Random Thoughts on Daredevil
Moderators: AArdvark, Ice Cream Jonsey
Random Thoughts on Daredevil
'A colossal misfire, DAREDEVIL is the BATTLEFIELD EARTH of superhero films.'
'The best I can say for "Daredevil," yet another flashy, noisy Marvel Comics adaptation, is that it is unlikely to spawn a franchise. The next-best thing I can say is that it makes the previous Marvel superhero spectacle, "Spider-Man," look even better. It sets the stage nicely for the upcoming "X2" and "The Hulk," too. They could be decidedly disappointing, and still people will leave the theaters saying, "Well, at least it's better than 'Daredevil.' " '
"Shame on all involved."
"''Daredevil'' is the sort of half-assed, visually lackadaisical potboiler that makes you rue the day that comic-book franchises ever took over Hollywood."
'"Daredevil" was released early in the year to jump ahead of "The Hulk," "X2," and "Matrix Reloaded." But instead of hitting the bullseye, it has missed it completely.'
"The flick misses the bull's-eye by such a length that nobody except hard-core fanboys and leather fetishists will be panting for the sequel promised at the end."
'Daredevil is ugly, scattershot, humorless and completely without grace... I’ve seen better music videos on MTV.'
"How did an embarrassment of comic-book riches become simply an embarrassment as a movie?"
'The best I can say for "Daredevil," yet another flashy, noisy Marvel Comics adaptation, is that it is unlikely to spawn a franchise. The next-best thing I can say is that it makes the previous Marvel superhero spectacle, "Spider-Man," look even better. It sets the stage nicely for the upcoming "X2" and "The Hulk," too. They could be decidedly disappointing, and still people will leave the theaters saying, "Well, at least it's better than 'Daredevil.' " '
"Shame on all involved."
"''Daredevil'' is the sort of half-assed, visually lackadaisical potboiler that makes you rue the day that comic-book franchises ever took over Hollywood."
'"Daredevil" was released early in the year to jump ahead of "The Hulk," "X2," and "Matrix Reloaded." But instead of hitting the bullseye, it has missed it completely.'
"The flick misses the bull's-eye by such a length that nobody except hard-core fanboys and leather fetishists will be panting for the sequel promised at the end."
'Daredevil is ugly, scattershot, humorless and completely without grace... I’ve seen better music videos on MTV.'
"How did an embarrassment of comic-book riches become simply an embarrassment as a movie?"
- Ice Cream Jonsey
- Posts: 28923
- Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2002 2:44 pm
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Re: Random Thoughts on Daredevil
"Hi, I review films for a living but have never seen nor heard of 'Batman and Robin.'"The Critic Brigade wrote:'A colossal misfire, DAREDEVIL is the BATTLEFIELD EARTH of superhero films.'
Name the first, please. Additionally, if "Hollywood" were capable of creating something interesting or original, Marvel would not be tapped. They aren't, they are.'The best I can say for "Daredevil," yet another flashy, noisy Marvel Comics adaptation
Ah-hahaha! This one I like, because the reviewer didn't even bother to hide his angst. WAaARGH THIS GOT GREEN LITTED AND nOT MY SCREEENENEPLAY WWwaaah""''Daredevil'' is the sort of half-assed, visually lackadaisical potboiler that makes you rue the day that comic-book franchises ever took over Hollywood."
LOL COS BULLSEYES IN THE FILM ZING'"Daredevil" was released early in the year to jump ahead of "The Hulk," "X2," and "Matrix Reloaded." But instead of hitting the bullseye, it has missed it completely.'
Hahaha! "Even if you liked it, you didn't like it, you just don't know any better! MY REVIEW SI FLAWLESS!""The flick misses the bull's-eye by such a length that nobody except hard-core fanboys and leather fetishists will be panting for the sequel promised at the end."
MOVIES SHULD BE PRETTY AND FUNNEY'Daredevil is ugly, scattershot, humorless and completely without grace... I’ve seen better music videos on MTV.'
RIDE THE SNAKE!"How did an embarrassment of comic-book riches become simply an embarrassment as a movie?"
the dark and gritty...Ice Cream Jonsey!
- Ice Cream Jonsey
- Posts: 28923
- Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2002 2:44 pm
- Location: Colorado
- Contact:
The origin is usually similar: A traumatic event in childhood, often involving the loss of parents, leaves the future superhero scarred in some ways but with preternatural powers in others. "Daredevil" came out of the Marvel Comics stable in the same period as "Spider-Man" and both were altered by accidents, which gave Peter Parker his spidey-sense, and blinded Matt Murdock but made his other four senses hypersensitive. They grew up together in Marvel comics, sometimes sharing the same adventures, but you won't see them fraternizing in the movies because their rights are owned by different studios.
