DAREDEVIL (FILM)

'''Daredevil''' is a 2003 movie directed by Mark Steven Johnson, who also wrote the screenplay. It is based on the Marvel comics character, using predominantly the tone and stories written and established by Frank Miller.
A spin-off, involving Elektra Natchios, was released in 2005. See ''Elektra''.
'Tagline:'

★ ''He is the man without fear.''

Contents

Plot

Director's cut

Cast

Critical reaction and box office

References to ''Daredevil'' creators

Sequel

Soundtrack

Trivia

References

External links

Plot

The film begins ''in medias res'' with Daredevil clutching a cross at the top of a church, bleeding. He begins to make his way inside the church, to escape from the police spotlights. He is too injured to continue and collapses. The priest of the church comes along, holds a candle to his face, calling his proper name. Matthew Murdock then tells the story of his life as it flashes before his eyes.
When he was a boy, Matt often got beat up by the local bullies. He would come home to talks from his father, Jack, a washed-up boxer, who demanded he never fight back, for fear that his son wouldn't amount to anything, instead insisting he study and become a doctor or a lawyer. Together they live alone, albeit happily. One day, Matt sees Jack beating up a stranger, operating as an enforcer for the local mob boss, Fallon. As Matt runs away, he is trapped as a forklift smashes into radioactive biohazard chemicals that spill into Matt's eyes, blinding him. He cannot see, but his other four senses obtain superhuman sharpness. Jack is later murdered by Fallon for refusing to throw a fight. Wilson Fisk, the man who would later be the crime don known as Kingpin, gives the final death blow to Jack, killing him. Matt promises to fight evil and avenge his father.

Years later, Murdock works as an attorney in Hell's Kitchen by day, becoming at night the vigilante known as Daredevil. As a lawyer, Matt seeks always to defend those who are innocent of any crime, spurning all other clients despite the insistence of his partner Foggy. As Daredevil, Matt seeks out and punishes those whom he cannot convict in the courtroom. He fights crime in solitude, until he meets the martial artist Elektra Natchios (Garner). Murdock becomes infatuated with Elektra and courts her. She, eventually, comes to reciprocate his emotions. At one point, they are shown coupling.
After Elektra's father is killed by the Kingpin's assassin, Bullseye (Farrell), she believes the murderer to be Daredevil due to the weapon used. Armed with two Sais, she locates him and attacks, beating the reluctant Daredevil by stabbing a Sai into his left shoulder. She removes Daredevil's mask, revealing his true face; before explanations can be made, Bullseye attacks. A short battle ensues, ending when Bullseye killing Elektra with her Sai. Daredevil sets out to avenge Elektra's death, fighting Bullseye in the church where he collapsed at the beginning of the film. The collapse is here explained as part of Daredevil's fights. The church itself is Daredevil's hideout, concealed by Father Stevens, the priest shown at the opening, who is Matthew's guide and mentor. Daredevil defeats Bullseye by throwing him through the church window, where he lands on a police car.
Daredevil then goes to Fiskcorp to fight Kingpin, beating him in single combat. Here it is revealed that the Kingpin's obesity is an illusion, created by a rotund stomach and the partial concealment of heavily muscled limbs; this is opposed to the comic series, wherein the obesity was factual. At one point in the fight, Kingpin gains the upper hand; unable to locate him, Daredevil breaks a water-pipe, causing the water to drench and thereby outline his enemy. He gains the information by which to strike Kingpin down. Matt had earlier used this method to gain a visual image of Elektra's face, which he believed very beautiful.
Daredevil spares the Kingpin after revealing his secret identity as Matt Murdock. The Kingpin promises him that he will be released from prison eventually and that Daredevil's secret won't be safe. Matt accepts this, choosing to meet the challenge when it comes. He suggests that the Kingpin will be in disgrace for having lost a fight to a blind man.
Throughout the film, Murdock deals with the moral implications of being a vigilante, and tries to prove that he is not a villain. His decision to spare Kingpin is a means of proving the latter to himself, on the grounds that a villain would have killed his opponent.

