By Chris Johnson
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be blind? Wouldyou feel helpless or would you try to adapt to an unknown worldwhere you don’t know what surrounds you? Well, young Matt Murdock(Ben Affleck) was blinded in a chemical accident. He began trainingand became a formidable fighter at a young age. His father was aboxer who had become somewhat famous as Jack “The Devil” Murdock.However, it turns out that Jack’s boxing career was in the hands ofcriminals, and Jack is murdered. Matt swears that justice will beserved!
Flash forward many years late, and Matt has become an attorney,with his good friend Franklin “Foggy” Nelson as his assistant. Byday, he serves justice in the courtroom, but by night, Matt becomesthe Daredevil, commonly known as the Man Without Fear. It is Matt’shome to right the wrongs in the neighborhood known as Hell’sKitchen. Enter Elektra Natchios (Jennifer Garner) who is thedaughter of a Greek billionaire who has ties to the criminalmastermind known as the Kingpin (Michael Clarke Duncan). Since theKingpin doesn’t like any loose ends, he hires an assassin known asBullseye (Colin Farrell) to eliminate any threats to his empire. Itis up to the Daredevil to prove that in the end, justice willprevail.
Daredevil is based on the Marvel comic book of the samename, which came out in 1964 and was an instant hit.Daredevil has been around almost 40 years, and though he isnot as well known as Spider-Man or the Hulk, Daredevil hasdeveloped a huge fanbase nonetheless. Recently, under MarvelKnights line of comics, Daredevil was reborn in a new comicthat brought an edgier feel to the stories, much like themovie.
The performances in this movie were outstanding. Affleck reallycaptured the look and feel of Matt/Daredevil. He was sincere andshowed that he cared while being able to back it up when he was outon patrol as Daredevil. Garner was absolutely stunning and showedthat she had the look and feel of Elektra, combined with herAlias skills. Duncan was amazing as the Kingpin, and eventhough his comic counterpart was white, he proved to be just asgood, if not better, than the comic character. Finally, Farrell wasan over-the-top villain as Bullseye, but proved to be quite athreat in the long run.
Daredevil is another incredible adaptation of a comicbook by Marvel, and it looks like there is no end in sight forthese characters. This movie will make millions and spawn afranchise (there is already talk of Daredevil 2) without adoubt. Go see Daredevil and see the world through someoneelse’s eyes. You will learn why he is the “Man Without Fear.”
Cardinal Grade: A+