"Daredevil" stars Ben Affleck as the superhero, wearing one of those molded body suits that defines his six-pack abs but, unlike Batman's, doesn't give him dime-sized nipples. His mask extends over his eyes, which are not needed since his other senses fan out in a kind of radar, allowing him to visualize his surroundings and "see" things even in darkness.
By day (I love that "by day"), he is a lawyer in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan. By night, he tells us, he prowls the alleys and rooftops, seeking out evildoers. Of these there is no shortage, although most of the city's more lucrative crime is controlled by the Kingpin (Michael Clarke Duncan) and his chief minister, Bullseye (Colin Farrell).
There must be a woman, and in "Daredevil" there is one (only one, among all those major make characters, although the fragrant Ellen Pompeo has a slink-on). She is Elektra Natchios (Jennifer Garner), who, like her classical namesake, wants to avenge the death of her father. By day, she is, well, pretty much as she is by night. She and Daredevil are powerfully attracted to each other, and even share some PG-13 sex, which is a relief because when superheroes have sex at the R level, I am always afraid someone will get hurt. There is a rather beautiful scene where he asks her to stand in the rain because his ears are so sensitive they can create an image of her face from the sound of the raindrops.
Matt Murdock's law partner is Franklin "Foggy" Nelson (Jon Favreau). He has little suspicion of who he is sharing an office with, although he is a quick study. Another key character is Ben Urich (Joe Pantoliano), who works for the New York Post, the newspaper of choice for superheroes.
Daredevil has the ability to dive off tall buildings, swoop through the air, bounce off stuff, land lightly and so forth. There is an explanation for this ability, but I tend to tune out such explanations because, after all, what do they really explain? I don't care what you say, it's Superman's cape that makes him fly. Comic fans, however, study the mythology and methodology with the intensity of academics. It is reassuring, in this world of inexplicabilities, to master a limited subject within a self-contained universe. Understand, truly understand, why Daredevil defies gravity, and the location of the missing matter making up 90 percent of the universe can wait for another day.
But these are just the kinds of idle thoughts I entertain during a movie like "Daredevil," which may have been what the Vatican had in mind when it issued that statement giving its limited approval of Harry Potter, as long as you don't start believing in him. Daredevil describes himself as a "guardian devil," and that means there are guardian angels, and that means God exists and, by a process of logical deduction, that Matt Murdock is a Catholic. Please address your correspondence to Rome.
The movie is actually pretty good. Affleck and Garner probe for the believable corners of their characters, do not overact, are given semi-particular dialogue, and are in a very good-looking movie. Most of the tension takes place between the characters, not the props. There is, of course, a fancy formal ball to which everyone is invited (Commissioner Gordon must have been at the rival affair across town).
Affleck is at home in plots of this size, having recently just tried to save Baltimore from nuclear annihilation and the world from "Armageddon," but Garner, Farrell and Duncan are relatively newer to action epics, although Garner did see Affleck off at the station when he took the trail from Pearl Harbor to New York, and Duncan was Balthazar in "The Scorpion King." They play their roles more or less as if they were real, which is a novelty in a movie like this, and Duncan in particular has a presence that makes the camera want to take a step back and protect its groin.
The movie is, in short, your money's worth, better than we expect, more fun than we deserve. I am getting a little worn out describing the origin stories and powers of superheroes, and their relationships to archvillains, gnashing henchmen and brave, muscular female pals.
They weep, they grow, they astonish, they overcome, they remain vulnerable, and their enemies spend inordinate time on wardrobe, grooming and props, and behaving as if their milk of human kindness has turned to cottage cheese. Some of their movies, like this one, are better than others.
"Daredevil" stars Ben Affleck as the superhero, wearing one of those molded body suits that defines his six-pack abs but, unlike Batman's, doesn't give him dime-sized nipples. His mask extends over his eyes, which are not needed since his other senses fan out in a kind of radar, allowing him to visualize his surroundings and "see" things even in darkness.
By day (I love that "by day"), he is a lawyer in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan. By night, he tells us, he prowls the alleys and rooftops, seeking out evildoers. Of these there is no shortage, although most of the city's more lucrative crime is controlled by the Kingpin (Michael Clarke Duncan) and his chief minister, Bullseye (Colin Farrell).