Director's cut

In December 2004, a director's cut of the film was released on DVD. This version added 30 minutes of footage not seen in the original, including an entire subplot involving Murdock defending a murder suspect played by rapper Coolio. It won a large following that was disappointed with the initial theatrical release. Director Mark Steven Johnson has claimed the scenes were cut in favor of a PG-13 rating. When given the job directing ''Ghost Rider'', Johnson has been quoted as having said that "he won't make the same mistake again."
'The following scenes were deleted that were featured in the PG-13 cut of the film:'

★ The confession booth scenes between Father Steven and Matt Murdock, which was replaced by the two talking in the church pews instead.

★ The voiceover of Matt Murdock saying, "What I saw next I'll never forget, because it would be the last thing I'd ever see", after he sees his dad pinning a man to a wall. The scene continues with his dad calling after him as he runs away in both versions.

★ The love scene between Elektra and Matt Murdock (Ironically, some critics had praised the realism of this scene, in which Matt would follow his desire rather than vacuously fighting crime).

★ The scene where Elektra and Matt walk through New York and briefly discuss their origins

★ The look on Elektra's face when Bullseye stabs her.

★ The scene where Matt is told by Urich how Elektra is a target of the Kingpin, which is replaced with him learning this from a corrupt cop.
'The following additions were made:'

★ The dialogue between young Matt Murdock and his father, both in their apartment at the beginning of the movie and in the hospital after Matt is blinded, is longer.

★ The fight in the alley between the young Matt Murdock and the young toughs is longer.

★ Jack Murdock's boxing match is longer.

★ More scenes appear involving The Kingpin at his most vicious, at one point killing two of his own bodyguards by breaking their necks in his office.

★ The final confrontation between Daredevil and The Kingpin is longer and more brutal.

★ The fight between Elektra and Bullseye is longer and ends with Bullseye giving her a kiss before he throws her onto the roof of the adjacent building.

★ The first scene where Matt and Foggy talk in the coffee shop is longer.

★ After the murder of Elektra's father, there is a scene where Foggy is struggling to defend Dante Jackson in court without Matt's help. This scene leads into the revelation that Matt is at Natchios' funeral.

★ The fight scene in the playground with Matt and Elektra is longer, and ends with Elektra's bodyguard picking her up.

★ The scene in the bar where Daredevil takes out the bikers is longer and more violent.

★ The subplot involving the character of Daunte Jackson, played by Coolio, who is accused of a murder is reintroduced in its entirety with Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson defending him.

★ Matt interrogating a corrupt police officer, played by Jude Ciccolella, by smashing his car in a parking lot.

★ Matt and Foggy break into the apartment of Lisa Tazio, the murder victim in the Daunte Jackson trial and finding a clue, "8-9 WOW" (initially read as "6-8 MOM").

★ A late night scene where Foggy is working at the office trying to figure out the clue found in Lisa Tazio's apartment in which Karen Page figures out by flipping the paper upside down and Foggy realizing that the WOW, are the initials for The Kingpin's assistant, Wesley Owen Welch.

★ An exchange during the Nachios' party where Foggy and Wesley have a verbal exchange that ends by Foggy saying "What a dick!"

★ The scene where Bullseye demands his own costume is restored to "I want a fucking costume" as opposed to the theatrical version where he says "I want a bloody costume."

★ A flashback scene where young Matt is seen with his mother (the nun) that was featured in the comic books.

★ A scene where Matt is in church and his mother is watching him in the back of the church as he talks to Father Steven.

★ The introduction of Bullseye arriving at the airport and going through a metal detector.

★ The scene where Matt returns from his battle in the opening of the film, and he is seen in his apartment pouring epsom salts into the water of his sensory deprivation chamber. As he is about to lay down, he hears noises and sounds from the outside world and 'seeing' a woman crawling on the floor (based on later events, likely Lisa Tazio, murder victim of the Daunte Jackson subplot) and ends by him lying down inside the chamber and the top sealing.

