Comic Movie Collection: Daredevil Director's Cut (2003)

By Jason Haskins

    Like that amazing Godsmack song goes, I stand alone. [Author's Note: Sarcasm] When it comes to that blasted Daredevil movie. Remember the one—it’s with Ben Affleck in …red leather with a weird looking helmet made out of fruit roll-up.

Released in 2003 after the critical and financial success that was Spider-Man, this film sought to begin an all-new trend of superhero movies where Hulk, Fantastic Four, and other properties would follow to similar expectations.

Daredevil is one of those amazing comic book characters that thrives in darkness—literally. Matt Murdock is a contemplative and sad blind man with heightened senses and an acrobatic nature that makes him far different from other comic characters out there. I always liken him to Marvel’s Batman figure because of how his past is built on ruin with a sense of dedication to ending corruption.

The flick begins with Daredevil wounded in a church where we then flash back and get the atypical origin story. After seeing his once-great boxer father roughing up some guys for an infamous gangster in Hell’s Kitchen, he runs away only to get into an accident which takes his vision (but leaves him with superpowers).

Years later and after his father is murdered he becomes the vigilante Daredevil who preys on the wicked and seeks justice when his day job of being a lawyer just doesn’t cut the mustard. The flick is about Murdock falling in love with Elektra and also introducing us to the dastardly Kingpin, who is basically the Lex Luthor of Daredevil’s world.

Daredevil is played by Ben Affleck and while some would be quick to make fun of the guy, he actually does a decent job as Matt Murdock. I think that he’s definitely superhero material, but the costume takes away some of his power because of how awkward and bland it looks compared to the comics. His chemistry with Foggy Nelson (played excellently by Jon Favreau) is also to be commended—they are funny and good together, which makes their relationship actually stronger than the whole Elektra romance.

Jennifer Garner plays Elektra, one of the quintessential supporting characters to Daredevil and one that writer Frank Miller heaped with development and interesting tidbits. She is completely neutered here not just in the way that her character is written, but in how stiff Garner is. Couple that with the completely asinine music that goes with her character (including two Evanescence songs in a damn row) and you have reason to be pissed—I know I am every time I watch her.

The supporting cast is pretty good with Michael Clarke Duncan as the Kingpin and while he’s pretty goofy at some points and doesn’t harness the same intellect and edge that his comic opposite does, he definitely has size on his side. Jon Favreau is definitely a delicacy and surprisingly Colin Farrell shows up as bad guy Bullseye to really mixed results. He’s dangerous and cunning…but so effing lame that the threatening nature of his character is lost.

The version of the film I’m reviewing is the Director’s Cut version, which is definitely the better of the two (with the Theatrical, of course, being the second). The Theatrical omits a lot of little subplots and a few truncated bits of material that was probably too hard for a PG-13 such as a forced ‘f’ word and some violence, but the Director’s Cut puts up twenty extra minutes of material that actually helps the movie make more sense. Granted, you’re going to have to deal with Coolio, who Nelson and Murdock are representing in some previously cut scenes.

There is a good amount of action and awesome acrobatic work that flourishes in all of the Daredevil charm with some obvious dated CGI effects and plastic-looking set pieces that detract a little bit, but with the thumping score that’s actually quite good (when it’s not trying to be metal or Evanescence) really amplifies the experience of the film.
The story isn’t one of the best attempts as they could’ve tried something much easier like introducing us to Karen Page, who’s relationship with Matt Murdock is much more interesting than Elektra’s and could have worked better in this atmosphere. Perhaps they could have brought in something cooler than just having Kingpin hire Bullseye to kill Daredevil as the plot, but this is a piece of comic book cinema growing pains.

What I really dig about this movie every time I watch it is that it does get some things right such as the darkness of Daredevil, his reliance on prescription drugs, and the tank he has to sleep in so that he can block out all of his senses. The depth of the character is there, but is definitely poorly written at times. Mark Steven Johnson does succeed in some directorial ways in terms of setting up shots and creating some interesting things with Daredevil’s imagery, but it’s all muted so much in the mostly bland script he actually penned himself.

Aside from hardcore Daredevil fans I can’t see anyone giving this an honest look because of how awkward it is. The costume is a definite eye sore, the soundtrack (minus the main score) is atrocious, and the performances are all quite bad across the board. The biggest detriment is the script, which could’ve introduced many people to an amazing comic character, but took the easy way out. Hell, I can’t even see honest Daredevil fans digging this as much as me. I stand alone.

© Jason Haskins, 2011

3 out of 5 Stars

Green Lantern (2011) Review

By Jason Haskins

It's an understatement to say I've been eagerly anticipating the newest superhero movie, Green Lantern, or that it was the one movie of the summer season (2011) I was looking forward to the most. Now that it's come and gone, I'm left disappointed at a film I had high hopes for.

Judging from the first trailer that was released last year, I should have known that the quality was going to be questionable, but after the last few trailers, which played down the schlocky teen blockbuster angle I was really excited. Disappointingly, this is just a pale imitator of the comic books in a variety of ways.

Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) has been chosen by a fallen alien, Abin Sur (Temuera Morrison), to brandish a power ring of Oa and be a sworn protector of the galaxy to harness infinite willpower and be without fear. This comes in the wake of an attack by a being named Parallax who is hell-bent on destroying Oa for imprisoning it and it just so happens to be made up of pure fear and yellow energy, which is the green ring's weakness.