There must be a woman, and in "Daredevil" there is one (only one, among all those major make characters, although the fragrant Ellen Pompeo has a slink-on). She is Elektra Natchios (Jennifer Garner), who, like her classical namesake, wants to avenge the death of her father. By day, she is, well, pretty much as she is by night. She and Daredevil are powerfully attracted to each other, and even share some PG-13 sex, which is a relief because when superheroes have sex at the R level, I am always afraid someone will get hurt. There is a rather beautiful scene where he asks her to stand in the rain because his ears are so sensitive they can create an image of her face from the sound of the raindrops.
Matt Murdock's law partner is Franklin "Foggy" Nelson (Jon Favreau). He has little suspicion of who he is sharing an office with, although he is a quick study. Another key character is Ben Urich (Joe Pantoliano), who works for the New York Post, the newspaper of choice for superheroes.
Daredevil has the ability to dive off tall buildings, swoop through the air, bounce off stuff, land lightly and so forth. There is an explanation for this ability, but I tend to tune out such explanations because, after all, what do they really explain? I don't care what you say, it's Superman's cape that makes him fly. Comic fans, however, study the mythology and methodology with the intensity of academics. It is reassuring, in this world of inexplicabilities, to master a limited subject within a self-contained universe. Understand, truly understand, why Daredevil defies gravity, and the location of the missing matter making up 90 percent of the universe can wait for another day.
But these are just the kinds of idle thoughts I entertain during a movie like "Daredevil," which may have been what the Vatican had in mind when it issued that statement giving its limited approval of Harry Potter, as long as you don't start believing in him. Daredevil describes himself as a "guardian devil," and that means there are guardian angels, and that means God exists and, by a process of logical deduction, that Matt Murdock is a Catholic. Please address your correspondence to Rome.
The movie is actually pretty good. Affleck and Garner probe for the believable corners of their characters, do not overact, are given semi-particular dialogue, and are in a very good-looking movie. Most of the tension takes place between the characters, not the props. There is, of course, a fancy formal ball to which everyone is invited (Commissioner Gordon must have been at the rival affair across town).
Affleck is at home in plots of this size, having recently just tried to save Baltimore from nuclear annihilation and the world from "Armageddon," but Garner, Farrell and Duncan are relatively newer to action epics, although Garner did see Affleck off at the station when he took the trail from Pearl Harbor to New York, and Duncan was Balthazar in "The Scorpion King." They play their roles more or less as if they were real, which is a novelty in a movie like this, and Duncan in particular has a presence that makes the camera want to take a step back and protect its groin.
The movie is, in short, your money's worth, better than we expect, more fun than we deserve. I am getting a little worn out describing the origin stories and powers of superheroes, and their relationships to archvillains, gnashing henchmen and brave, muscular female pals.
They weep, they grow, they astonish, they overcome, they remain vulnerable, and their enemies spend inordinate time on wardrobe, grooming and props, and behaving as if their milk of human kindness has turned to cottage cheese. Some of their movies, like this one, are better than others.
- Ice Cream Jonsey
- Posts: 28923
- Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2002 2:44 pm
- Location: Colorado
- Contact:
- Ice Cream Jonsey
- Posts: 28923
- Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2002 2:44 pm
- Location: Colorado
- Contact:
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- Posts: 2544
- Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2002 10:43 pm
- Ice Cream Jonsey
- Posts: 28923
- Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2002 2:44 pm
- Location: Colorado
- Contact:
Yeah, I blew it. I started reading all the discussions I had previously avoided on the net and it tainted my opinion. I have half of a front page update written. I should finish it, if I can work enough blind jokes into the thing.
The Time Machine was a movie that I liked, and then after spending an hour on the net, my opinion of it changed for the worse. DD was a movie that I wasn't crazy about, but after jogging around the internet that night, my opinion improved. I don't know when I became some sort of empathic, sad-sack bundle of emo crap, but my ability to form strong opinions and stick with them has been robbed by the Internet, just as it took a hundred other things.
I'll see what I can do. I have not personally written an update for the front page of JC in a very long time, so I am due anyway.
The Time Machine was a movie that I liked, and then after spending an hour on the net, my opinion of it changed for the worse. DD was a movie that I wasn't crazy about, but after jogging around the internet that night, my opinion improved. I don't know when I became some sort of empathic, sad-sack bundle of emo crap, but my ability to form strong opinions and stick with them has been robbed by the Internet, just as it took a hundred other things.
I'll see what I can do. I have not personally written an update for the front page of JC in a very long time, so I am due anyway.
the dark and gritty...Ice Cream Jonsey!