'Daredevil'
(Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner / PG-13 / 97 mins / 20th Century Fox)
Overview: The plot is based on the Marvel Comics character, known by fans as the Man Without Fear. Ben Affleck plays Matt Murdock, a boy who is left blind when he's hit by a radioactive isotope while saving a man's life. Although his eyes no longer function, Murdock's other four senses become superhuman, especially a secret, radar-like ability he develops. Years later in New York, Murdock works as an attorney by day and a crime-fighting vigilante by night, using his special skills to become the city's trusty superhero, Daredevil. While battling his archnemesis, the mob boss Kingpin (Michael Clarke Duncan), and the dangerous Bullseye (Colin Farrell), Murdock falls for a mysterious woman named Elektra (Jennifer Garner).
Verdict: Basically, 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! How's that for summing it up inone sentence?! OK, seriously, it's not quite as strong as 'Spider-Man', but it's still way better than the last couple of 'Batman' flicks and both installments of 'Blade'. Plus, ranks up there with the first 'Batman' and 'X-Men' for its melancholy, dark wit, meticulous eye for detail, baroque mise-en-scène, and crackling energy. Affleck is perfectly fine but doesn't have much range and the whole Murdock/Daredevil persona seems to make him a bit of a smug, albeit noble-minded, jerk from start to finish! And so, to wrap up, 'Daredevil' is 90 minutes of disposable, action-oriented entertainment! Nuff said.
Reviewed By Russell A. Trunk
'Daredevil'