★ The scene in the morgue with Ben Urich and Kirby is longer in which Foggy ends up calling him on his cell phone and telling him about who murdered his informant from the clue that Matt had found in the murder victim's apartment.

★ More scenes between Matt and Ben discussing some personal issues; most importantly, near the end of the movie, where Ben tells Matt he plans to go public with a story exposing Matt as Daredevil. He later relents just as he is finishing the story, deleting it from his laptop computer.

★ Near the closing of the film, both Fisk and Wesley are seen locked in their cells, while a badly injured Bullseye is rebuilt in the prison's hospital. It is obvious the character in question is Bullseye since there is a fly buzzing around the room annoying the man in the body cast. Using his good fingers, Bullseye throws a syringe at the fly, impaling it to the wall, muttering "Bullseye!" out of the undamaged corner of his mouth. The scene with Bullseye was in the original release; however, it played midway through the closing credits as opposed to before the film's end.

★ During the finale, Daunte Jackson celebrates his acquittal by hugging Foggy on the steps of the courthouse, with Matt present and the scene shifts with Matt walking by the church where Father William is seen after the afternoon mass had ended.
The FX DVD-on-TV broadcast features footage from both the theatrical edition and director's cut.

Cast

Actor	Role
Ben Affleck	Matt Murdock / Daredevil
Jennifer Garner	Elektra Natchios
Colin Farrell	Bullseye
Michael Clarke Duncan	Wilson Fisk / The Kingpin
Jon Favreau	Franklin "Foggy" Nelson
Ellen Pompeo	Karen Page
Joe Pantoliano	Ben Urich
Leland Orser	Wesley Owen Welch
Lennie Loftin	Nick Manolis
Erick Avari	Nikolas Natchios
Derrick O'Connor	Father Everett
Paul Ben-Victor	Jose Quesada
David Keith	Jack Murdock
Scott Terra	Young Matt Murdock
Kevin Smith	Jack Kirby, Forensic Assistant
Frankie Jay Allison	Abusive Father

Critical reaction and box office

The film was regarded as a modest success at the box office, although it did not make as much money as the ''X-Men'' and ''Spider-Man'' films. While opening strongly and eventually surpassing $100 million in ticket sales, poor word-of-mouth and mixed reviews curtailed its momentum. Though the original production was geared towards a darker, more adult film, the success of the then just released ''Spider-Man'' prompted Fox to curb the elements more hostile to youth and re-envision the film as a summer action vehicle in mid-production.
Fan and critical reactions were mixed at best. Much disapproval was heaped upon Ben Affleck for his performance as Daredevil, whom many fans felt was not right for the role. Besides Ben Affleck, there was mixed fan reaction to the increased budget for CGI effects and retooling of the tone. There was also a small amount of controversy concerning the casting of African American actor Michael Clarke Duncan as the villainous Kingpin, whose traditional comic ethnicity was of Anglo-European descent. Jennifer Garner, who played Elektra, fared better, and gained positive feedback on her first major film role and even won her own spinoff film, ''Elektra'', though this did poorly at the box office. The highest praise went to Colin Farrell, whose portrayal of the maniacal Bullseye was well received by fans and critics alike.
Daredevil's premise departed from what has been established in the long-running comic book series. In the film, Daredevil is a vigilante who has no qualm against killing criminals who escape justice (although he changes his ways by the end of the film). In the comic series, Daredevil is a principled individual who believes in upholding the rule of law above all else.
Roger Ebert's review rated it favorably compared with other superhero films.^[1]

References to ''Daredevil'' creators

★ Stan Lee, Daredevil's co-creator, makes a cameo appearance in the movie when he is stopped by young and blind Matt Murdock from walking in front of a speeding car.

★ Frank Miller, a prominent Daredevil comic writer, is shown in a cameo as a corpse with a pen in his head, whose motorcycle Bullseye takes. The credits list Frank Miller as "Man with Pen in Head".

★ In the scene with Matt Murdock's father, Jack Murdock, fighting, the sign outside the arena reads "Jack 'the Devil' Murdock vs. John Romita." John Romita was an artist in the 1960s who worked on the ''Daredevil'' comic books. His son, also called John Romita, pencilled the comic in the 80s.

