DAREDEVIL

[janine]

I emailed your review to Mike.  Nudge nudge wink wink. :thumbup:

[Son of a Preacher Man]

Daredevil[/i] PG-13

At first glance, DD[/i] might seem like a testosterone-laden, adrenaline-pumping, ride-of-your-life kind of flick.  Sure, it's all that and a bag of chips, but don't flop down your eight bucks expecting Batman[/i] or even Spiderman[/i].  DD[/i] ain't no Superman[/i], that's for sure.  DD[/i] is a superhero comic-book film unlike its predecessors in many ways.  All the fundamental elements of a hero are here: a little paternal conflict syndrome, a minor mishap involving bio-chemicals, a startling discovery of special abilities, and (of course) a dash of childhood trauma to catalyze the burning desire that compels our hero to spend his nights providing justice for the downtrodden and making the world (or Hell's Kitchen in New York as the case may be) a safer place.  Originality can seldom be found when tracing the origin of any comic-book hero.

After the end of the first act, things start to deviate from the norm and you quickly realize that this flick's got something the most of the aforementioned films do not—heart. [Spiderman[/i] being the note-worthy exception.  Spidey had heart, but not like this.]  DD[/i] is as emotional as it is action-packed and that, my friends, makes it something really special.  This isn't the "feel-good movie of the year

[Trois]

LOVED IT!

This is definitely a Marvel Film about a Marvel Hero. I'm a big Marvel fan because their heroes were all so flawed. Like real people. And their heroes are also prone to true violence and true angst about the level of violence they have to participate in to do their jobs. I loved it.

I thought I was going to hate Michael Clarke Duncan as Kingpin. I really wanted to see a big white guy (I'm kinda a purist). But he really pulled it off.

Only thing I didn't like was the love scene. Not to say it wasn't a good live scene as those things go, but I still had to cover my kids eyes.

Everything else was great though.

[!--QuoteBegin--][/span][table border=\"0\" align=\"center\" width=\"95%\" cellpadding=\"3\" cellspacing=\"1\"][tr][td]Quote [/td][/tr][tr][td id=\"QUOTE\"][!--QuoteEBegin--]Most of all, the sound in this movie is phenomenal.  I've never heard anything quite like it so make sure your theater has digital sound.  If this movie is not nominated for an Oscar in sound next year, it will be crime.[/quote]

I'll definitely see it again in digital to get the full experience! Thanx PreacherMan's son!

[Son of a Preacher Man]

Wife and I went again today.  Aren't I lucky?

[Barb1957]

Seeing an advance showing of DAREDEVIL (9:30 pm showing on 2/13) was an early Valentine's Day date for my husband and me.
Last movie date (last date period) was Christmas, so we were due!  Eric's big brother Brian, who's his built-in sitter, is leaving tomorrow afternoon for the Winterfest weekend in Gatlinburg, so this was our best shot at a "V.'s Day" date.)

I'm not good at all at critiquing. All I can say is we both really really liked it. Ben Affleck is right on as Matt Murdock/Daredevil. He does a fantastic job of playing a blind man. Not that I'm an expert, but sure looked like a fine job of acting to me. I liked Jennifer Garner as Elektra; Al, who is more the critic than me, thought she didn't look right for the part. I dunno, worked for me. The story itself was good.

Marvel fans should look for little inside things in the movie. Like Stan Lee's cameo appearance. Or watch for the marquee advertising a boxing match between young Matt's father and his opponent -- you'll recognize the opponent's name as that of a famous comic book artist (and one who's drawn Daredevil of course).

Special effects also good. I don't want to give too much away, but there are some really nice effects done involving rain. And just the way the movie shows Matt's heightened other senses - very well done. I thought the fight scenes looked good. The manner in which Matt sleeps makes a lot of sense when you see it. Again, don't want to give too much away.

I don't recall any bad language, but don't hold me to that.
There is fighting, violence, people get killed and hurt, including an inpalement. In general I'd say fine for 14 and up, but your children's mileage may vary. I would've said fine for 10 and up, except there is a love scene in the movie -- no nudity but you see bare backs (just backs, no frontal nudity, no bare bums) and they're in bed together. Use your best judgment.

Faith comes into the story in that several scenes are set inside a Catholic church bldg, and Matt's priest is one of the people who knows that he is Daredevil. Matt's faith + growing up in and living in Hell's Kitchen seems to have an influence on him; he wants to be the good guy, wants to help people who can't help themselves.

One more thing: don't leave the theater as soon as the credits start rolling. Hang around, there's an extra little scene.

Showing we saw had trailers for X-Men 2, Hulk, Phone Booth (with Colin Farrell, who's bad guy Bullseye in Daredevil) and one with Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson that actually looks pretty funny - not sure about the title, "Anger Management" maybe ... that's what it's about anyway.

SoaPMan, hopefully you will/have seen DD and will do a better job than I can of posting a review. I think you'll like it, but I could be wrong.

fwiw I give it 2 thumbs up.  :thumbs-up:

[Son of a Preacher Man]

T-minus one hour and counting.  Ticket in pocket... waiting on wife... thumbing through some Smith comics...  twirling thumbs... clickity-clack goes the keyboard to bide my time...

:help:

I'm getting antsy...  :alert:

[!--QuoteBegin--][/span][table border=\"0\" align=\"center\" width=\"95%\" cellpadding=\"3\" cellspacing=\"1\"][tr][td]Quote [/td][/tr][tr][td id=\"QUOTE\"][!--QuoteEBegin--]SoaPMan, hopefully you will/have seen DD and will do a better job than I can of posting a review. I think you'll like it, but I could be wrong.
[/quote]

Fear not... I'm sure I'll have something meaningless to say within the next 24 hours. :cool:

I haven't been this excited to see a flick since last year when Episode II and Spiderman hit within a month of each other.

The real question is... just who's getting the better end of the hot V-day date?  Would it be the Comic-geek fan that I am?  Or the drooling Ben/Colin fan my wife is?  At least Colin will have a target on his bald noggin.  

Maybe I should put one on my chrome-dome?  Somehow I think the effect would be lost on me.

I'm such a dufus!

[Barb1957]

Wow, SoaPMan, you write reviews like a pro!
I'm serious!

Glad you liked the movie!  :D

[janine]

Next time have them wear ballcaps & pull them down over their eyes in the bad parts.

[Son of a Preacher Man]

FYI

DD[/i] had the sequel greenlit today.

Electra*  (Jennifer Garner) and Affleck will be in the sequel. I've got three sources confirming this now, so I'm posting it because it seems to have validity.

They have also given a greenlight to an Electra[/i] film.

Rumor is that Mark Steven Johnson (Writer/Director) wants Kevin Smith to write the screenplay based on his Guardian Devil  [/i] run in the comic.  One can hope.

*:alert: Possible Spoiler  :alert: I guess that solves one mystery.

[Barb1957]

Cool, SoaP! Thanks for the news!