Jordan must overcome his fear and train to be the superhero his sector needs; to save Earth from complete destruction from not just Parallax, but an old colleague, Hector Hammond (Peter Sarsgaard) who has become diseased by a virus from Parallax and is up to no good. All the while Jordan must win the affections of Carol Ferris (Black Lively), his boss and childhood friend, as well as redeem himself in front of his family. He must prolong peace in the galaxy and also find it in himself and fight through the fear to become the greatest Green Lantern of all time.

The plot of Green Lantern jives a little bit with the classic Emerald Dawn and Secret Origin tales from the comic books, but it also has its own spin on some things, which is understandable given the new medium and trying to stand a little apart from the source material a little bit. However, what sucks is not the core concepts, but how everything is executed. The script is literally one of the worst since last year's Iron Man 2.

The supporting cast is not used efficiently whatsoever. You're introduced to other Green Lanterns on Oa such as Tomar-Re (Geoffrey Rush voices) and Kilowog (Michael Clarke Duncan), but they don't really have much to do with the story, save for a few explanations and training sequences that don't fully develop Hal Jordan very well. Jordan's brother, nephew, and family play a large role in the comics and show up here with some supposed meaning, but are a complete afterthought later in the film--disappearing altogether. The dialogue is also pretty bad at times, utilizing a uniformly PG-13 grasp of things with cheesiness that's far removed from the comics. I mean, there's a point when his friend and co-worker Thomas (Taika Waititi) says that because Jordan is a superhero now means that he should go get the girl (Carol Ferris). I literally groaned.

Don't even get me started on Blake Lively. She was completely miscast. Besides this, her lines are all delivered haphazardly with little emotion to them, completely devoid of depth, and full of macho-women stereotypes that don't go well with her character. She's barely developed and Lively is a complete distraction. Not only that, but too much time is spent on her and Jordan's "love story" which goes nowhere. I was constantly wanting the plot to move forward, but it kept returning to insignificant things.

That's another thing: for a flick that's under two hours long...why does it feel so much longer than it is?! The Green Lantern books are full of action and interesting things that drive things forward (of course, I mean Geoff Johns work--he was actually a producer and consultant on this picture as well).

The entire movie doesn't get rolling until about thirty minutes in and there's barely enough action to keep things interesting. Too much of the movie meanders trying to set up the characters, but does so in really lame and clichéd ways. The action itself, while still cool to break up the drama, is also so full of clichés that I was frustrated halfway through by the film’s lack of focus.

One of the best things about Green Lantern was Ryan Reynolds. I thought he was a phenomenal Hal Jordan, especially given his background of love for the character and the enthusiasm he brought to the movie. Sure, he does some things wrong, but I blame that on the script more than him. He looks the part, acts the part, and is full of the charm, humor, and courage that Hal Jordan represents in the comics.

Peter Sarsgaard steals the whole film, though, as Hector Hammond. He's creepy and brings about this almost Heath Ledger-esque stint to the character that marks it unique and original, which I really enjoyed watching. Mark Strong as Sinestro, one of the other members of the Green Lantern Corps, was also a great choice and brought a ton of good stuff to the movie--despite a lot of it basically setting things up for a sequel.

Martin Campbell is one of the worst filmmakers working in the business--I can't believe that DC gave the franchise to him for its beginning judging by some of his clunkers like Vertical Limit (remember that beauty?), Casino Royale(the worst James Bond movie ever made), and, most recently, Edge of Darkness (that wonderful Mel Gibson flick!).

He relies on the special effects to accomplish most of the work so what we're left with are awkward moments where CGI isn't being used and clunky scenes that don't do the movie any favors. I strongly hope that he isn't attached to helm the sequel and that they get a director who actually knows what they're doing--not an old fart who doesn't have a simple understanding of the material or newer technologies.

The CGI was okay at moments with some interesting action segments, including the ending sequence, which was actually my favorite part of the film. However, there are a several moments where the special effects just didn't look very good and felt somewhat dated. Hal Jordan's costume is CGI, which didn't really bother me as it made sense and looked good, but his mask is also CGI, which was more awkward.

Most of the things you see in the entire film were shot on green (hey!) screen and it became distracting at how fake everything looked-and this is coming from the guy that really dug the look of Thor. A lot of the action is flawed, using too many clichés, but at the same time there are still parts that floored me, such as when Jordan finally learns how to use the ring with his willpower to animate what he wants (despite it, a majority of the time, being a darn big green fist!).

I'd be lying if I said I liked the score--it was one of the worst aspects of the movie as well with trumping horns that are meaningless and moments of rock'n'roll (thank God no AC/DC) that just didn't suit the film at all contrasting with other superhero properties like Superman and Batman.

I hate how much I didn't enjoy this as much as I wanted to. I was really trying--I'm a huge fan of the characters and it was a dream come true to see this on the big screen, but the trouble was that it all felt so rushed and insincere at times. I've been reflecting on the film a ton and it's not like I disliked it from the standpoint of being a fan, but for the fact that it just wasn't very well put together for a movie period. It was quickly rushed into production after all of the Marvel properties were gaining leverage. It’s clear Warner Bros. wanted to start their own major franchise to go with a hopeful Justice League movie and get more DC characters off the ground.

What resulted was a stilted effort by a filmmaker that could care less and a script that tried to bite off more than it could chew. However, there were still some pretty swell moments that I enjoyed and more than that I couldn't help but daydream while watching that this might be one of those lacking first movies that sets up the structure the following sequels will build off of. Judging by how this ended you'll still see me in line years from now awaiting the next Green Lantern movie...but not with my hopes up. Comic fans shouldn't unite over this, but think of it as a lukewarm starting point to a franchise that, in better hands, might reach its full potential over time.

2 out of 5 Stars

© Jason Haskins, 2011