★ Also in the boxing sequence, Jack Murdock is talking to Fallon, who orders Jack to lose. During the conversation, Fallon lists all of his fighters, whose names are "Miller...Mack...Bendis". This is a reference to some of the ''Daredevil'' comics writers: Frank Miller, David Mack and Brian Michael Bendis.

★ The character Jose Quesada's name is a reference to Marvel's editor-in-chief, Joe Quesada, who also did the artwork for a Daredevil storyline written by Kevin Smith, who makes a cameo in the movie as the morgue worker Kirby, which is a reference to comic book legend Jack Kirby. Also referred to only in dialogue is Mr. Lee, another reference to Stan Lee.

★ The character Father Everett's name is a reference to co-creator Bill Everett.

Sequel

Despite high DVD and ticket sales a sequel has not yet been announced.
Avi Arad has stated that the sequel will begin development once the rights go from 20th Century Fox to Marvel Studios. Ben Affleck stated repeatedly that he doesn't want to return. Director Mark Steven Johnson showed interest in returning to direct with the storyline. Michael Clarke Duncan stated interest in returning. Johnson stated that villains Mr. Fear or The Owl are strong possibilities to appear for the sequel.

Soundtrack

''This list comprises both tracks on the CD as well as those that were not included on it.''

★ "Right Before Your Eyes"

★
★ Music by Daniel Estrin

★
★ Lyrics by Doug Robb

★
★ Performed by Hoobastank (performs courtesy of Island Records)

★
★ Produced by Rich Costey

★ "Hang On"

★
★ Written by Shaun Welgemued, Dale Stewart

★
★ Performed by Seether (performs courtesy of Wind-up Entertainment, Inc.)

★
★ Produced by Jay Baumgardner

★ "Learn the Hard Way"

★
★ Written by Chad Kroeger, Michael Kroeger, Ryan Anthony Peake, Ryan Vikedal

★
★ Performed by Nickelback

★
★ Courtesy of Roadrunner Records

★ "Evening Rain"

★
★ Written by Moby & James Talley

★
★ Performed by Moby

★
★ Courtesy of V2 Records, Inc./Mute Ltd.

★ "Lapdance"

★
★ Written by Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo, Gene Elliot Thornton

★
★ Performed by N.E.R.D. Feat. Lee Harvey and Vita

★
★ Courtesy of Virgin Records America, Inc.

★
★ Under license from EMI Film & TV Music

★ "Faraway"

★
★ Written by Ali Theodore and Vincent Alfieri

★
★ Performed by Dara Shindler

★
★ Courtesy of Deetown Entertainment

★ "Top o' the Morning to Ya"

★
★ Written by Leor Olmant, Willie Dixon, Erik Schrody, Danny O'Conner

★
★ Performed by House of Pain

★
★ Courtesy of Rhino Entertainment Company, by arrangement with Warner Special Products

★
★ Contains a sample of "I Ain't Superstitious"

★
★ Written and Performed by Willie Dixon

★
★ Courtesy of Columbia Records

★
★ By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

★ "Release the Dogs"

★
★ Written by Nathan Gray, Chad Istvan, Josh Latshow, Matt Krupanski, Rob Avery

★
★ Performed by boysetsfire

★
★ Courtesy of Wind-Up Entertainment, Inc.

★ "Stay Up"

★
★ Written by Ali Theodore & Lordikim Allah

★
★ Performed by Boogle

★
★ Courtesy of Deetown Entertainment

★ "For You"

★
★ Written by Aaron Kamin and Alex Band

★
★ Performed by The Calling

★
★ Produced by Marc Tanner, Aaron Kamin and Alex Band

★
★ The Calling performs courtesy of The RCA Records Label

★ "Dinner Jazz"

★
★ Written by Tony Kinsey

★
★ Courtesy of FirstCom Music, Inc.

