Our Take on the Film
30-Second Plot Review
How Does It Look?
How Does It Sound?
Bonus Features and Material
Easter Eggs
Parent's Guide
DVD-ROM

OUR TAKE ON THE FILM: 6 out of 10
Like most boys I was a fan of comic books as a kid, although more a fan of Batman than anybody else. I reluctantly inform you that prior to the launch of this film I had no idea what a Daredevil was, or the fact that a blind superhero had ever been created. Like others, I scoffed at the very idea, but was interested in seeing how it played out. Once word came out that Jennifer Garner was set to play the love interest I was actually looking forward to it. Seeing Spider-Man had showed me that it was possible to make a good superhero flick, and even though they'd screwed up umpteen Batman's by now, the possibility for better things was there. Boy, was I way off. The unfortunate facts are this - Daredevil is a bad movie. It is extremely poorly scripted, to the degree that I was positive the writer must have plied his trade on the Young and The Restless prior to his big break. Perhaps the only bright spots come in the fact that the DVD is packed, making it a worthwhile buy if your tastes vary from mine on the quality of Daredevil. Two hour long featurettes highlight an extensive package. Second, Colin Farrell once again puts in a mesmerizing performance - something all too typical lately. He may be the biggest jerk Hollywood has seen in some time but he's hard not to enjoy on the screen. All told, I can't recommend Daredevil for the quality of the film, but you could do worse if you remember to check your brain and all forms of logic at the door.

30-SECOND PLOT REVIEW
By day, blind attorney Matt Murdock (Ben Affleck) toils for justice in Hell's Kitchen. By night, he's Daredevil, The Man Without Fear - a powerful, masked vigilante stalking the dark streets with an uncanny radar sense that allows him to "see" with superhuman capabilities. But when the love of his life, fiery Elektra Natchios (Jennifer Garner), is targeted by New York City's ruthless Kingpin of Crime (Michael Clarke Duncan) and his deadly assassin Bullseye (Colin Farrell), Daredevil may be about to meet his match.

HOW DOES IT LOOK?
The film is presented in separate 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and 4:3 full screen versions. All told, it's above average, although perpetually dark - often to a fault. Almost the entire film not only takes place at night, but it seems many scenes are darkened even beyond any natural evening light that may normally have been present. No doubt this is done on purpose, in order to set the mood the Director has attempted to achieve. The print is somewhat rough, not to be confused with poor. It's a fine looking piece of work, it's just heavily treated and fairly harsh to watch.

HOW DOES IT SOUND?
The film is presented in Dolby DTS 5.1 Surround Sound in English, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound in English, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound in French and Spanish, and a special Dolby DIgital 2.0 Surround Sound for the Visually Impaired track in English. Optional English, French, and Spanish subtitles are available as well. No complaints here, a nice well-balanced track that serves the film well. I'm especially impressed with the track for the visually impaired - a thoughtful inclusion given the subject matter presented here.

BONUS FEATURES AND MATERIAL
A veritable crapload of bonus material scattered over two discs - fans take note, it's going to take you a long, long time to make your way through this stuff, making it a worthwhile purchase. The first disc offers up an Enhanced Viewing Mode has you click on an icon to branch off to six different pieces on the visual effects narrated by the Visual Effects Supervisor John Kilkenny. An Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Steven Mark Johnson and Producer Gary Foster is passable with a good amount of filming stories, but a bit short on excitement. I recommend watching it at the same time as the Text Commentary track that throws small facts about the film up, encoded as subtitles on the bottom of your screen. Both together work well for a second viewing. Disc two is broken into two subsections - The Movie and The Comic Book - much like Spider-Man. The Movie begins with Beyond Hell's Kitchen: Making Daredevil (58:47), an obviously large featurette made even larger by the optional Enhanced Viewing Mode that offers up six branching mini-featurettes: Costume Design (3:20), L.A. for N.Y. (2:21), Combat Choreography (4:15), Smoke and Fire (3:32), Film Work (0:58), and Serving With Sound (5:36). While I respect a DVD-only featurette of this magnitude, the unfortunate truth is that it's just plain boring. I suppose those who've never seen a large, expansive making-of like this before may get something out of it, but at this point it's nothing new for someone like me. We've seen this stuff before and the lack of any cohesive narration or hosting certainly doesn't help things. Jennifer Garner Screen Test (2:29) makes me happy, save for the shortened running time. I personally don't need a reason to watch Jennifer Garner talk for two and a half minutes. Multi-Angles Dailies are broken into Daredevil/Kingpin and Elektra/Bullseye, and offer the chance to view short scenes from multiple camera angles alongside the final version. Featured Villain Kingpin (2:19) spends far too much of the short running time discussion the Daredevil character, and really is a useless inclusion. Hidden below the fluff comes Daredevil/HBO First Look Special (24:47), an all-too-typical sales pitch veiled as a featurette. Moving Through Space: A Day With Tom Sullivan (8:26) puts us in the life of a blind consultant to the film, and it's interesting to see how he deals with the challenges he faces in every day life. Theatrical Trailers include Daredevil Theatrical Trailer (0:47), Daredevil Theatrical Trailer A (1:42), Daredevil Theatrical Trailer B (2:23), 28 Days Later Theatrical Trailer (2:00), and League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen Theatrical Trailer (1:05); Music Videos offer up Fuel: "Won't Back Down" (3:30), The Calling: "For You" (3:45), Evanesence: "Bring Me to Life" (4:15), Music Promotion Spot (0:30). This section closes off with a Still Gallery. Moving on to The Comic Book we get a sparse three offerings, although the first is another hour long documentary. Men Without Fear: Creating Daredevil (59:09) will be great for comic fans as we get in-depth looks at the Daredevil comic character through interviews with Marvel luminaries such as Stan Lee and the Romita boys. Shadow World Tour (6:14) is more of a storyboard comparison looking at scenes from the film alongside comics, and Modeling Sheets are still animations.

EASTER EGGS
On Disc 2 enter The Film and then Beyond Hell's Kitchen: Making Daredevil. Arrow to Play and press Left on your remote to highlight Elektra's weapons. Press Enter for a Gag Reel (6:04). As a bit of a Parents Guide addendum there are quite a number of F-words in this piece.

PARENTS GUIDE
The MPAA rates this film PG-13 for action/violence and some sensuality, and the Canadian Home Video Rating is 14A. What the MPAA doesn't take into account are the special features, which would easily throw a language warning in there. I didn't count, but expect at least 25-50 F-words through various places in these features, including the audio commentary. Violence and blood make up a good portion of the film - think of something a little bit darker than Spider-Man or a Batman flick. Sensuality is VERY minor - one short bed scene and some revealing tight superhero outfits.

DVD-ROM FEATURES
As advertised, there are DVD-ROM features on here but good luck finding them. You'll have to use Explorer through My Computer in order to find the Daredevil Flash file on the DVD-ROM itself. Double-clicking launches a Flash presentation that eventually brings you to a few menu options. History of the Comic Book is a very brief text overview of the Daredevil characters, although it's an interesting counterpoint to the story told in the film. Character Information bring film bios for the characters of Daredevil, Elektra, Bullseye, and Kingpin. Multimedia offers up some Wallpapers for your Desktop (finally, someone includes 1280x1024!) and a Dot Comic from Marvel. Links offer up hotlinks to the Official Site, X-Men 2 Site, and Marvel Comics. The cool Sensory Quiz closes things down with an 8-question test of your senses.

This film reviewed Saturday, July 26, 2003 in Dolby Digital 5.1 Stereo Sound on the DVD format.