I would have liked to have seen a more exotic looking Elektra, but I was fine after 5 minutes of seeing her. What happened to Matt Murdock's (DD's true identity) blonde hair? Oh well, Ben Affleck does look like the character though, so it was an ok change. Bull's Eye was a bull's eye. The King Pin change was the most drastic (different race, and much slimmer), but it worked well enough. I guess for me the story and the action scenes negated most of my digs, so I was able to enjoy this movie without being too picky. The neighborhood, the movement, the darker style of the film felt kinda like I thought DD should. Loved the swinging through the city scenes, comic book films get a big help from computers in that aspect. You just couldn't do a good job with this shit without 'em. The fights were cool, the big name stars ain't no Michelle Yeoh and Jet Li, but they did fine and stunt doubles do make a difference. I liked the film's adult tone and mood. This is not a kiddie cartoon folks. It had some pretty nasty killings, more so than I would have expected. DD captured the sometimes gritty aspect of the comic well. All in all, it was a pleasant surprise. Other than a few cosmetic improvements, Dare Devil was better than this comic fan could have hoped for. Give the Devil it's due.
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Rating: 5.0 out of 10.0 - 9 votes cast total
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