★ "Tears After Midnight"

★
★ Written by John Parricelli

★
★ Courtesy of FirstCom Music, Inc.

★ "Sweet Brown Eyes"

★
★ Written by John Parricelli

★
★ Courtesy of FirstCom Music, Inc.

★ "The Man Without Fear"

★
★ Written by Rob Zombie, C.J. Pierce, Stevie Benton and Mike Luce

★
★ Performed by Drowning Pool (performs courtesy of Wind-up Entertainment, Inc.) Feat. Rob Zombie (performs courtesy of Geffen Records)

★
★ Produced by Scott Humphrey

★ "My Immortal"

★
★ Performed by Evanescence

★
★ Written by Amy Lee and Ben Moody

★
★ String Arrangement by Graeme Revell

★
★ Courtesy of Wind-up Entertainment, Inc.

★ "Right Now"

★
★ Written by Marcos, William Hughes, Vito Tisdale, Ron Wilson, Melvin Adams, Brian Scott

★
★ Performed by Nappy Roots Feat. Marcos Curiel of P.O.D.

★
★ Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp.

★
★ By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

★ "Bring Me to Life"

★
★ Written by Amy Lee, Ben Moody and David Hodges

★
★ Performed by Evanescence

★
★ Courtesy of Wind-up Entertainment, Inc.

★ "Bleed for Me"

★
★ Written by Josey Scott, Chris D'Abaldo, Wayne Swinney, David Novotny, Paul Crosby and Bob Marlette

★
★ Performed by Saliva

★
★ Courtesy of Island Records

★ "Won't Back Down"

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★ Written by Carl Bell

★
★ Performed by Fuel (performs courtesy of Epic Records)

★
★ Produced by Michael Beinhorn

★ "Caught in the Rain"

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★ Written by Robert Davis, Nathaniel Cox, Justin Holman and Robert Thielman

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★ Performed by Revis

★
★ Courtesy of Epic Records

★
★ By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

★ "Until You're Reformed"

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★ Written by Chevelle:Pete Loeffler, Sam Loeffler, and Joe Loeffler

★
★ Performed by Chevelle

★
★ Courtesy of Epic Records

Trivia

★ In the theatrical cut of the film, Foggy Nelson's name is mentioned only once.

★ Due to the regularity of the film's excessive violent scenes, ''Daredevil'' was banned in Malaysia. 20th Century Fox had appealed to Malaysia's censorship board to change its decision, hoping that Daredevil would be due for release in Malaysia on February 27 2003. ^[2]

★ The woman who left a message on the answering machine in Daredevil's apartment that he listened to was Heather Glenn, who was Daredevil's love interest in the comics.

★ Colin Farrell was originally considered for the role of Matt Murdock/Daredevil, while Ben Affleck was originally considered for the role of Bullseye.

★ When Bullseye is first introduced in the film in a pub, the Irish-American hip hop group House of Pain's song "Top o' the mornin' to ya" is playing.

★ Karen Page played by ''Grey's Anatomy'' star Ellen Pompeo, makes a small appearance as the secretary at the Nelson & Murdock law firm.

★ Michael Clarke Duncan reprises his role as The Kingpin in the episode ''Royal Scam'', of .

★ Ben Affleck did an introduction to the TPB of Kevin Smith and Joe Quesada's Daredevil story "Guardian Devil."

★ In 2007, Michael J. Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy of ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' fame released a humorous audio commentary for the film on their RiffTrax service.

★ During the conversation between Matt and Elektra regarding their origins, Matt mentions that Elektra's father seemed to want Elektra to be a warrior, to which Elektra replies that he simply did not wish her to be a victim. Jennifer Garner's character on ''Alias'' had a similar background with her father subjecting her to a CIA sleeper agent program and later claiming that he did not wish her to be a victim.

References

1. Roger Ebert - Sun Times
2. Malaysia bans Affleck's Daredevil, BBC News, [1]

External links

★ Daredevil on Marvel.com

★ Official site

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★ News site for Comic Book Movies

★ Daredevil Page at RiffTrax

★ Daredevil at FLAREgamer