Daredevil - The Director's Cut (2003)

Not Quite A Bullseye

There are some good things about this show, and some bad things. It is a dark movie, as it should be, being that Daredevil is a dark character. Collin Farrel was absolutely perfect as Bullseye. His preformance was the best part of the movie for me. I have some reservations regarding the decision to cast Ben Affleck as the lead.

The main thing lacking is back story. They needed to show some more of Daredevil's training and explain more about how he got his powers. What they did show was just insufficient. I don't buy that a 12-year old boy could train himself like that, even in a comic book.

I also did not like the obvious CGI effects, and there was too much gymnastics in a lot of the fighting scenes.

There is nothing special about the DVD. Over all the film is entertaining and worth seeing and/or owning. November 15, 2008

Blu Ray Director's Cut

This film didn't have much of a chance when it came out. Fans of the comic were disdainful of the casting choices, Ben Affleck was in a paparazzi mess with J-Lo, the theatrical cut was hacked up to appeal to a younger audience..

and yet, 5 years later, the director's cut is out on BluRay, and does not include the original theatrical version, a silent admission that Mark Steven Johnson's vision was the better of the two.

'Daredevil' is an unusual superhero movie. It is a truer film-noir than most. The essential aspect of film noir not being just a dark visual palette, but a main character becoming more tightly ensnared in a web of tragedy that he can't escape from. Matt Murdock loses his sight, his father, his love, and as the violence escalates, finds little but faith to console him, and asks if it's enough. In the opening shot, he is bleeding, clinging to the concrete cross of the catholic church, and the film backtracks from his origin to his character's 'Dark night of the soul'.

This reviewer found the vulnerability of the character, the fact that he's not 'super' much more interesting from an acting standpoint. Ben Affleck did get alot of bruises doing the stunts in the film and his performance has a true humility in certain scenes that hasn't been seen from him before or since.

It's not perfect, though. There are many scenes that are meant to lighten the mood that seem sophomoric, Colin Farrel as Bullseye comes off as a psychotic irish clown rather than the smug, gritty villain he was on the page, Elektra gets nearly no backstory here that would add depth to her(though Jennifer Garner is certainly no slouch on the athletics). The restored plotline of the murder of prostitute Lisa Tazio makes the final fight between Daredevil and Kingpin alot more meaningful, but it lacks oomph... the film is trying to sell you the idea that by looking out for the little guy, you can beat the big guys.. and the origin scene punches this theme.. as does the finale.. it just stumbles a little with it in between.

Blame Marvel for the issues, though. You can glimpse brilliance all throughout this picture, if only they had let the director do his job without burying the whole thing in marketing.

As for the transfer, this film has never looked or sounded better, the night scenes are perfectly lit, very sharp, and the sound design, particularly in the 'radar sense' sequences is stunning in 5.1.

Like the comic book character himself, this film is flawed, yet has hidden excellence(I privately add one star).



November 5, 2008

Director Knows Best

Director Mark Steven Johnson truly explores the shadowy aspects of justice and vigilantism in the additional 30 minutes added to the film, along with some other tweaks.

The scene which didn't make the final cut from producer Gary Foster and 20th Century Fox studio is attorney Matt Murdock (Daredevil) - portrayed by Ben Affleck - defending a murder suspect, who is played by rapper Coolio. The violence is also amped up which earned the revised film an "R" rating, a path not taken to movie theaters by comic book super heroes and movie studios.

Colin Farrell (Bullseye) and Michael Clarke Duncan (The Kingpin) are excellent in their roles as villains, with Jennifer Garner (Elektra Natchios) able to show a different side of the character in this grittier version. Director's have to be daredevils at times in the editing process and this Director's Cut aptly shows - again - who knows best when it comes to delivering a solid film. October 31, 2008

Sound that Shakes the Devil

If you are looking for 'earthquake' shaking bass, then get this movie. If your system can handle it this is a "DEMO"--show off your system quality soundtrack. If one complains that the bass is "boomy" it is because their SUB cannot handle the volume of EXTREME lows. From the opening credits and all throughout this film my concrete foundation shook with clean powerful gut-punching bass. The 24 bit DTS HD MA sound is reference quality. The sound design is reference quality. The use of surrounds is in a word "involving". It draws one into the action. Subtle (and not so subtle) surround usage brings the action aggressively into your room. You will find yourself ducking as Bullseye works his evil, deadly aim. If you can, engage the EX on your system, you will add another dimension to this excellent soundtrack. (In addition to my system sub, I have a 15" sub dedicated to the "surround" channels that thunders with this track)

And while the video is not quite up to the audio standard, this film, which is shot mostly at night, reveals very good shadow detail and exhibits inky blacks without black crush. Day shots can be soft, but not enough to distract. The FX of Daredevil's "radar" sound produces a CGI visual explosion as it details what his visual mind extracts from his ultra sensitive hearing.

The director's cut explores more character development than the theatrical cut. It makes the storyline more personal on all levels. It reveals the "story" behind the story. The pace is somewhat slower, but that slower pace raises the tension in the action scenes. Getting the detail on a character's motivation simply makes for better story telling. If you're looking for non-stop slam bang comic book action, then you might want to stay with the theatrical cut, which unfortunately is not available at this time on BD.
October 22, 2008

What a tremendous disapointment!

There are rumors circulating that the director's cut of Daredevil is much better than the theatrical version. Further, they say this fixes many problems in the movie. The theatrical version was poor because the bad studio execs made bad decisions about the final cut.

On the strength of these rumors, I bought a copy of this Blu-ray. I wish I hadn't. I am hear to tell you that all these reports are nothing in the world but a bunch of codswallop, poppycock, blarney and balderdash. In every respect, the director's cut is worse than the theatrical version of the movie, not better.

The movie does not benefit at all from the extra thread including the trial of Coolio. The studio was correct in discarding all those scenes. It was a totally unnecessary plot thread, containing a lot of bad scenes full of bad dialog, badly delivered. Including these bad scenes of bad dialog does not help resolve anything. Rather, it creates a cheap, "made for TV" feel that was common with CBS movies in the 1970s-1980s. It is paced like a snail, and feels way too long with this extra 34 minutes of footage.

The movie failed because Colin Farrel sunk the picture. The quivering and shivering idiot he played was not Bullseye. Also Michael Clark Duncan was a poor choice for the Kingpin.

After viewing the director's cut, I can say I categorically agree the studio's decision to cut all those scenes. It was better before. October 8, 2008

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