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Daredevil: Director's Cut
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (27th October 2008). |
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The Film
 Marvel based adaptations have had a rollercoaster ride, for every good movie like “Blade” (1998), “Spider-man” (2002) “X-Men” (2000) and “X-Men 2” (2003) there’s a “Punisher” (2004), “X-Men 3” (2006), “Fantastic Four” (2005) and “Elektra” (2005) all of which didn’t live up to the expectations. “Daredevil” can also be categorized with the latter films listed, although the film did well at the box office, it never quite lived up to any fan expectations. The production was deemed to be terrible from the outset; the casting of Ben Affleck as our hero felt like the wrong choice (despite what Kevin Smith says; that ‘he can play anything’), furthermore the costume looked like a glorified gimp suit minus the zipper on the mouth, the early pictures of Bullseye also looked fairly stupid with that ridiculous brand of a crosshairs target on his forehead and the director was some chump no one had heard of before, but self-proclaimed himself to be a huge Daredevil fan… the only good news was the inspired choice to cast Michael Clarke Duncan as the Kingpin! All my fears were confirmed when I originally saw this film in theatres, it felt like as a fan; That I was severely betrayed, like when you’re a kid and your parents lie to you about going to the dentist by telling you that you’re going somewhere else entirely… but then you quickly learn that you’re not going to have fun and are forced to sit in the dentist’s chair while some creepy dude in a face mask hacks away at your teeth… that is exactly the what it felt like watching “Daredevil”, luckily the ‘Director’s Cut’ does a lot to rescue the film, but it’s still flawed in many places. “Daredevil” tells the story of Matt Murdock (Scott Terra), a kid from Hell’s Kitchen in New York, his father, Jack (David Keith) is a prizefighter how’s lost his way and to earn some money works for the mob shaking down people for protection money. One day young Matt sees his father shaking down some poor guy and in a fit of disappointment runs off and accidentally causes a forklift to crash into barrels of chemicals which spray on Matt’s eyes. The chemical reaction blinds the boy, but he discovers that his senses are heightened to an infinite degree; smell, touch, hearing are enhanced and he can see based on vibrations much like a bat. Over the years he hones his powers and studies, his father is murdered by the mob boss the Kingpin (Michael Clarke Duncan) and this event would shape his life forever… cut to present day and Matt (Ben Affleck) now grown up and a lawyer defending deadbeats (but those whom he knows are innocent) and by night he jumps roofs of New York as the vigilante “Daredevil” fighting crime and taking down hoods. This "Director's Cut" is a bit different than the version screened theatrically, the director wisely dropped the the confessional scenes and focused more on the Matt and Foggy’s (Jon Favreau) legal practice and working for the underdog. The interaction between Matt and Foggy are highlights of the comic and has also become the highlights of the film... these interactions feel like they're lifted straight out of the pages of the comics and you get a real sense of their relationship. But I’m still unconvinced with Affleck in the lead role, he doesn’t seem to fully grasp the character and doesn’t have enough depth to him as a performer to take the character of “Daredevil” to those dark places which is sorely needed that helps define the character. It would have been nice to see what an unknown actor could have done with this role, at least that way viewers could focus more on the character rather than attaching a public persona (such as that of Affleck's) with the character. In many ways that was distracting. On the flip side, the action was relatively good, the leaps from rooftop to rooftop are played out with comic book precision, the film would have been missing an integral element of what Daredevil stands for in these scenes of him patrolling the streets of Hell's Kitchen, it's 'his' neighborhood and he'll protect the people of it either in court during the day or at night donning the red leathers as Daredevil. Another character that makes an appearance is Bullseye (Colin Farrell) and although Bullseye was a great character, sadistic and insane, I felt that Farrell overplayed the role much like Nicholson did with the Joker in “Batman” (1989). There are plenty of cringeworthy moments with this character and the stupid brand of a target on his forehead is the tip of the iceberg. While Bullseye was over the top, the Kingpin was a joy and felt right even though he looked different from the version fans are used to in the comics, I thought that Clark Duncan did a decent job of making the character his own and thus it’s