Ben Affleck, crew make 'Daredevil' truly daring

By Jack Garner
Gannett News Service

DAREDEVIL (Rated PG-13 with violence and dark themes) Stars: Lawyer by day, masked superhero by night, "Daredevil" follows the Marvel Comic formula as he battles injustice. Ben Affleck stars as the superhero whose unique trait is blindness. Colin Farrell offers the most fun as the flamboyant nemesis, Bullseye. Jennifer Garner and Michael Clarke Duncan also co-star for writer-director Mark Steven Johnson. Twentieth Century Fox, 103 minutes.

Although not as upbeat and entertaining as "Spider-Man," "Daredevil" offers shadowy charms, including eye-popping visual effects and a memorable villain.

Ben Affleck stars as Matt Murdock, a blind attorney by day who becomes a masked crusader by night.

As a vigilante superhero, he rights the wrongs he's experienced in the courtroom. A slime ball may get off on a technicality, but there's no escaping Daredevil.

Mark Steven Johnson adapts Stan Lee's creation to the screen, stylizing the tale in the noir-comic tradition of "Batman" and "The Crow." You'll find darker, more ominous tones than in the "Spider-Man" or "Superman" films.

Johnson gets the "back story" over with quickly — detailing in flashback the emotional impact on young Matt when his boxing father is killed by the city's top gangster.

A toxic accident adds to Matt's woes — leaving him blind. However, the boy's other senses are extraordinarily heightened.

Thanks to sound, for example, Matt develops batlike sonar, resulting in a type of "sight" in the presence of continuing noise. It's especially effective in a steady rainfall.

What he "sees" is effectively demonstrated through the film's inventive visuals.

Beyond the blindness, "Daredevil" steadfastly follows almost exactly the same story as nearly every other superhero:

The death of a parent triggers a crusader's mentality and an accident leaves him with super-human skills, as well as an Achilles' heel.

He then applies those skills in the fight against a larger-than-life villain.

Here that larger-than-life description is apt: The gangster known as Kingpin is played by Michael Clarke Duncan, the massive actor from "The Green Mile."

But far more flamboyant and entertaining is Kingpin's henchman, a giggly, psychopathic killer known as Bullseye. Colin Farrell plays the malevolent assassin full throttle — and he's a hammy delight.

And just as Batman has Catwoman as both love interest and foil, Daredevil has Elektra, a martial-arts queen on a crusade of her own. She's played with sexy zest by "Alias"' Jennifer Garner.

Affleck lacks the playful wit that Tobey Maguire brought to Spider-Man, though some of the character's blandness is dictated by the character's single-minded crusading.

Without the mask and costume, Affleck's everyday guy has little impact. It's the superhero and his sonar vision that puts the dare in "Daredevil."

Beyond that, it's just another in the long and oh-so-familiar line of cinematic comic books. Better than some, not as good as others.

Rated PG-13, with violence and dark themes.