easy to forget the obvious differences. Although there are some entertaining moments in the film and that his version is better than the theatrical version, I felt that writer/director Mark Steven Johnson packed too much story into the film, first there’s the origin of Daredevil, the death of his father, his relationship with Foggy, meeting Elektra (Jennifer Garner) and her genesis and dealing with both Bullseye and the Kingpin. It felt like there was too much to fit into the timeframe of the film, it would have been great to focus on the Kingpin only and leaving the relationship with Elektra for a sequel (but introducing her briefly, like in flashbacks from his University days when Matt originally met her as told in the comics). The film also should have been darker than it was, despite the moody photography and gothic settings, it still really felt like a ‘comic book’ movie, while Christopher Nolan’s approach to “Batman” felt more real, darker and thus had a serious appeal to it. This is the approach that “Daredevil” should have taken. Other problems with the film stem from the script, primarily the dialogue. I had serious issues with the dialogue, which at times was laughable, just see the scene where the Daredevil encounters a kid while roughing up a hoodlum, the kid thinks that Daredevil is the bad guy. This has a serious affect on Murdock and we see him cowering on top of a building saying to himself “I’m not the bad guy,” the delivery seemed disingenuous like many lines in the film and thus was laughable. This is but one example of many in the film, it may have looked fine on paper but in practice it was plain silly. I was also unconvinced with the rock ‘n’ roll music video style editing and music, it was Johnson’s attempt to appeal to youth audiences but it felt wrong and incredibly lazy. A solid score would have achieved much more. It seems that I have a lot more negative things to say about this film than positive, and perhaps that's because I'm such a huge fan of the comics (and still read and collect them to this day) and in coming form that stand point I felt that “Daredevil” could have been a much better film in the hands of a more capable director (and Johnson has proven himself incapable after the terrible “Ghost Rider” (2007)), as a fan I’m tired of filmmakers that claim to be huge fans of the original material and have a full understanding of the characters yet are unable to deliver a solid film; because I felt like Johnson did a huge disservice to “Daredevil” by making this film. Furthermore the character needed to be played by someone who can handle the depth required to bring him to life, and Affleck is not that person. “Daredevil” is not a terrible film, it’s just not a great one either and will not stand up along the likes of the first two “Spider-man” and “X-Men” movies, luckily Marvel has stepped up their game again with the release of the excellent “Iron Man” (2008) and “The Incredible Hulk” (2008) and looks to have another winner with “Punisher: War Zone” (2008) from the trailers (despite the rumours that director Lexi Alexander has been fired from the film…), and it seems like Fox is ready to re-boot “Daredevil” forgetting this version and starting from scratch again… hopefully they get it right a second time around.
Video
Presented in the film's original theatrical ratio of 2.35:1 this transfer is delivered to audiences in high-definition 1080p 24/fps and has been created using AVC MPEG-4 compression. The result is a very sharp and beautifully detailed image. The overall image is clean and crisp, colors look very good especially the darker tones of red and blacks which are deep and bold and show no signs of noise. The film's detail is excellent, right down to small costume and background elements. Skin tones look good, and the film's visual style is represented well in this transfer. Grain is minimal, and there doesn't seem to be any digital noise reduction applied to this film so it retains what little grain that was inherent from the original source. Overall this is a fine presentation that'll look good on HD displays.
Audio
The image is great and to match that is an equally great sound mix, the film is offered in four sound options, in English DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio 5.1 as well as standard Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks in English, French or Spanish. For the purpose of this review I chose to view the film with its DTS-HD track. This sound mix is bombastic, aggressive and loud. The dialogue is clear and distortion free, the subtle ambient sounds place you within the scene and locations and the film's action scenes explode off the screen with an active surround field. The only minor complaint is that the music is mixed a little louder than I'd like often distracting the viewer rather than enhancing the moment. Optional subtitles are included in English, Cantonese, Mandarin and Spanish.
Extras
Fox has ported over a ton of extras from the previous DVD release of the film and includes an audio commentary, two documentaries, a series of featurettes, a screen test, some interactive features, original dailies, trailers, music videos and galleries. Below is a closer look at these supplements. First up is a feature-length audio commentary by writer/director Mark Steven Johnson and producer Avi Arad. This track was created for this new cut of the film and the two talk about the differences and what they are trying to achieve with this edit of the film. It's interesting to hear that two cuts essentially tries to please two types of people, the theatrical version was action focused film that was shorter for youths while this version incorporates more character story for the fans. They talk about what was omitted and what was added into this version as well as comment on the production, on working with the cast and getting to bring this character to life among other things. Next up is an "Enhanced Viewing Mode" interactive feature which is narrated by visual effects producer John Kilkenny ( this is a profile 1.0 or greater feature). Essentially a symbol will appear while watching the film that when selected will take you through things such as storyboards and pre-vis sequences. These only cover certain special effects moments in the film. "Fact and Fiction" is a trivia track that when selected plays alongside the film, with information popping up at various times covering topics such as the production as well as the origins of the character and comic book related facts among other things. "Beyond Hell’s Kitchen: Making Daredevil" is a fascinating in-depth documentary that runs for 58 minutes 51 seconds. This takes a look at the entire production, and looks at the scripting, casting, visual look of the film, costumes, etc and goes into great detail about each aspect of the production. It really provides an understanding of how demanding a film like this is and the level of detail and effort that's put into it. This clip can also be accessed as an "enhanced viewing mode" option while you watch the film. Next up is the Jennifer Garner screen tests which runs for 2 minutes 31 seconds, and these are clips of the actress audition and reading for the role of Elektra. "Featured Villain: Kingpin" is a short featurette that runs for 2 minutes 21 seconds and is a spotlight on Clarke Duncan, who plays the Kingpin and on his character. "Daredevil: HBO First Look" featurette runs for 24 minutes 50 seconds, this is a special made for the movie channel to promote the film and it's basically EPK fluff that covers the basics of the film. "Moving Through Space: A Day With Tom Sullivan" featurette runs for 8 minutes 28 seconds and is a day with the production consultant, Sullivan takes us through the a day in the life of someone that's blind. "Giving the Devil His Due" featurette runs for 15 minutes 26 seconds, this clip compares the theatrical version of the film with the 'Director's Cut' and takes us through the changes. Following that are 6 multi-angle dailies, these are clips that show raw footage from the shooting of two key scenes, these are shown in various angles representing the multiple cameras used to shoot the scene. These clips show how intricate fight scenes are filmed, but are lacking in a decent narration which could provide more information about the shot selection and the overall outcome of the scene, it could have also benefitted with a comparison to the finished scene. despite these these are the clips present: - "Daredevil/Kingpin fight take 1" 3 angles to choose from and running 36 seconds each. - "Daredevil/Kingpin fight take 2" 3 angles to choose from and running 47 seconds each. - "Elektra/Bullseye fight take 1" 4 angles to choose from and running 24 seconds each. - "Elektra/Bullseye fight take 2" 4 angles to choose from and running 36 seconds each. - "Elektra/Bullseye fight take 3" 4 angles to choose from and running 20 seconds each. - "Elektra/Bullseye fight take 4" 3 angles to choose from and running 36 seconds each. There are 3 trailers included on this disc that were created of the marketing of the film and include: - Teaser trailer which runs for 47 seconds. - Theatrical trailer "A" which runs for 1 minute 44 seconds. - Theatrical trailer "B" which runs for 2 minutes 24 seconds. Also featured are a collection of 4 music videos that include: - "Won't Back Down" by Fuel which runs for 3 minutes 28 seconds. - "For You" by The Calling which runs for 3 minutes 42 seconds. - "Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence which runs for 4 minutes 15 seconds. - "Music promotion" spot runs for 33 seconds and is not a music video but rather a commercial for the film's soundtrack CD. 5 extensive still galleries are included, these are great to show references for the design aspects of the film and include many images relating to how it was shot to the look of the film and include the following: - "Storyboards" which features 323 images. - "Costumes" which features 89 images. - "Set design" which features 20 images. - "Production stills" which features 13 images. - "Props" which features 24 images. "The Comic Book Features" is a sub-section that deals with extras focused on the comic rather than the film's production and includes the following: - "Men Without Fear: Creating Daredevil" documentary is a series of in-depth interviews that runs for a total of 59 minutes 15 seconds with the creative people behind the comic as we explore the origin of the character, the development, characters, story lines and overall history of "Daredevil". It provides a wonderful insight into the world of the character and the various story lines that he was involved in and the key players that appear in those stories. For geek fans of the comic this is a must watch as it features interviews with just about everyone that's had a hand in creating a "Daredevil" comic book. - "Shadow World Tour" is a featurette that runs for 6 minutes 16 seconds and compares pages from the comic book to shots and scenes from the movie, you can tell that the director lifted a lot from the pages of the comic book. - "Modeling Sheets" are 5 pages of text info that provide some stats on the main characters.
Overall
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